Car-borne cycling trips.

[Globalti]

Who does this? We live 4 miles away from our no 1 cycling buddy who lives near a major crossroads in the Ribble valley, from where you can depart in three completely different directions and there's ample parking in his street. Also he is several hundred feet lower than us in altitude so we generally slip the bikes into the car, drive down, ride, then drive back, which avoids the climb back home on tired legs on a nasty main road in the dark with traffic blasting past. Some purists may sneer at this but avoiding those 7 to 8 unpleasant miles makes the actual ride much more enjoyable.

Now he's recovering from a crash and GtiJunior of this parish has glandular fever so for a few weeks I'm going to be riding alone from time to time. There's nothing I enjoy more than exploring new areas on the bike so this is a good opportunity for me to drive to places then ride and drive back. I'm planning a route starting in Settle and looping round the Dales next weekend - sure, I can ride to Settle and back and sometimes do but I find the actual ride much more enjoyable if I haven't already done 15 miles with another 15 to get back home. Some time before the end of summer I plan to drive up the M6 to Langwathby and ride Hartside Summit very early before the motorbikes get out then ride the private road up to Cross Fell and I certainly wouldn't want to attempt that with 50 miles in my legs and another 50 to go back! In the past we have done some cracking Dales rides from Settle using the Settle to Carlisle line to get out or back, depending on wind direction. A linear ride with a train trip somewhere new feels much more like an adventure and GtiJunior enjoys those.

Do others do this? Is it mentioned in the book of rules? Do others get bored with riding the same old roads time after time?

 

[Vantage]

At one time I did sneer at those who drove their bikes somewhere to have a ride. My thoughts at the time were that these lazy forkers could ride from home to their destination, do their ride and then ride home. I'd only ever had my bike transported for a ride once and it was to Hope in the Peak District along with a bunch of cycling buddies. It was nice to go somewhere...different. Had a really nice day on the full susser.
20 or so years later my attitude is different. Yep, I do get bored of the same old roads which are rapidly filling up with motorists looking for a break from busy roads thus making these once quiet back roads...busy. The irony.
I have a rather posh Thule bike carrier that my dad gave me but it's yet to be used. I even mention "Lets go for a ride" and Pam turns a shade of green. Train services are crap. Looks like I'm stuck till I eventually tour........someday.

 

[I like Skol]

I don't quite understand your question. Does it bother you using the car to access rides that you want to do? If it does bother you then maybe you need to think again. If it doesn't bother you then carry on, why does it matter what other people think or do?

I have a healthy mix. Most of my rides are commutes, so naturally start from home. The rest are leisure rides and are a mix of riding from home or loading up the car to get to the start point or an MTB trail centre, whatever is required at the time really. As long as you get out on rides you enjoy that is all that is important.

 

[vickster]

Not car but I often return by train. As I did yesterday

Thursday ride buddy and I will be taking train somewhere and then doing a ride in uncharted territory (gleaned from cycle-route.com)

I suppose we could drive but prefer the train to take the strain as they say

 

[Tailendman]

Avoiding nasty roads is a good reason to carry the bike by car. Turn your commute into a free workout session, by driving part of the way and cycling the rest, preferrably on an off road route. Milton Keynes now has a Park and Pedal. It can be cycled without crossing any major routes from 3 miles out to the city centre, and the

parking is free!

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I am in my second season of Audax. So a complete newbie. Normally I have been driving down to events, but I am now making an effort to ride to the start unless it is really a long way away. But one of our Club recently rode over 300km to the start and then did a 1000km event. And rode home again. It really adds a different dynamic and ethos to the whole ride.

 

[Lonestar]

Some purists may sneer at this but avoiding those 7 to 8 unpleasant miles makes the actual ride much more enjoyable.

No not me,the cretins have won...I avoid the idiots as much as I can.

 

[nickyboy]

Who cares?

It's a nice change when I need to drive to, say, pick the bike up from the LBS and start my ride from there instead of home

Lets me do some roads I don't usually get to ride

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've used the car a couple of times to get to the start of a ride, use the train a fair bit as well to get home after a ride.

 

[screenman]

Leave the Garmin on when the bike is in the car, makes the ride look impressive.

 

[Spinney]

Leave the Garmin on when the bike is in the car, makes the ride look impressive.

Last time I did that by accident, Strava wouldn't let me upload it until I'd edited out the car bit!
To the OP - yes, all the time!

 

[tribanjules]

Yup I do car quite often. Drive to peak District from brum for s great day out.
Trained to great Malvern last Saturday then cycled back.
I find it opens up way more opportunities

 

[Serge]

Who does this? We live 4 miles away from our no 1 cycling buddy who lives near a major crossroads in the Ribble valley, from where you can depart in three completely different directions and there's ample parking in his street. Also he is several hundred feet lower than us in altitude so we generally slip the bikes into the car, drive down, ride, then drive back, which avoids the climb back home on tired legs on a nasty main road in the dark with traffic blasting past. Some purists may sneer at this but avoiding those 7 to 8 unpleasant miles makes the actual ride much more enjoyable.

Now he's recovering from a crash and GtiJunior of this parish has glandular fever so for a few weeks I'm going to be riding alone from time to time. There's nothing I enjoy more than exploring new areas on the bike so this is a good opportunity for me to drive to places then ride and drive back. I'm planning a route starting in Settle and looping round the Dales next weekend - sure, I can ride to Settle and back and sometimes do but I find the actual ride much more enjoyable if I haven't already done 15 miles with another 15 to get back home. Some time before the end of summer I plan to drive up the M6 to Langwathby and ride Hartside Summit very early before the motorbikes get out then ride the private road up to Cross Fell and I certainly wouldn't want to attempt that with 50 miles in my legs and another 50 to go back! In the past we have done some cracking Dales rides from Settle using the Settle to Carlisle line to get out or back, depending on wind direction. A linear ride with a train trip somewhere new feels much more like an adventure and GtiJunior enjoys those.

Do others do this? Is it mentioned in the book of rules? Do others get bored with riding the same old roads time after time?

All sounds eminently sensible to me.

 

[Brandane]

Another here who likes the convenience of the car to travel further afield for rides as I get bored doing the same old local routes all the time.
I am also fortunate in that I live within a few hundred yards of a train station with an hourly service to Glasgow. There are a multitude of options along the line for getting off and cycling home - or vice versa depending on wind direction.

 

[Donger]

Given the time constraints imposed by real life, I have now done just about every ride I could possibly have done from home. Many of them I have done many, many times. So yes, it is great to drive down the road a bit to start a ride from somewhere different every now and again. Not knowing what is just around the next corner is one of the best things about going out on a ride, so it is great to explore further afield. I won't use trains though - until the rail companies change their pricing structure and stop taking us for mugs with 20 different fares for the same journey and having to pay top whack if you pay on the day.