I returned from Spain over 2 weeks ago and have not been out on my mountain bike since. I’ve been on the road bike, but I find my local off-road riding pails by comparison to what I did in Spain. The same thing happened after a week in the Sierra Nevada last year; despite a fantastic week of riding I returned home uninspired to ride my “boring” local trails.

Anyone else had this experience?

PS to put this in context I live in the Peak District so have lots of “good stuff” around me, albeit not necessarily from my back door

i have just had a week in the pyrenees on the road bike.
i hated it. all i could think was why did i not bring my mtb.
so i could not wait to get offroad again when i got home.
roadbiking is crap imho, but it takes allsorts.

Not for me. Its just different. Nowhere in mainland Europe can I get what we have in Scotland- the sense of exploring and wilderness.

I have ridden in rural France and the alps. all very nice but there is no better or worse just different to me

just to clarify I was mountain biking in Spain. And – TandemJeremy – I did think of excluding those living in Scotland from replying 😉

>pails by comparison to what I did in Spain<

Sounds like you did a bucket load of riding over there…

Not had that experience but then I live in Scotland 😀

lol

I live in Bath, going to Wales makes my local trails seem tame, but I go out and they still manage to put a smile on my face and bite me in the Arris once in a while.

Off to the Pyrenees next weekend 8) Can’t wait to try some new trails, eat different food, drink lots of cheap wine, repeat for a week.

It’s the same with climbing and mountaineering after you’ve been to the Alps.

but I go out and they still manage to put a smile on my face and bite me in the Arris once in a while.

too true, but the urge to actually go out is not as strong

It’s the same with climbing and mountaineering after you’ve been to the Alps.

Again possibly not if you live in Scotland. I know its not on the same scale but I don’t see how stuff like the Cuillin ridge would ever seem tame and boring.

Again – I have been up in the mountains in many parts of the world – fantastic while you are there but just different to Scotland – where you can walk all day with no paths or route markings.

Not better, not worse – just different.

Its like saying which is better – jaffa cakes or fig rolls

I live in the South of England. Riding over speed-bumps makes my trails seem tame.

I moved from Mid-Wales to Essex (due to finishing university, and not through choice!). I’ve not even bothered pulling the bike out of the house this year, save for two weekend trips to Wales 🙁

dumbass, jaffa cakes.

riding a local xc 4mile route can make some of my local trails seem dull

🙁

Its like saying which is better – jaffa cakes or fig rolls

But the answer is clearly jaffa cakes!

Fig rolls you peasants

So let me get me right, the answer to my OP was:
no – for those Scottish residents
yes – everyone else

Fig rolls – woohoo!!!!

What load of moaning old bores. We came back from our first alps trip and built more difficult trails, practised on them and took a better skillset back to switzerland with us. Some of our local stuff is as hard and steep as that in the alps, just much (much much much) shorter.

building trails?? 😯 Permit me to be a moaning old bore but with 2 little kiddies demanding my non-work hours attention, I barely get out riding the trails that are already there, nevermind building some more

Nowhere in mainland Europe can I get what we have in Scotland- the sense of exploring and wilderness.

Try harder then…

I did think of excluding those living in Scotland from replying

Errr, why? Peaks is the best riding in Britain IMHO by a LONG way.

Well to answer the OP, I have been in Gibraltar and had Andalucia as my playground.

The riding has been good, but I am really looking forward to having 3 weeks in Dumfries next month, and am also looking forward to Dartmoor in September.

It’s not just about Scotland. This pic is from an evening ride I went on with the Flashes and others just outside of Leeds

You shouldn’t underestimate just how brill the British countryside is.

It’s not just about the descents. I really miss greenery badly, and am really looking forward to coming home. Horses for courses really.

I guess also I don’t have fast and flowing singletrack nearby. Much of it is a bit too rocky and technical for my abilities.

That’s not my pic BTW, it was taken by Mr Flash.

Peaks is the best riding in Britain IMHO by a LONG way

It’s good, but I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve lived – and ridden – in the Peaks since before mountain biking was cool the first time round. I thoroughly enjoy it, but…

…and back to the OP

Errr, why? Peaks is the best riding in Britain IMHO by a LONG way.

Hmm

juan – Member

Nowhere in mainland Europe can I get what we have in Scotland- the sense of exploring and wilderness.

Try harder then…

Juan – where then? Maybe some parts of the Urals or Tatras perhaps Or maybe northern Norway

I have climbed peaks in the Alps, Pyrenees and Julian Alps. None of them have anything comparable to the remoteness of Scotland where there are no marked trails and often no paths at all. None of those places can you wild camp where and when you like, walk and ride when and where you like. all of them have waymarked paths.

Have you ever been to the highlands? Its the least populated part of Europe bar perhaps Lapland.

tortoise – yes. ho-hum. s’why i focus my rides from home on the ‘cheeky’ trails. legal peak-district bridleways just don’t do it for me anymore.

(well, there are only 4, and only 1 corner to speak of, call me greedy but i want a bit more)

Jeremy – fig rolls for riding, jaffa cakes with tea when finished riding.

stilltortoise – Member

Peaks is the best riding in Britain IMHO by a LONG way

It’s good, but I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve lived – and ridden – in the Peaks since before mountain biking was cool the first time round. I thoroughly enjoy it, but…

Me too. And sure, after riding in the Alps and Whistler in particular I did get home to Sheffield and think ‘where’s the 1hr descents, bike parks etc’, but I live in Scotland now and although the riding’s good, I’d ride in the Peaks anytime over here. And I didn’t get back from the Alps last year and think ‘Great, Scottish trails. Should never have gone away’. Far from it.

Also seems to be a confusion here between good riding due to trails and good riding due to countryside / surroundings / remoteness.

Also seems to be a confusion here between good riding due to trails and good riding due to countryside / surroundings / remoteness

And the piece de resistance of Spain was that I felt like I had both…except maybe the remoteness, but then I don’t feel the need to be hours away from any kind of civilisation to feel “away from it all” (good job in the Peak District!)

I had a week in Spain earlier in the year. It really pushed my riding on, really enjoyed it and it set me up for th Summer in the UK I think. I remembered how much fun it could be to ride, how much I enjoyed it and how much better I could get in a short space of time if I pushed myself a bit. 🙂

Kind of like snowboarding I guess, I used to go to dry slopes but after a few ‘proper’ ski holidays I mostly cant be arsed going to dry slopes or even snow domes now, (if it was cheap/free I guess I might do a bit more) but having been away biking a couple of times, getting back your local stuff does seem tame but don’t you find it motivates you to find better trails?

Also seems to be a confusion here between good riding due to trails and good riding due to countryside / surroundings / remoteness.

Maybe but then something I find exciting, another more hardcore/expert rider may find lame. People want different things from their trails/routes and people ride in different ways.

I still think this debate is about nowt. all riding is good and all types of riding have plus and minus points.

Alps – fantastic long descents with uplift. Scotland – go where you like and find your own routes in the most wild and remote part of Europe.

Not remotely comparable so one is not better than the other just different.

roadbiking is crap imho, but it takes allsorts.

compared to mountain biking it is. Why the hell did you go for a week in the pyrenees with only a skinny wheeler?
I do quite fancy doing an etape or some big road climbs/routes in france but I’d probably spend most of the time regretting not taking the mountain bike.

I personally enjoy some variation, and am currently very happy to be exploring the wealth of trails that the UK can offer.
If you are getting bored, I can heartilly recommend buying a completely different bike. If you’ve been ragging it in the alps on a Patriot (for example), then it will naturally feel a bit tame back in England. Maybe try something different, like a rigid singlespeed (again, for example. Other bikes are available).

mate of mine who’d guided for a couple of seasons in the French Alps after being shown my trails in the Chilterns said “it’s not really mountain biking it’s just off road cycling” true but the trails are only 10mins from my front door rather than 10hrs to Landry

If you are getting bored, I can heartilly recommend buying a completely different bike

I ride a 6″ “all mountain” bike when abroad but most of my local riding is done on a fully rigid these days, so already trying that approach. Don’t get me wrong, once I’m out I love it, it’s just the getting out I’m finding hard at the moment

After a week of riding in the Alps, which was fabulous, I couldn’t wait to get home and do more………………but then I live in the lakes 🙂

yes and you’re banned from my self-pitying post too 😥