Had a blast around my 'normal route' this morning, in my case it begins in Tideswell (Peak District) then heads down the penine bridleway up the Peak Forest track, down the Peak Forest track (fun), onto Bradwell moor, loop round and home, a quick couple of hours. I love this route, it is old faithfull & always a little bit different. I thought it would be interesting to learn of your 'normal routes'.

Normal route involves driving from Cressbrook into hope, up the Roman rd, potato alley, rowlee farm, lockerbrook, fire road, hagg farm, woller knoll, roman rd, hope – Drive home to Cressbrook 🙂

You are a lucky girl to have that on your doorstep!

Living where I live its bike in the car for anything half decent.

on the Yorkshire Wolds, which is basically see how many farms you can connect in a loop via lots of farm tracks 🙄

Cannock Chase less than a mile from my house, have spent the last 21 years riding it but still find new stuff

I love rides from home, so simple. I do need to go up winhill soon though, I am getting itchy feet for a ride up there. Drive the car to Thornhill for that one.

My normal route is Balerno-Maidens Cleugh-Green Cleugh-Black Hill-Thriepmuir-Nail Trail (Pentlands Hills). It has three good descents: Maidens Cleugh towards Flotterstone, Black Hill and the Nail Trail plus the big advantage that it's ridden direct from my door. It's good either as a day or night ride, however for the full-route the ground needs to be reasonably dry.

Woburn.
I never tire of it and because it's on a sandy ridge it's ridable all year round, very lucky to have it on my doorstep.

Starting from Leith

I have two – water of leith / 2 or 3 pentlands passes / water of leith. 30 – 40 miles 1500+ ft of climb depending on details Half a mile of road

Along the shore to Queensferry. Stop at the Hawes Inn. Old railway to Newbridge. Sneaky shortcut to the canal. Pint at the Ratho bridge inn. return via the canal / WOL. 30 miles. 100ft of climb. a couple of miles of road 2 pint minimum

Woburn/Brickhill here too. Not quite on my doorstep unfortunately but only 25mins pedallin' from home.

Bingley Bash (West Yorkshire) with endless variations from my house

Swinley or Bagshot Common.

Clumber Park on a Monday, Sherwood Pines on a Wednesday

wish i lived in the peaks 🙂

good point – one route do more than any other:

up thru Wharncliffe Woods to top carpark on tracks dull but lots of nature
north along road with views (most of the time) across vale of york

back into far end of woods on sandy track to single track thru beechs
blast down track, uphill again then back along top of wharncliffe crags with views of the peak – one or two dabs down past the dragons cave and home 1,1/2hrs or so

beer diversion to wortley on summer sundays

Bristol Ashton Court, Leigh Woods and 50 acre woods. Mix things up but there's definitely a 'normal' route.

thefallguy – Member

Clumber Park on a Monday, Sherwood Pines on a Wednesday

wish i lived in the peaks

What's Clumber Park like? – I live just south of Nottingham and ride Pines and round Burntstump occaisionally…

Woburn. Only 8 mikles away

live in painswick, glos(not for long) slad/sheepscombe/birdlip/cranham/beacon in varying routes depending on conditions/fitness/time etc.

a quick 2 hours?, isn't it always 120 mins?

lately its been woburn not herts shore for me :O

Clumber Park for me too!

What's Clumber Park like?

I've been today – I can make a route that goes round the quiet bits that gets me up to 26 miles by the time I get home.

Although that does include me covering the same ground twice and then doing the first loop in reverse for the second half.

Nothing really gnarl-core!

Park at Coldharbour Surrey, down summer lightning then climb to the top of Leith hill, down via the quarry/mother to Holmbury St Mary, up to the top of Holmbury hill then down into Peaslake, up to the top of Pitch hill then turn around and head back.

Fair bit of climbing but well worth it about 4 hours round trip.

Any of the tracks around here 8)
Morrone Birkwood followed by Corrie Feragie/Creag Choinnich and a couple of pints at The Moorfield is usually where I'm to be found on a Monday evening (shifts permitting).

If Andy Mee is on here, he'll vouch for the quality of the trails.

Bingley Bash starts from my front door, straight into St.Ives park, then the world is your lobster.

I live at the bottom of Gypsy Glen in Peebles and that and Cademuir hill/forest are my lunchtime rides – but having Glentress 10mins away means that I end up there a lot- but I do mix up the routes as much as poss so I don't get bored…

Another Pentlands basher here, though I don't really have a "normal route" as you can pick and choose bits so easily. But from my house it's up Poet's Glen then Pistachio into the hills, then either up through the col and down Maiden's Cleugh and back up to Bonaly then back to the start (nice and short, can do laps of this) or along Green Cleugh and back over via either Black Hill or Beach Avenue.

Bingley Bash here too, but I've a short ride or drive from Baildon to get into St Ives

Out of my front door onto the North Wessex Downs maybe across to the Marlborough Downs or Savernake Forest. In winter more likely to be a road route round the Marlborough, Avebury, Pewsey, Hungerford area

Leave House, 300 metres onto offroad then climb 250metres to Pitmedden forest, as much singletrack and fireroad as you like then home . . .

😉

Fd

It usually involves a collection of:

The nice little bit of singletrack by the side of Brickendon Lane
Down the windy footpath from Monks Green farm to Ermine Street (in Broxbourne Woods)
Part of Cole Green Way, blast down past the SQ quarry cross the B158, lovely b'way to Stockings Lane Farm
Across the landfill at Panshanger, through Tewin on the road and into Harmer Green Woods, along Robbery Bottom Lane (how lovely is that?) to Datchworth
Back down through Bramfield Woods

I live in Hertfordshire. I bought some maps and explored, there's loads of good riding. Nothing white-knuckle technical but good riding just the same.

here

well i'm spoilt cause i live in a small village at the end of a fjord on the west coast of Norway so i only have to ride 2 mins and i'm in the wilderness.

I don't really have a "normal" route. 95% of my rides start at my back gate so I try and mix things up as far as possible to stop any bits getting too stale

Out the front door, almost immediately on bridleways or the sort of footpath everyone rides on. Usually do a 20 mile ish loop north east, round London Colney, Colney Heath, North Mimms. Other variants on the same theme are a north westerly loop, better in dry weather, or a complete orbit sound the top of St Albans.

Typical route crosses the M25 up to four times but nearly all of it is off tarmac and there are technical bits if you look for them. Like Karinofnine said there's more in Herts than you might think.

from bruntsfield (edinburgh) cycle up to swanston village, up the gert big hill to windy door nick, down to the farm, accross to the souterrain thing, round the reservoir, right up then down to threipmuir res, and then head back via dreghorn and on the urban singletrack. so good. if it was for this assignment i'd be there now! 25ish miles

vdubber67 – What's Clumber Park like?

clumber is ok, some nice bits of woodland singletrack, its mostly flat and can get filthy in some areas over the winter but there are lots of unmarked paths to go at. As Dawson says no real gnarl but a few sweet bits and provides sheltered riding when its windy too.

I usually do a ride on a Monday night which loops the park and varies between 12 – 16 miles

I have two normal routes. One from my house and one from local country park. QECP through Buriton and back which is about 15miles and then another through Rowlands and Kingley Vale which is about 25miles.

Straight out the door desend all the way into Clyde Valley, then up and down along the valley floor towards Dalziel estate using some well cut trails lovingly tended to by ourselves(Ginger Chris does most of the work tho). Back home via the at present wonderfully muddy Garrion Gill. About a 20km ride.

Probably got about half a dozen local rides which I do regularly.

Gisburn Forest
Longridge Fell
Darwen Tower
Pendle Hill
Lee Quarry
all within 10 – 25 mins away or some can be done from home. OK then, 5 routes.

I'm moving house soon and will have access to the great outdoors at the end of the garden!

Here you go, quick blast out from my front door.