+1 for Cannock only entertaining on a rigid SS @ night with a set of Smart lights 🙄

Rutland Water, the only purpose for it being somewhere outdoors to train

The only propper boring ride i've ever had has been on a turbo trainer….

Had plenty of not that good rides but apart from the turbo shit it's all better than sitting there doing nothing.

Thetford – its the middle of bloody nowhere & its as flat as a pancake..

" maybe they are getting the better workout if they have 35lb of bike to pedal round"
Reminds me so much of a local roadie who, when he doesn't win a road race, insists he has had the best work out.

95% of Llandegla! Albeit I was on my own and had ridden Penmachno earlier which I loved.

Anyway – its about who you are with and having a laugh.

I'm going to put a word in for Swinley here.

juan, dirtbiker100, teef and allyharp; you're all ether attention seeking or have no idea what you're talking about.

Beautiful singletrack that flows if you know and knackeres you with perfect undulation and fantastic grip.
I could orbit those trails all day.

I now live in one of Europe's mountain bike nirvanas and still miss my weekday rides there.

flamejob – if you like Swinley you don't what you're talking about. I don't believe you are a mountain biker.

teef – Member

flamejob – if you like Swinley you don't what you're talking about.

I'll agree with that seen as how he thought he was in the Brecon Beacons while doing the Rough Ride. If you were in the Beacons i think you might have been a little off route….

Llandegla isnt that bad. Its one of those places that the faster you go the better it gets so manages to suit new and experienced. It doesnt promise to be better than it is.

North of Scotland. It's pants. Go to Wrexham.

I still say the top of the Glentress red for good.

Thetford. ugh.

flamejob – Member
I'm going to put a word in for Swinley here.

juan, dirtbiker100, teef and allyharp; you're all ether attention seeking or have no idea what you're talking about.

Beautiful singletrack that flows if you know and knackeres you with perfect undulation and fantastic grip.
I could orbit those trails all day.

I said the riding in Swinley was good!

My criticism was that the surroundings were dull. Which they are. It's in the middle of a forest with next to nothing to look at.

I've only been once but I was impressed with the range of riding on offer. North Downs suit me better though as the surroundings are a bit more pleasant. And the day I was at Swinley it was choked with people – I don't think there was a period of more than 60 seconds where I couldn't see another person.

The Marin Trail.

So over-rated.
Penmachno in the morning (fantastic!)
Marin in the afternoon (zzzzzzz!)

(I've just seen Bushwacked post – the moral being don't ride anthing on the same day as Penmachno!)

Llandegla's ace – and that's coming from someone who's doorstep riding is the Peaks.

Just different innit?

grum – Member
In terms of the riding on offer pretty much any countryside bridleway network will be far far less exciting than Swinley or the North Downs
Never been to the Lake District then?

That is correct – I've only been biking in England for about 4 weeks so the only bridleways I've ever come across have been Swinley and the Nort Downs!

Bridleways there are mostly all flat, wide paths. It's good to hear that they're not all like that!

I like the Marin 😐 – the rocky 'Dragons Back' bit on the top and the last couple of descents are great fun on a short travel hardtail.

The climbs are a bit boring but you can't have everything – look on it as riding a piece of history.
Definitely ride it before riding Penmachno though……..

All riding is good, but I found Hamsterley Red a bit of a disappointing trail. Views and company made up for it though.

The Marin trail isnt that bad. Its one of those places that the faster you go the better it gets so manages to suit new and experienced. It doesnt promise to be better than it is

It doesn't need to be fully feature packed to be good. It is only a red route after all?(though it does have some fun jumps, some rocky bits, but mostly it comes alive and actually flows quite well (IMO) when you really try* and go fast (rather than relying on it to make you go fast)
*a half decent pedalling bike always helps

+ 1 for Lincolnshire. Truly dreadful.

thetford? there's some great pumpy singletrack there, it's nothing epic but it's not dull if you find the good stuff (and don't expect too much from the 'black' run!).

Swinley does have a few great sections too, i've only ridden there a few times but it wasn't dull when i followed someone who knew the place. local knowledge is usually the difference between good and dull days in an area.

Good Lord. What a load of old crap is being spouted on this thread. Personally, I'm with Jedi on this. I don't think I can ever remember having a boring time on a bike, any bike, ever. If you're bored, it's YOU that's doing something wrong I think.

blimey there are some very narrow minded people on here, maybe it's the PS3 generation wanting everything to be perfect and laid on a plate for them, must be why trail centres are so popular. Even a bad ride on flat terrain is a ride, that's incentive enough for me, MTBing is about being outside enjoying the fact that you can ride, not the quality of the next corner/drop off

"If you're bored, it's YOU that's doing something wrong I think."
"MTBing is about being outside enjoying the fact that you can ride"

Aye, couldn't agree more. riding should definately be a zen thing )

I don't believe you are a mountain biker.

lol

rotfl

*wipes tears of laughter

For the record… the terrain of the Beacons and the Rough Ride are pretty similar, probably because save for about three or four miles it is pretty much the same place.

I suppose rOcKeTdOg has a point and most of us are lucky to have the choice of nice riding within a drive of our homes.

Rutland Water.

Cripes. Almost all the riding I have ever done is in this list. Several times.

but did you enjoy it? if you did, then you trulay are a zen rider )

Good Lord. What a load of old crap is being spouted on this thread. Personally, I'm with Jedi on this. I don't think I can ever remember having a boring time on a bike, any bike, ever. If you're bored, it's YOU that's doing something wrong I think.

I see exactly where you are coming from. When I was a kid any moment on the bike just felt right. Time is tight now though- too tight. So its almost like a snapshot, a window of opportunity in the week that I managed to get out. So expectations are sometimes too high 🙁

I see folks rolling up week after week with big 6" full susers and it makes me smile. Some of the off piste stuff is great. FTD is good for a night ride or a blast after work. Then downhill run is great on a HT.

Good Lord. What a load of old crap is being spouted on this thread. Personally, I'm with Jedi on this. I don't think I can ever remember having a boring time on a bike, any bike, ever. If you're bored, it's YOU that's doing something wrong I think.

I agree, and i actually think Cannock is OK. For some reason it really winds me up when people bash others for being on 6" travel bikes and wearing body armour, so what?

I was going to say the Downs Link, but it got nailed 4 posts in.

Second most boring would have to be the South Downs from Winchester to Chanctonbury Ring. Pretty good from there to Eastbourne though, with big skies, challenging climbs, fast downhills and that.

flamejob – if those 2 photos are typical of the riding you do no wonder you think Swinley is exciting

If Cannock was on my doorstep I'd actually like it. I karted my bike around though into someones flat in Brum the Sat night then to Cannock the next day. For that I found it to be not worth the trip/hassle.

Are you saying you ride Cannock's Red Route with a 6inch travel bike (slight over kill, but if that's all you have, so be it) and full body armour (that really would be over kill!)?

I love the naive sentiment that simply being outdoors and on a bike is all it takes to keep you interested; although it's a rather sweet, charming sentiment; I bet your baby sitters love you!

If you're ever been cycling in the Boston region, I'd defy you to find something of interest! It's so interesting, the whole of that region east of the A1m has no motorways – no one wants to go there!

As has been illustrated, sometimes it's what preceeded the ride that impacts on your opinion of a place. I'm sure the Marin Trail is great, with the right weather, some decent company and less rain (the time I rode it), but it was a time & a place and as such, it felt like I was wasting time not being with my family. Next day, Snowdon was more interesting though!

If you lived here, in Watford, on a one-off visit you too might well find things a little mundane if you lived in the Peaks. However, you make the area you ride enjoyable with what you have. Still say you'd end up insane, in the pub or becoming a roadie if you moved to Boston.

Can't say I've ever been bored riding off road and only on road when I was regularly commuting past a very chavvy area of Southampton.

Gotta defend the New Forest and Thetford, partly because I know where the good bits are and partly because I like pushing my luck in corners and can do that far more happily knowing that if I get it wrong I'm not going to fall 100ft on to pointy rocks. Also, in the New Forest you're never more than 3 miles from a pub.

Sure, there's far better riding that Swinley round here, and I'm not that keen on the place anymore, the trails are mostly ruined. But the last time we went I had a great time in some horrific weather because of some great company…. 🙂

It not what you ride, it's how you ride it. 🙂

Llandegla

It not what you ride, it's how you ride it.

plus 1

(at the risk of sounding naive, sweet and sentimental)

The trans-pennine trail on the Hull side is pretty grim. It's pleasant enough right on the coast but from Hull to the foot of the pennines it's dull, dull, dull. Again though, it's riding bikes and that's all good in my book.

teef- I'm not even going to go there. Email me if you want a challenge – I invite you to come ride my local trails 😉

Hora must be getting sensible in his old age; when time is limited and you need some concentrated good riding you need more than a plank on bricks at the end of your cul-de-sac to keep you entertained for a day, hence the name of this virtual tent we all sit under. What is life without Singletrack?