I've sent a message to Calum so he might get in touch with you later. You need to keep an eye on your Personal Messages or PMs to see if anybody is trying to contact you.
If you are looking for relaxed rides and friendly people, then heading out east towards York way might be your best bet. As you head west from Leeds to here it is very hilly. The only easy roads are the busy main roads so they aren't very relaxing!
I've met some of the York CycleChat riders. I'm sure that they'd be happy to take you along with them on some of their rides. You'd need to catch the train to York unless someone from Leeds could give you a lift.
It might be an idea to check out some of the cycling clubs in Leeds. In most big cities there are a few clubs. Some will be hard core racing clubs, but others more relaxed. Ask around at bike shops in the city, they should be able to give you information.
To be honest Darren, it might take you about a year to build up to the sort of rides we are doing. I'm assuming that you haven't done many long rides yet? There's no rush. If you build up your distance through to the summer, perhaps you'd be able to come along and enjoy yourself. It's good to push your boundaries, but only so far in one go. You don't want to find yourself 20 miles from the station and unable to pedal another mile!
MTBs (mountain bikes) are not great for doing long rides on roads. You can do them, but they will be much harder than if you were on a road bike. If you could afford to get a road bike, that's what I'd do. If you were buying new, I'd spend at least £300 because that is the kind of price where you start to get reasonable quality parts.
If you can't spend much, I would consider getting a used road bike. If you do that - make sure you don't buy one which is stolen (ask for proof of purchase). Also make sure that it isn't a heap of junk. You could put an ad in the wanted section on CycleChat. Lots of us have old bikes which we don't ride any more. I gave mine to a guy from Leeds in exchange for him buying me lunch! You might get lucky and pick up a bargain.
If money is extremely tight, then you will have to stick with your MTB but you should at least replace the knobbly tyres with 'slicks' (tyres with no tread). They roll a lot better than knobblies do so they will be much better to ride on the road. Something like
these.
Forget buses - there are very few that will let you take a non-folding bike onboard. MTBs or standard road bikes - no!
Most trains will allow bikes onboard. All the big mainline trains need a reservation and they have limited spaces so so you should book your ticket in advance (you can often save money if you book a few weeks in advance). The small 'sprinter' type trains that run between Leeds and Hebden Bridge do not require a reservation, you just hop on board with your bike. There is usually a small bike compartment on both types of train. Look out for the bike symbol by the doors on the carriage which has that compartment.
Well, riding obviously is the answer! The best way is to do plenty of shorter rides rather than one long ride every now and then. Long rides are good too. If 10 miles is ok for you but 20 miles is hard, try and do a few 10 mile rides during the week and a 20 at the weekend. Those are just numbers that I made up - if 10 miles & 20 are too much, do 5 & 10. If 10 & 20 are too easy, try 15 & 30, or 20 & 40. Just build up steadily. If you find yourself tired before a ride, perhaps you need a rest. Take the day off the bike and let your legs recover.
Having company helps. Sometimes, the weather isn't great and you can't be bothered to go out by yourself. Have you got any mates with bikes that you could ride with?
Having somewhere interesting to go also helps. Check out the online cycle route websites. There are quite a few of them. They will let you search for routes around Leeds. I use
Bikely.
). I also play guitar!
