Durham, can walk into the centre of town in 20 minutes. Some great riding in the area. Love it here, although after living in Manchester, Mid Wales and Bristol, the place I really miss is Mid Wales. Spent 2 years living in a run-down farmhouse a couple of miles from Nant y Moch and given the chance, I'd move back there tomorrow

Aviemore. Moved 18 months ago after living mostly in, or very near, Edinburgh.

I'm having a sort of second "childhood" with mountains, forests and lochs on my doorstep so I can walk, climb, cycle, paddle, ski without having to travel very far. It's a small community that's very friendly and doesn't mind incomers. It's also within easy driving distance of all the wilderness areas of Scotland.

^^^ like he says

Pretty much next to Heathrow airport.

It's alright if you like lots of big planes

Fantasticmrmatt wrote:Pretty much next to Heathrow airport.

It's alright if you like lots of big planes

I used to live in Manchester, on a weekly basis I would ride out to Manchester Airport and watch the planes take off. One of my favorite 'secret' spots would be the footpath/bat tunnel that went underneath both runways

East Devon for the past 2.5 years, after 16 years in London. Grew up here, great to be in the countryside, but it's still relatively densely populated, mostly by geriatric tories, so somewhere more rural would be nice. Lots of good ride, as long as you don't mind mud and steep hills. Barely any mountain bikers around here.

Edinburgh with a family seat in fife i would live anywhere tjat ibterested me but scotlands access laws really do make it a special place

Lived in Ayrshire for 10 years. .. its ok I guess, affordable housing and good transport links. I've got Galloway Forest/hills and Arran on by doorstep with the highlands just a couple of hours away.

Lughnasadh wrote:Another Scot here, on the edge of Dundee. Nice balance between access to civilisation and remote rides. Also got great road rides on my doorstep.
Can any of you fifers suggest over night routes on your side of the Tay? Never strayed that way yet!

Fife coastal path has the makings of a nice two three dayer i reckon. Not exactly wild but good cruise with varying terrain.

Loads of places to pitch camp. But my pick would be the hidden lookout post at elie.

North London - 400m from a tube station but on the edge of the green belt. No great riding from the front door, but there's a couple of options and there's a brilliant park where I cycle with the dog on a 3 mile loop

Cycle to work is 16 miles each way, once a week on average

I love where I live, not enough hills, rugged areas or off road bits, but I can all the amenities I could ever need and my family are all nearby

I live in SW London. Been here for 6 years.

I do enjoy living 30 min cycle from her majesty, but I'd prefer to be 30 min cycle to the countryside - it's more interesting. It's an hours drive for me to get anywhere worth riding.

Longing to find the perfect job that gets me somewhere a bit more rural. For now I'm happy enough here.

I live on the Wirral, quite ok'ish for local "gentle/cafe" riding from the front door but I'm lucky to have North Wales, Cheshire and the Peaks all within easy reach by car.

Being a peninsula it's got a lot of beaches which are great for my fatbike plus my in-laws live in Crosby (Liverpool) which is just 30mins away and I ride up the coast with JohnClimber quite a lot.

I live in Fincham in Norfolk. I'm mid way between Downham Market and Swaffham, with King's Lynn, just 20 mins away. Also only a short drive or 35 minutes on the train from Cambridge, where I grew up. London is only an hour and 20 minutes on the train.
Properties cheap, but there isn't a huge amount of well paid work in the area.

Theftford is 20 minutes away and there is plenty of bridle ways, droves, gravel paths etc for riding and you can feel pretty remote in no time. Loads of good wild camping opportunities and the North Norfolk Coast isn't far.

I love it, I can't think of many other places that I'd like to live.

Lived in a few places. Have settled in Otley, on the edge of Nidderdale AONB. Great riding on my doorstep, plenty of opportunity for type 2 fun.

Ebbw vale -centre of the known universe, well it is for me as I work in either Cardiff, Swansea or Bristol - everywhere seems to be an easy 45-60 mins drive. On the upside I'm on the south eastern border of the Brecon Beacons and NCR 46 is at the garden gate. Great off and on road rides. Downside is that any ride from the house of more than 20 miles usually means 800-1200ft height gain in the last few miles to get home...

Just in the northern suburbs of Washington DC. The Mrs and I live in a nice area with quiet little roads close by, a mile to a metro stop so if we want to go into DC for supper or such, it's easy to do.
A surprising amount of single track only a 20 minute car ride away and if one wanted to (and I'm going to give it a go this spring) you could connect some cycle paths with some single track, then hit the
C & O canal and the multitude of free camping there, straight from home. I'm just getting back into the MTB world after being into Audax for almost 10 years, so bike packing seems a nice way to get back into things.

If you'd asked me 10 years ago if I would like living in the states, I'd probably say no, but after being here for almost 5 years here in Maryland, I'm quite happy here.

sheff (just round the corner from mark and fitzy).

love it (although now bored of winter and the cold tbh!)

constantly amazed by how stunning it is - LIKE!

Chilterns. On a cold morning when I get out for an hour's ride before work, or have a good 6hrs plus or all weekend to ride I love it - fun singletracks that are perfect rigid SS terrain from my doorstep (50 yards away to be more accurate).and options for varying loops stretching across to the other end of the Ridgeway. Riding aside it's a nice place to be but I could move away tomorrow without missing too much about it.

North Wales - near the mountains and sea - nice place to bring up kids, good biking, beaches, 10 minutes from the office....

In the Emmental. Yes, where the famous holey cheese comes from. The village of Konolfingen is not exactly cute but very practical, surrounded by rolling hills ideal for after work rides and less than an hour by train from the really big stuff (Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau and the other lumps). Switzerland is full of cable cars, buses, trains, funi's, boats etc. I'm 33 and still don't have a driving license. That's how good the public transport is. Many think life is expensive, but wages are high. There's nothing to be proud about, but I do love living here and feel privileged. BUT, no sea and hardly a wilderness.
Aaand no distilleries (well we do actually have 3 or so), no chippies and for a crude statement; mentality of swiss isn't on par with that of many many UK residents...

Residents of The Kingdom - where do you ride? I often find myself around St Andrews for a few days, but I have always considered East Fife the dullest part of Scotland for trail riding! What am I missing???

Bristol - reasonable sized city, lots going on, independent shops, bike routes, Roll for the Soul, Sustrans etc, etc. We don't own a car but Severn Beach railway gives a springboard out to the Severn plain and beyond, and a train from Parkway gets me to Abergavenny and the Black Mountains in under an hour. Work is currently a 20 minute ride away.

Rush hour traffic is terrible, even on a bike, and the buses only just starting to improve with swipe cards planned and maybe a Metro sometime. Property prices are bonkers for anyone starting off, and after a weekend in the wilds of Mid Wales or a beach in North Devon It seems like a far too busy place !

Dorking in Surrey. It's a nice little town and there is an enormous amount of top-quality riding in the surprisingly beautiful surrounding area. The down side is that it's expensive and busy and I waste three hours a day commuting to London. It's also a fair way away from anywhere properly remote or mountainous.

North Shropshire, Shropshire Gold Ale. Buzzards, Kestrals and Sparrow Hawks in the garden. Work from home with view over fields, so have forgotten what traffic or congestion is like, although have to be in London occasionally (like right now), which is actually only 2hrs 40mins by train from little station 5 mins walk from home, good time to read or do some work. Long Mynd (Batch Valley on a Spring or Autumn Evening), Stiperstones, Cannock, Wales etc all close. Nice school for the kids. Good local food.

A bit limited on "cultural" excitement (I used to DJ at all night parties in London), but I think I made the right choice.....

Live in the White Peak nr Monyash. Great place but life needs planning, 4 mile round trip to pub and 15 mile roundtrip to a shop. We had a PO, shop and pub when we moved here,all gone now. Riding wise, it's OK, 10 mins to Pennine Bridleway and a short ride to do Chatsworth loop which is a good xc training ride. Work in the Hope Valley and all the riding that's available there.