back in the day, going out on the mtb meant going out for the day, not a few hours blast.
routes like cutgate/doctors gate. or reeth/fremington edge/punchard ghyll/tanhill/muker/reeth.
proper long days out on the bike.
i used to love em.

what was your fave killer route,

I have turned to the dark side lately doing 2-3hr rides but your right, back in the day all dayers were my thing.. Used to post my routes on here too.

you been in jail knottie…… ;o)
saw a post from you earlier, 1st one for yonks.
hope you are well.

Used to love heading out with the Border Reviers in Northumberland.
Full days out meeting at 10, home by 5.. Butties packed in yer camelbak.
Rothbury Round, Simonside, all number of routes through the Cheviots..
Man, I miss those days..

My first Mountain bike rides started in Elterwater where you could hire an MTB in the 80s

We’d ride over to Hodge Close on the bye way out of Eltwewater. In Hodge close we’d mess about on the slate heaps. Then down to Coniston on the road. Up and over the Walna Scar road and than back on the road over Wrynose and Langdale Passes

I’ve no idea if that was big day out for anyone else but it felt like it to us

(just added up on Get a map 24 miles nut alot of road. Quite up and down though)

just traced a route i did in the dales with the late Deejay, who loved to ride your legs off.
Hawes to Ingleton and back, via twistleton scar, Clapham and Horton.
44 hilly hard offroad miles. ace…. 😀

Im well Ton , thanks..

Did some epics back in the day when i devised the Saturday rides, usually cos i never knew if the map had any relation to what was on the ground! Had some long days out in the Cheviots early on & quite often under estimated how long a ride would take. Had lots of big days in the Dales too, i love big days out me!/

After all these years mine still has to be Cutgate, lost count of the times we have done it since 1987 and every time its changed abit. The thing I like about Bike Verbier is that every day seems like an old school classic. Its probably the main reason we keep going back.

A loop in the Lowther Hills from Durisdeer, possibly one of my first when mates and I got the maps out and went exploring.
Cross Fell being another.
Did Snowdon recently so that’s that one ticked off before retirement… 🙄

It’s easy, just do the 2-3hr route with more people and less experience.
We used to ride with a big group a lot, 1 would always be late, another would turn up just needing to fit a new tube, chain, drivetrain etc. We would aim to ride at 10am but in reality it would be easily gone 11. Due to having crap rubber there would be several punctures and due to poor maintenance and some older shoddy kit there would always be several mechanical stops. Then add in the greater numbers everything just takes a bit longer so you will probably take and eat lunch. After that the social aspect kicks in and hey presto it’s 4pm or getting dark and you rode the same distance 🙂

High St. Bloody awful day

+1 high street and bloody awful day but looking back, I’d do it again, just with more water….

I was just thinking High Street, my most epic was ride out from Kendal, ascending the big grassy bank from Troutbeck I wish I’d had crampons on as all the run off was frozen. On the top I took a track beside a huge drop on the right, got hit by the wind so hard it moved me and the bike several inches to the left. Then had freezing fog give zero visability. Managed to make it into Penrith without getting lost and got the train back to Oxenhome. Went up another time in good weather and got lost…..

On a Zaskar, with Judy XC (elastomers frozen solid) and wobbly XT V brakes.

That’s cos ‘back in the day’ I was single, had mates and no kids 🙂

We used to do epic rides around Elan Valley area and the Beacons.

a mate who posts on here ( madeinyorkshire ), used to drag us out on some long old routes. crossfell/high cup nick was one that sticks in my mind as a bit of a slog.

‘back in the day’

About June 1999 I planned out an overnighter

set off at 5am rode from Harrogate, a bit of off road to up to Pateley Bridge, Lofthouse, off road to Scar house dam, over the top of dead mans and into Braidley, then over the moor again to Walden and West Burton.

then by road to Askrigg, Muker and Keld, where I joined up with the pennine way and went back offroad, had a pint at Tan Hill Inn, carried on over ‘gods bridge’ and up over the 66 on the pennine way to Baldersdale youth Hostel for the overnight

78 miles on day one, about 50/50 on/off road, I wouldn’t like to think about the elevation 😯 – I was properly broken by the end, a real epic!

finished off in the morning by riding over and meeting my parents in Hamsterley Forest

I wish I was any way near half as fit now 😆

Skyline at Afan. Epic day out and whilst in some ways not the best trail ever.. was a proper day out.

For me, hankering back to the good old days, it would be stuff like a good long loop in the Peatlands, which seemed incredibly “out there” and long at the time – with a pint or two at Carlops or Nine Mile Burn. Or – for sure – long loop from Glen Doll, Loch Muick, over to Balmoral, back round shoulder of Lochnagar, Loch Muick again and back over to Glen Doll.

Lop of Beinn a Ghlo into Glen Tilt’s always a good one; or Grandtully over to Loch Tummell;

a mate who posts on here ( madeinyorkshire ), used to drag us out on some long old routes.

Willingly Tony – good days out eh?

a mate who posts on here ( madeinyorkshire ), used to drag us out on some long old routes.

Willingly Tony – good days out eh?

very good days out Steve, and some cracking weekends riding too.

and if you see this, got a church hall booked for 31st of this month.
near Keswick. 2 nights. old boys only. if you fancy it.

Half term Tony – we`ll be away int van

LOL @ mikewsmith…..I know exactly what you mean…. 🙄

Crossfell is the one that springs to mind. Various options, all can be a bit of a slog at times, but I keep going back. Combined with High Cup Nick, it’s a proper day out.

Big proper hills by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

Gower loop is a good day out in an old school sort of way or the Doithie Valley likewise.