Car to gatwick 20 mins, check in 1 hour, flight one hour 30, car from Geneva to Borg 2 hours leaves 1 hour for all the bits – about 5 hours what?

Oh well if you are talking about flying – there's lots of places with airports. 😆

Edinburgh and Glasgow, or Manchester for instance. You could live on the edge of the Peaks, Trossachs or whatever and still only be 1/2 an hour or so from an airport.

having lived in Sheffield for 8 years and now between Peebles and Edinburgh for 10 I'd say that the Borders is better then Sheffield. Biking is a bit better but the lack of people on the trails makes it MUCH better.

Infact, Penicuik is where it's at. Good Pentland riding from my door and 20 minutes to Peebles or Edinburgh in the car (at rush times)

I am feeling that London is much maligned on here.

It's a great place full of things and stuff and you can get decent falafel.

Rolling downs singletrack is quite nice too.

I'm sure its great if you like that kind of thing. 😉

But best place to live in the UK for a cyclist? Hmmmm…

joolsburger – Member

I am feeling that London is much maligned on here.

It's a great place full of things and stuff and you can get decent falafel.

Rolling downs singletrack is quite nice too.

Edinburgh has everything good that london has and less of the bad.

( apart from its colder here)

It even rains less in Edinburgh. the air is worth breathing, the water is worth drinking, plenty of kultur and stuff and easy access to better riding.

Yeah but it's cold and wet –

Really bloody cold in fact.

Although I'd have to agree on the riding you have better stuff nearer but it's not a shite as you might think down south.

Joolsburger – Edinburgh has less rain than London.

As for riding – I live in Leith – about as far from teh riding as possible in Edinburgh. However with an hours ride on my bike I can get to a range of small but real hills, Into the rolling countryside of East lothian, I have a network of offroad paths that take me all over the city and out of it.

There is no comparision. Where is Londons nearest 1000ft climb? Mines about 8 miles away from here and 6 from the city centre

Shock – I agree with TJ.

My off road commute, done once or twice a week, is a total of 25 miles and over 900m of climbing, which is 3000 feet for you oldies. No chance of that down South

"Penicuik is where it's at" now thats funny.

Big story on the news last week about a woman whose house was on fire in Penicuik running across the street to the local pub and getting some neds to rescue her bairns. What the story failed to add, and what my workmate who lives near there told me, is that the pub in question is 3 DOORS AWAY FROM THE FIRE STATION.

I stopped riding through Penicuik on my away to work after puncturing about 3 times on the broken glass on a monday morning. But I guess it depends what you want ?

no more than an 1 hours drive from serious outdoors

It has to be Scotland then.

Adrian,I would recommend Glasgow. Better road riding & surrounding scenery than Edinburgh.

Also if you fancy a house swap- I would move over to BC in a shot.

hels – firestation is not a manned one (I think)

Yes, there are some "interesting" parts, but show me a town where there isn't. Both high schools are in the top few percent of the ranking tables, houses are reasonable price, busses to Edinburgh every 10 minutes and I can ride from my door with only about 20m of tarmac straight out to the Pentalnds…

South Birmingham. The truly epic Col du Clent is very close as are the surrounding peaks of Lickey, the mountainous Cannock and Long Mynd is under 1 hour away and Wales in 2 hours depending on where you’re going.

Truly awesome riding in the area, and the bright lights of Brum are close my as well. Perfect.

Leith Hill in Surrey is a 1000 feet up (well 985 in fact) then there's Box, Pitch and Holmbury too.

A day ride including Box hill, Leith hill, Holmbury and Pitch would be enough climbing for anyone I'd say.

It's beautiful countryside too and all 30 mins from SW london. there is some bloody good riding round here as I said.

I'm with Joolsburger.
Plenty of good riding around Surrey, Sussex, Dorset.
Plus good weather and beaches.
Go for somewhere like Brighton,great place to live & only 5 mins from the north Downs.

Joolsburger – so from urban london you can ride to leith hill etc in under an hour?

Your definition of "bloody good riding" is far from mine

Jeremy I have spent around 15 weeks over the last few years riding Les Arc, Les Gets, Chamonix and Le Plange – I understand completely what good riding is so there's no need to get shirty!!

Surrey has some lovely loops that are challenging and are bloody good fun you'd be surprised.

I'm not playing top trumps, I enjoy the riding in the south and if I want more I head for real mountains ie France made easy by my location here darn sarf.

I ride all over the country and of course the riding is great in scotland and the peaks, lakes, wales etc but the south gets a kicking it's does not deserve.

And no I chuck my bike in the boot and can drive to the surrey hills in 25 mins from where I live by Hampton Court but it's not a quick ride..

I did not mean to sound shirty but was getting exasperated by your posting – as you were by mine probably.

So infact there is no decent riding that is ridable to near london?

France is just as accessible from here by air. I flew direct to the alps this summer.

However its nice to be able to ride to the hills and in an hours derive be in the mountains. We also have a direct ferry to mainland Europe.

TJ, don't be so Edinburgh-centric! North and South Downs has some fantastic riding on it, very varied. OK in winter it can be a claggy nightmare but then the Pentlands isn't exactly any better most of the year now is it?

Certainly from S.London you can be off-road within a couple of miles (urban parks etc) and into proper countryside outside of Croydon within 40 mins.
From central London I'd jump on a train, get off at Dorking, Reigate, Crawley, Guildford, Box Hill – endless possibilities. Or out to Martins Heron for Swinley Forest, that's an hour or so by train from Waterloo. In fact we used to do that as a nightride – get the first train out after rush hour, ride Swinley then get the last train back at about 11pm. Penshurst Off-Road Club is about 30 miles south (an hours drive), that has regular short-course DH and dual-slalom races as well as being an excellent little venue for general riding.

I did more racing and riding living in London than I've managed anywhere else – Herne Hill velodrome runs Monday and Wednesday races through summer as well as training sessions. Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, Crystal Palace Circuit and the (now gone) Eastway Circuit had races 2 or 3 weeknights and at weekends there was always a Gorrick MTB or a Surrey League road race etc. Plus the easy access to loads of MTBing.

Edinburgh has the Pentlands and a couple of other local-ish bits otherwise it's a drive out anywhere else…

Edinburgh may have less rain than London, but yours is freezing and comes in sideways off the North Sea.

I wouldn't recommend London as a dream cycling location though. In fact, I'm moving from here to Leeds in a year or so now I'm not tied down for work.

If I could live anywhere it'd probably be the Lakes, god I love the riding there! But got to be near in-laws – and being on the dry side of the Pennines will also be nice.

Near Chester.

North Wales is on your door step as is some great local riding.

Mid Wales no more than 1.5 hours, peaks an hour, lakes 1.5-2 hours depending on where you go.

Bloody loverly part of the world, if a little pricey sometimes

Pennines between the Peaks and the Dales.

Leeds, Calderdale, Rossendale, Skipton.

Superb trails, close to Manchester, Leeds for works.

Ticks all the boxes for me.

Fair point crazy legs – although there is a lot more than the pentlands around here.

What I was getting exasperated about was the comparison – I can ride to the Pentlands ( where I have open access to lots of trails of all sorts- 70 + miles of them)- you have to drive or get a train to the london equivalent.

That hours drive takes me to the tweed valley or stirling way where there is lots of good riding of all sorts. Another hour and I am in the heart of the mountsins

The comparison of the riding available between london and Edinburgh is laughable. In London you have to drive or train to get to any worthwhile riding – I can ride offroad to the hills

If I drive or train I can get to riding that simply is not available within hundreds of miles of London

Peebles, Milngavie, Edinburgh. In that order.

Fair comment we do get territorial don't we!

All this talk has made me want to go for a ride tonight which is always good!

I don't live near Edinburgh but I have considered moving up there to be nearer the riding and proper mountains. I honestly can't imagine anyone moving to London for the riding – I'm sure there is some nice stuff down there but I can't see how it could compare really.

Mint sauce likes it!

Surrey, Scotland, Lakes – all have their plus points, unfortunately Vancouver beats them all put together!

For all round quality of life, including biking, Edinburgh ticks all the boxes. I'm a 2 minute ride from the Pentlands, 30 minute drive to Glentress, and in two hours on a Saturday morning I can be in the middle of the Cairngorms.

Edinburgh also has enough restaurants, pubs, theatres, cinemas etc to keep anyone amused. Oh, and you get to see a world class rugby side (well, they were for 80 minutes last Saturday I guess).