Help in planning mtb rides.

[blueST]

I'm pretty new to mountain biking and have never done much outdoorsy type stuff in the past. My mate lives near Derby, I live in Manchester and I want to meet him somewhere in between for a ride on the 20th. How do I choose a place and route that will give us a good full day out but won't be too gruelling as im not that fit? Don't mind some climbs for some good decants though.

[madbadger]

Easiest option is to get a peak district guide. The VG ones are very good.



The routes in them are 'day' rides but are graded for difficulty so you can find a suitable one.

[anonymous-user]

There are some published by Goldeneye too

http://www.goldeneyemaps.com/products.asp?category...

You can find them on amazon and ebay too

[Turbo5]

A bit further go to Gisburn forest its excellent.

[john_p]

Plan it on a site like bikehike too ! But you are best to start with established guides for routes, then branch off from there

[blueST]

JPJPJP said:

There are some published by Goldeneye too

http://www.goldeneyemaps.com/products.asp?category...

You can find them on amazon and ebay too

Just ordered the Peak District one as a starter. For the price it's got to be worth a punt. Thanks for the link.

[supertouring]

I find a lot of routes by searching some of the mapping sites, such as the Garmin Connect one.

Search for rides in the area you are looking for, which can be viewed in Google maps etc.

I often take sections from different rides and try and create a new route out of them.

[snotrag]

The Vertebrate Graphics books are brill - the Dark Peak book was very heavily used when I lived in Sheffield.

They do a free download of a sample route aswell I believe, perhaps if you sign up to their newsletter or something.

[Man-At-Arms]

blueST said:

but won't be too gruelling as im not that fit?

stay on the canals, they're flat you know !

[ewenm]

The old way of doing it was to buy the relevant OS maps (1:25000 and/or 1:50000) and look for the byways, green lanes and bridleways in conjunction with the contour lines.

[blueST]

blueST said:

JPJPJP said:

There are some published by Goldeneye too

http://www.goldeneyemaps.com/products.asp?category...

You can find them on amazon and ebay too

Just ordered the Peak District one as a starter. For the price it's got to be worth a punt. Thanks for the link.

Well, did the Bakewell route from the above map. Was about perfect for me, just tough enough but not demoralisingly so. Thanks for recommendation, has spurred me on to venture further afield.

[Parrot of Doom]

Where abouts in Manchester?

This is my regular ride:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ringley-Clift...

Although it changes daily, there's so many alternative routes around there.