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I have a week off work in September with the express plan of taking my still reasonably newish Whyte G150 to a national park and using it to drag myself up and throw myself down some of the scenery. The main limitation is that I live in London and don't have instant access to a car. I could hire one, but I prefer to travel by train if possible.
The main frontrunner at the moment is to get the train to Northallerton and then cycle the 23 miles to the Dales Bike Centre, stay there a few days, then head back home again. However if anyone has some awesomely bright ideas I'd appreciate it.
Sleeper to Fort William?
As above, Fort William or Aviemore by train or if that's too expensive, chuck it in a bike bag and get the overnight coach from London Victoria. It's a miserable coach trip but functional and only £50 return.
Train to lakes and then some of the buses take bikes.
Haven't used them myself but have read about it.
I spent a fair amount of time in the Lakes when I was at uni in Lancaster, so while I know that they're both gorgeous and amazing I'm up for something a little different.
Sleeper to Fort William sounds very interesting, I've never been further north than Edinburgh. I assume there are enough XC/Endurognarr trails in the vicinity to keep me occupied for a few days, and that there are cyclist friendly places to stay?
I once got an overnight coach from Lisbon to Paris (bloody Icelandic volcano...), so will be splashing out on the train I think...
Train to Newport (2 hrs), change for Gloucester, get out at Lydney & you're in the Forest of Dean.
or change at Newport for Abergavenny. 25 mins, & you're at the foot of the Brecons.
Dales Bike Centre would work for me - Stuart is a great guy, the centre is great, and the riding is all right from the door.
The only thing stopping me from going straight for the Dales Bike Centre is the 23 mile ride from Northallerton. Not an insurmountable obstacle obviously, but one I could live without. Of course if the riding is worth it then maybe I should just apply rule 5...