Best place to live / ride?
Discussion
KTMsm said:
I'd rule out Switerland (and Oz and NZ) because of their horrific speeding fines
Those saying they're only a problem if you go 30+km over - do you even ride a bike ?
Just back from France, they're ok until you go 50km over - which is still harsh when you look around and see there's no one to hit on 99% of the roads you'd want to speed on
OZ, and probably NZ too, are so harsh on speeding because a cop there openly admitted they'd lost the war on drink driving and it was about damage limitation. I was at a wedding there and people were openly shocked that I wasn't drinking because I was driving. Also, I'd rather drink lemonade than their pig's piss lager and drain cleaner wine. Those saying they're only a problem if you go 30+km over - do you even ride a bike ?
Just back from France, they're ok until you go 50km over - which is still harsh when you look around and see there's no one to hit on 99% of the roads you'd want to speed on
France the locals always give you a good flash and there are speed camera signs. If you still get caught you were either taking this piss or not paying attention.
scunnylad said:
Forgot you lived round here, Was in Amcotts yesterday at a mate's who collects Garelli's
There was a pub there that was destroyed when Flixbourgh blew up in 1975. We used to go there after it was rebuilt, it sold great Ice Cream and a good play area, the Parents would have a few drinks there while myself and sister No1 would play on the swings, slides and whatever.There were a few lads had Garelli's, AP's, Fizzy's and I think a Fantic. I was always hanging around, asking them dumb questions etc. I would have been 9 or 10 years old, they looked like grown men to me. Little did I realise they were just spotty 16 years olds.
Did your mate live in Garthorpe or does he know anyone from there?
UK: probably somewhere in England on the Scottish border
World: Northern Spain, the Asturias region. I've toured all over Europe by motorbike several times, that was my favourite. You've got the Picos easily accessible, great food and drink, and very few Brits on the Piss at tacky all day fun pubs.
You can can easily drop down into Portugal where my personal view was that you have the best riding tarmac in Europe and pretty much zero chance of seeing any Plod. The roads off the beaten track there are truly epic for riding.
I last went a few years ago, as I was riding there I thought of how pleasant it would be to retire there but Brexit has rather pissed on those chips so I will likely end up somewhere where it rains half the year. My wife and son (Irish ancestry) have EU passports, alas I don't qualify, so every time I see Nigel f
king Farage's smug mug on TV I am reminded that I cannot do this.
World: Northern Spain, the Asturias region. I've toured all over Europe by motorbike several times, that was my favourite. You've got the Picos easily accessible, great food and drink, and very few Brits on the Piss at tacky all day fun pubs.
You can can easily drop down into Portugal where my personal view was that you have the best riding tarmac in Europe and pretty much zero chance of seeing any Plod. The roads off the beaten track there are truly epic for riding.
I last went a few years ago, as I was riding there I thought of how pleasant it would be to retire there but Brexit has rather pissed on those chips so I will likely end up somewhere where it rains half the year. My wife and son (Irish ancestry) have EU passports, alas I don't qualify, so every time I see Nigel f
king Farage's smug mug on TV I am reminded that I cannot do this. 
Marquezs Stabilisers said:
France the locals always give you a good flash and there are speed camera signs. If you still get caught you were either taking this piss or not paying attention.
There were no locals, everywhere was deserted / shutThere were speed camera signs but they were everywhere and said "speed cameras for the next 50km" which doesn't really help !
Biker's Nemesis said:
There was a pub there that was destroyed when Flixbourgh blew up in 1975. We used to go there after it was rebuilt, it sold great Ice Cream and a good play area, the Parents would have a few drinks there while myself and sister No1 would play on the swings, slides and whatever.
There were a few lads had Garelli's, AP's, Fizzy's and I think a Fantic. I was always hanging around, asking them dumb questions etc. I would have been 9 or 10 years old, they looked like grown men to me. Little did I realise they were just spotty 16 years olds.
Did your mate live in Garthorpe or does he know anyone from there?
Ingleby arms,still there.There were a few lads had Garelli's, AP's, Fizzy's and I think a Fantic. I was always hanging around, asking them dumb questions etc. I would have been 9 or 10 years old, they looked like grown men to me. Little did I realise they were just spotty 16 years olds.
Did your mate live in Garthorpe or does he know anyone from there?
He grew up in Garthorpe,Ian Ritchie is his name,he'll be 61 now,sister a bit younger called Karen
srob said:
East Anglia's good. Statistically it's the driest place in the UK (although it's not felt like it the last couple of weeks 
), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here.
Nice coast to head to as well
East Anglia, particularly the Fens, is a s), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here. Nice coast to head to as well
te place to ride. Stay away....please.Tbirdpete said:
srob said:
East Anglia's good. Statistically it's the driest place in the UK (although it's not felt like it the last couple of weeks ), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here.
Nice coast to head to as well
East Anglia, particularly the Fens, is a s), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here. Nice coast to head to as well
te place to ride. Stay away....please.srob said:
Tbirdpete said:
srob said:
East Anglia's good. Statistically it's the driest place in the UK (although it's not felt like it the last couple of weeks ), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here.
Nice coast to head to as well
East Anglia, particularly the Fens, is a s), plus it's quiet. I had a mate come up who lives on the south west coast for a bike event and he couldn't believe how quiet the back roads are round here. Nice coast to head to as well
te place to ride. Stay away....please.That said, living in West Suffolk (not far from you I think Si), I'd say the roads are, in general, OK, with a few that might be described as good. Overall, it's too flat, the roads are generally a little too narrow and the hedges are too high to give good sight lines. If you want roads that are excellent then I think you have to leave East Anglia.
black-k1 said:
Absolutely!
That said, living in West Suffolk (not far from you I think Si), I'd say the roads are, in general, OK, with a few that might be described as good. Overall, it's too flat, the roads are generally a little too narrow and the hedges are too high to give good sight lines. If you want roads that are excellent then I think you have to leave East Anglia.
Sounds perfect for a vintage bike That said, living in West Suffolk (not far from you I think Si), I'd say the roads are, in general, OK, with a few that might be described as good. Overall, it's too flat, the roads are generally a little too narrow and the hedges are too high to give good sight lines. If you want roads that are excellent then I think you have to leave East Anglia.
Yeah I'm in West Suffolk too, but we tend to head up on the really small roads up around North Norfolk out to the coast more. Guess there is no single answer as it's largely dependent on what kind of bike you ride as to what you want from a perfect road.
Ken_Code said:
I’m fortunate in that we have a home in Northumberland and one near Pau, so I get the good roads in both.
I still possibly think that Northern Scotland has better riding roads, although not for as many days each year as Northumberland does.
I'm envious of your Pau home, love the area. Right next to the Pyrenees which I love (either side of the border), and an easy trip along the Santander coast towards the Picos Europas or up the coast of the Bay of Biscay. We've seriously considered moving there but family has tied us to the UK for a few more years.I still possibly think that Northern Scotland has better riding roads, although not for as many days each year as Northumberland does.
I think you've got it right too in the UK, although I think you're on the wrong side of the border. Here in the Scottish Borders, as well as our own beautiful area we've got easy access to all your Northumberland roads, but also across into East Lothian and, going the other way, across in to the wonderfully unknown Dumfries and Galloway
Desiderata said:
I'm envious of your Pau home, love the area. Right next to the Pyrenees which I love (either side of the border), and an easy trip along the Santander coast towards the Picos Europas or up the coast of the Bay of Biscay. We've seriously considered moving there but family has tied us to the UK for a few more years.
I think you've got it right too in the UK, although I think you're on the wrong side of the border. Here in the Scottish Borders, as well as our own beautiful area we've got easy access to all your Northumberland roads, but also across into East Lothian and, going the other way, across in to the wonderfully unknown Dumfries and Galloway
It’s where my wife’s from. Sadly now that our eldest is in school I don’t get to spend much time cycling up into the mountains there.I think you've got it right too in the UK, although I think you're on the wrong side of the border. Here in the Scottish Borders, as well as our own beautiful area we've got easy access to all your Northumberland roads, but also across into East Lothian and, going the other way, across in to the wonderfully unknown Dumfries and Galloway
nismocat said:
Krikkit said:
Two that spring to mind are IoM first and foremost.
Have you even been to IOM when it's not sunny?It is a miserable, wet, cold and windy hole.
nismocat said:
Your second choice is not much better, 20mph limits?!
Hardly the end of the world when there's mile after mile of lovely A-roads, and of a weekday evening basically deserted as well. It's an interesting observation from someone living in Oz where the speed Nazis rival Switzerland...Moulder said:
Purely location in the UK; Bradford. Surrounded by Peak District, Yorkshire Dales/Moors, Lake District, and The Borders. To add a quality of life element Harrogate or York.
In the world, similar to Bradford; Florence. Italy, Sardinia, Corsica easy(ish), lots of other bits of Europe comparatively not far away.
This is not a sentence I ever thought I would hear In the world, similar to Bradford; Florence. Italy, Sardinia, Corsica easy(ish), lots of other bits of Europe comparatively not far away.
In the UK, I would probably go up around the Broads area. Relatively flat, lots of water to ride alongside and plenty of places to stop for an ice cream.
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