Gixxerman
Guru
- Location
- Market Rasen
As winter is getting here and the bad weather, I decided that I needed a second bike for winter training.
My main bike is a Trek 7.3FX hybrid that gets a lot of use but is kept in very clean.
So a second bike. I decide that a MTB was the way to go as that would open up a few more options like the odd off-road.
So I spotted a Trek 7400 on these forums in good nick and the deal was done.
So I decided today to do an off-raod course.
The route I planned was about 25 miles consisting of bridleways and public footpaths.
Things I noticed.
1) Bridlesways are mostly ok for biking. Public footpaths are not - They tend to be too narrow, overpopulated by gates / styles and a lot of them have ploughed up by the farmers. Had to ride over a least 2 ploughed fields today.
2) How much harder it is riding off-road. I have done 100 mile rides and the road including some quite big hills. But off-roading is hard work even on the flat.
3) A need some knobbys. Going up hills just resulted in copious amounts of wheel spin and an eventual full stop and get off a walk.
4) It doesn't hurt as much if you can't unclip fast enough and fall off. Grass is softer than road.
5) Nettle stings hurt for many hours.
6) You get dirty.
So what are the best tracks / ways to use for off-road biking?
Are their any better maps for planning routes other than the OS ones I currently use?
Anybody got any good routes in the Market Rasen area?
My main bike is a Trek 7.3FX hybrid that gets a lot of use but is kept in very clean.
So a second bike. I decide that a MTB was the way to go as that would open up a few more options like the odd off-road.
So I spotted a Trek 7400 on these forums in good nick and the deal was done.
So I decided today to do an off-raod course.
The route I planned was about 25 miles consisting of bridleways and public footpaths.
Things I noticed.
1) Bridlesways are mostly ok for biking. Public footpaths are not - They tend to be too narrow, overpopulated by gates / styles and a lot of them have ploughed up by the farmers. Had to ride over a least 2 ploughed fields today.
2) How much harder it is riding off-road. I have done 100 mile rides and the road including some quite big hills. But off-roading is hard work even on the flat.
3) A need some knobbys. Going up hills just resulted in copious amounts of wheel spin and an eventual full stop and get off a walk.
4) It doesn't hurt as much if you can't unclip fast enough and fall off. Grass is softer than road.
5) Nettle stings hurt for many hours.
6) You get dirty.
So what are the best tracks / ways to use for off-road biking?
Are their any better maps for planning routes other than the OS ones I currently use?
Anybody got any good routes in the Market Rasen area?