I'm struggling to think of any cities in the north that don't have any decent riding less than an hours drive away.
Recent years for me have been a couple of rides per week in general one evening/night ride midweek and a either a ride early doors on a Sunday or the very occasional day out to the Peaks, Cannock or similar.
This winter though, the night rides never started as everything in the "local" has been sodden since October. Sunday rides with the exception of 1 have been on the Gravel bike.
Having a dog that needs quite a bit of exercise, which invariably means muddy dog/boots/clothes (the latter from other peoples dogs jumping up) means my tolerance for muddy mtb kit is defo lower than pre-dog.
I am fortunate to get in a lot of riding (plus a bit of running), but a 'proper' ride is less frequent. I usually manage 3-6 rides per week, but most are 1-2 hours.
Great riding from the door, to suit a range of bikes (gravel, road, HT, FS) and weather conditions. And excellent riding within an hour's drive.
Typically, through the week, I'll do some version/mix of the following (not all of it, every week)
- post breakfast/pre-work ride once a week, usially gravel/MTB, 1-1.5 hours
- commute once per week (straight in, longer route home), usually gravel bike
- lunch ride/trail run once per week, 1-1.5 hours
- night ride with a mate or 2, 2-3 hours riding then a couple of beers (not every week, works out every 2-3 weeks). In the summer, train/drive out to ride is doable on occasion.
- ride on a Friday (my NWD) ... when I can, it'll be 2-4 hours, but currently elderley-parents-life-admin is taking precedence
- ride/run (1hr 15) on a Sunday morning whilst my parents are at church.
- longer weekend ride (half/two-thirds of a day) about once every 4-6 weeks.
Key to all of this is:
- variety of bikes (SS HT and gravel bike with full mudguards make winter slop possible)
- planning - check the weather regularly, negotiate with family, book with mates
- prepare bike/gear ... choose the appropriate bike and get it ready in advance, lights charged & on the bike, shoes/boots/helmet/bumbag etc can all be got together in advance, so when your riding window arrives, you can be out of the door within a few minutes.
- life admin/domestic stuff - get these done when you can. I do washing, ironing, hoovering, DIY etc in the evenings instead of vegging in front of the TV.
So, I'm pretty fortunate overall. Work is flexible enough for me to WFH 2/3 days per week, and when I do commute, there's decent 'interesting' route options. Good trails from the door (a Northern English city). Kids are older (still need a lot of ferrying around). Wife is understanding and accommodating (she has her own running/riding/singing/guitar-playing interests too). I'd like to do more bigger rides, but that will come in time.
So the main issue is that you live a 3 hour round trip from decent riding?
More like 2 usually. Plus an hour of faff all in between loading the car, unloading and kitting up, cleaning and packing up, then unloading at home.
@bails on the first page has it worse!
I’m struggling to think of any cities in the north that don’t have any decent riding less than an hours drive away
There is just about. Sogginess and rights of way a bit limiting though. As someone said, I should prefer being out on an ok ride over being at home wishing I was doing an awesome one.
When I used to work Mon-Fri pre kids I'd be out one evening and most weekends. After kids it turned into the odd evening and an early ride on a Saturday or Sunday.
Kids both of school age now and I work shifts, weekend rides are very rare as this is valuable family time. But if I'm off through the week I usually manage a ride during school hours. Still have the odd evening ride to be sociable too.
As someone said, I should prefer being out on an ok ride over being at home wishing I was doing an awesome one.
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I always end up back at the intro to a W.H.Murray book, Mountaineering In Scotland I think, where he - a grizzled inter-war climber - recounts how he sets off alone on a foggy, unpromising morning from a valley campsite on, I think, Skye only to break through the clouds and find himself above a stunning inversion.
The lesson he takes from it is that if you don't get out there, you'll never know what an awesome day you might have missed. Meanwhile his friends have sat sulking under a blanket of fog.
So I try, not always successfully, to get out on a bike however unpromising things seem. Sometimes it is as crap as it appears it will be. Occasionally it turns out to be something amazing. But it's almost always better than I think and I'm happy to have been out. It helps that I can ride from my front door - I chose to live somewhere with decent riding - and that in some respects I have simple dog wiring and would happily chase sticks all day given the chance, but there's a lot to be said for not dwelling on reasons not to and just to get on with it.
And 'awesome' doesn't necessarily have to mean long or technical or particularly scenic. It can just be the sound of tyres buzzing on the trail. Or wet summer evening smells. Or getting to spend some quality time with a mate you haven't seen for a while. I try to think about what the ride is rather than what it isn't. It doesn't always work, but I rarely regret having left the house even when conditions are less than stellar.
That and I really hate DIY.
So I try, not always successfully, to get out on a bike however unpromising things seem. Sometimes it is as crap as it appears it will be. Occasionally it turns out to be something amazing. But it’s almost always better than I think and I’m happy to have been out. It helps that I can ride from my front door – I chose to live somewhere with decent riding – and that in some respects I have simple dog wiring and would happily chase sticks all day given the chance, but there’s a lot to be said for not dwelling on reasons not to and just to get on with it.
And ‘awesome’ doesn’t necessarily have to mean long or technical or particularly scenic. It can just be the sound of tyres buzzing on the trail. Or wet summer evening smells. Or getting to spend some quality time with a mate you haven’t seen for a while. I try to think about what the ride is rather than what it isn’t. It doesn’t always work, but I rarely regret having left the house even when conditions are less than stellar."
^^^^ This. Absolutely this.
