njee - you should watch both the vids thru - woodsy singletrack at the end of both. Almost none of it was vehicle track ( except quads) - just multiple worn lines from walkers and cyclists.
Anyway that was just given as a demonstration of the average riding in the pentlands - not a particularly great spot just my local riding.
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-tbc-wednesday-night-ride-this-week-the-movie
Our club (TROG) build & ride trails in Tunstall Forest in Suffolk. Crap flat riding you say. No. It's not just about climbing & descending big hills (which I'm not knocking), nor is it about XC racing (which I don't do). It's about CREATING flowy, challenging, fun singletrack out of whatever terrain you have to work with. We do road trips to North Wales & Yorkshire & find that the skills & fitness we've built on our tight, twisty, pedally & technically demanding trails do us just fine when we have to climb for half an hour and descend a black run.
I'm a Yorkshireman by the way & I'd prefer to ride the big stuff any day of the week, but there's good stuff to be found everywhere.
Whatever you ride every week, you need to experience different trails & terrain to round your skills & keep the passion alive.
Mind you, arguing for your local trails is one thing. If I had no ties or commitments & could choose to up-sticks & move anywhere in the UK for it's riding, I'd choose The Independent State of Yorkshire (& sod the lot of you who say otherwise!)
Ok, watched all the first vid, CBA with the second one, there's no singletrack there, there's some woodland track at the end, it looks alright, but nothing better!
At the end of the day we're lucky that there's such riding variety in such a tiny area. In the US they have to fly a couple of thousand miles if they wanted a big change in their scenery!
You can just see a couple of bikers on the horizon negotiating some of our boring doubletrack 
Some more in this thread
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-me-your-epic-lakes-mountain-trail-pics#post-1565098
Southerners - could any of your rides be described as 'epic'? And I don't just mean long. 
No singletrack? I don't know how you define it then. 
As I said - those vids I merely mentioned to give some idea of the range of riding we have in the pentlands - which as anyone will tell you is OK but nothing special - its just our local riding.
You have the open moorland which is mainly what you see on that vid. There is lots of twisty woodsy singletrack - which you don't see the best of on that vid. there are built trails with berms and jumps, (Nibbler)
There is a lot of variety and good trails - but my point was that is not the best of around here - its just an average.
I can't believe this is still going - it's got more legs on it than the much-entertaining former religious argy-bargy thread...
I can't believe this is still running. It's got more legs on it than the vastly entertaining religious argy-bargy thread of fond memory...
Edit: Oops
"Southerners - could any of your rides be described as 'epic'?"
Not much "epic". Arguably a bad weather day on Dartmoor is epic. Otherwise I'm quite liking the "twee" description.
Bad rock music analogy: Northern riding is like stadium rock, Southern riding is like alternative rock
Njee - another vid for you. Not worth watching the whole thing perhaps as its not a great vid ( apologies to whoever filmed it) but it gives a flavour of some more of the local pentlands riding. Remember all teh pentladns is ridable to from the city - no car required
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ys4jUfqCqI
What makes a ride epic?
epic - very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary
Doing the Mega was pretty epic to me - there are a few bits of riding in the Lakes that remind me of some of that. Piddling around in some woods on a 50m high hill isn't quite as epic imo. 
There is a lot of variety and good trails - but my point was that is not the best of around here - its just an average.
Yes, and it looks it. You keep bigging up the 'local' thing, which is a bit daft, when a lot of riding in the South, which in my eyes beats the crap out of that, can be done in under an hour from central London, with no car.
I can't believe I've involved myself with this discussion, it's pointless! There's a massive variety of riding in a tiny area in the UK, as long as you like your local riding does it matter!?
my turn to join this pointless conversation.
I thought 'mountain' biking was about just going out and exploring (both terrain and your abilities) and hopefully having some fun on the way. Each ride brings something different.
I can't believe I've involved myself with this discussion, it's pointless!
I thought it was basically the thing known as 'banter'...
Njee. we are at cross purposes. I wasn't at anypoint trying to say my local riding was better. I was trying to show the variety of my local riding. I wouldn't claim this is the best riding in Scotland by a long way - but its less than ten miles from the city centre, has a variety of riding from woodsy singletrack to open moorland to built DH style tracks.
I don't think there is anything within an hour of London by bike that has the variety of riding.
Between 200 and 500m hills around here. But not epic in comparison with The Lakes. But then the Lakes are quite twee in comparison with The Highlands.
What makes a ride epic?
One that let's you delude yourself that you're 1000s of miles from civilisation in the 'back country'
I went riding in the Pentlands once - a long time ago. All I can remember is a ludicrously steep arse-on-the-back-tyre thrutch down a mountainside, where I was absolutely sure I was going over the bars and not hitting the ground for another 100m, and an absolutely brilliant balls-out super fast double track descent down a valley back to the burgh.
Riding's changed a bit since then of course, but it was fun nonetheless
Epic rides
and the rest of the installments
I don't think there is anything within an hour of London by bike that has the variety of riding
within 20-30 mins bike ride of my house (and easily an hour from SW London) I could make an all day route that took in Wisley jumps, miles of heathland trails, endless wooded singletrack, sandy lakeside, sharp rooty hills as techy as you like, bit of urban radness, and some cheeky woodwork.
Pretty much the only thing 'we' don't have is rocks - thing I personally don't like about the northern trails usually posted here is the big loooong, almost straight, treeless sections like Buzz's first picture.
I prefer not to be able to see further ahead than the next bend, have lots of gradient/surface changes and above all, trees - lots of them.
I ride for the riding not the scenic experience !!
Anyway, it seems like the northerners like their trails and we like ours so it's all good eh
Chalk counts as a rock HD so we have that covered too.
Till it gets mildly damp and completely frictionless.. it's practically a lubricant then.
IMO. The high moors of Dartmoor and Exmoor (my top pic) have something in common with northern moors. But all the singletrack infested wooded combes are more southern in character. Being on limestone and quite hilly, Mendip (lower pic) seems reminiscent of Derbyshire.
It's a compelling mix; we just lack epic, rocky mountains. The Brecon Beacons is the nearest riding for an epic feel - about 1.5 hours drive from Bristol.
Yep, the north has 'epic' fair enough.
Down south we have 'corners'
Pretty much the only thing 'we' don't have is rocks
Or mountains - as in 'mountain biking'.
Another point - singletrack is over rated imo - most of the time I'd rather have line choices and be able to do the same trail a slightly different way every time rather than just riding on a rail.
You're not riding the right singletrack then.
EDIT: You going to be at your brother's in July? Bring your bike and you can show me some 'mountain biking'
singletrack is over rated imo -
And underated IMO.
Which goes to show, yet again, it's all just opinion. Nowt more.
You can't beat surrey hills dusty singletrack on your home patch
you can't beat some epic rock fest in the Lakes on a sweet road trip.
I love both 
Those are my two favorite places to ride in England
I cant believe a thread with the topic title is 9 pages long.... I live in the heart of the Lakes, you cant tell me Southern riding is better.
Im not saying its bad just different but I know where I'd prefer to ride all year long....
the alps.
EDIT: You going to be at your brother's in July? Bring your bike and you can show me some 'mountain biking'
Yes and yes.
Ben Lomond is just down the road. Looks ok.
http://www.mbr.co.uk/routes/uk_trails/Riding_Ben_Lomond_Big_Mountains_gallery_article_286334.html
Nice. I'll definitely bring my new bike then!
All riding is good. I like all types of riding ( bar DH tracks)
I love the easy access to a huge variety of riding I can get within an hours riding of my home.
I don not believe that there are any places where the wide variety of riding can be ridden to from a city.
However some of the best riding I have ever done is down south. Partly for the intensity of it.
This thread is ace, its gone from North vs South to my local trail is better than yours.
I thought it was universally accepted that name "Mountain Bike" was pure marketing hype: "In 1979 Fisher and some partners started a company. They called it Mountain Bikes".
Nice. I'll definitely bring my new bike then!
Ooh what you got? Is it suitable for dull rocky doubletrack?
This topic has been closed to new replies.
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