View Full Version : Biking
I do alot of biking and find it a great way to travel around, you get great views and able to get to almost anywhere rather quickly.
It is also suitable, as my bike is only light, and it isn't hard work getting around, you can easily carry everything you need in your back-pack, then if you find a spot, just chain the bike to a tree and walk on!
Does anyone else bike? I like to think of it as the land Canoe - don't ask why, lol.
arctic hobo
08-05-2005, 14:15
It's my main mode of transport, as I don't drive and prefer not to pay for the bus. Occasionally I switch to my bike for training as well to give me a bit of variation. But for leisure I run, walk and climb. IMO you don't get the same closeness with a bike - and there are hundreds more places you can go on foot.
R-Bowskill
08-05-2005, 20:51
Havn't done any for a year or so, lost a couple of bikes when someone set my landlady's garage on fire which was a bit of a problem, seems the insurance policy didn't cover arson.
I used to have a great bike, did it out in an olive green and sand tigerstripe pattern, including the rims so I could lay it down in the grass and no one would nick it as they couldn't see it. Went all over with that until eventually it gave up the ghost 25 miles from home which was a long walk in the rain for me.
If you put two bikes together and throw a basha over them you've got a tent.
Yes they aren't as versatile as being on foot but they let you get to where you want to do your bushcraft alot faster than walking to the area. Once I've moved house I'll be getting a bike again so I can head out of the city every time I've got half a day off rather than needing a full day to make it worthwhile.
RovingArcher
08-05-2005, 21:53
I havn't done any serious 2 wheel peddling for 30 years or so, but have convinced myself that I really need a bike that'll cruise the roads as well as the backcountry trails.
I ride. In fact cycling is my main passion (and financial drain!).
Road bikes, cross bike, mountainbikes, I love'm all :D I don't drive so they are my main source of transport.
I don't like to leave them unattended so I don't tend to bushcraft by bike but they are excellent for foraging as you can hit many blackberry sites in a day. Great for mushroom hunting in the woods too.
R-Bowskill
10-05-2005, 09:31
I've just thought up the perfect combination:
A good touring bike, maybe a Dawes or a good mountain bike and a folding canoe. That would open up alot of possibilities and the combination of leg and arm excersize would be really good, better than any Gym workout.
The trick is to be able to load the bike into the canoe for when you're on the warer and carry the canoe with the bike for the roads. Now there's a project for me to work on over the next couple of years.
maximus otter
27-05-2005, 11:36
The trick is to be able to load the bike into the canoe.
I remember years ago seeing a documentary on TV where sea-kayakers had attached brackets onto the front decking of their vessels to fit a mountain bike. IIRC, they were in NW Scotland and used to paddle out to the islands, camp, then explore by bike.
As close to perfect an expedition as I can think of!
maximus otter
I've just thought up the perfect combination:
A good touring bike, maybe a Dawes or a good mountain bike and a folding canoe. That would open up alot of possibilities and the combination of leg and arm excersize would be really good, better than any Gym workout.
The trick is to be able to load the bike into the canoe for when you're on the warer and carry the canoe with the bike for the roads. Now there's a project for me to work on over the next couple of years.
I think it's been done :)
I'm not sure if they still make them but there was a folding mountain bike around a while ago that was quite good. that with a trailer and you could carry the canoe, fold them up and they could go on the canoe if you only have one person
forgot to mention
my bike (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Bike/bike.jpg), the spec of which is in the website in my sig and I'm hoping to do the coast to coast twice this summer (starting in sheffield going to one coast and back and then go to the next coast the following week). Only thing is I haven't been on any big rides since christmas (only time at home I was too ill to ride).
I cycle everyday - i live in brighton and its easier to get about on a bike than it is by car (and often quicker).
i do drive, but dont like it too much and prefer to cycle - i gave my car away to my sister as i didnt use it very much.
i try and ride up into the downs as often as possible, and its a great way of exploring the countryside.
and - its an excellent way to keep fit.
i managed to pick up a second hand specialized stump hopper recently for £55 - which is a bargain, its a light bike, and nice to ride, having 21 gears, it's just fine for what i use it for.
I've cycled on and off since my childhood, but recently invested in a road bike instead of the usual mountain bikes I'd always had before - am now finding is a very pleasurable way to travel, and since its got heavy-duty road tyres on it, I've even managed to cycle on gravel paths with reasonable ease.
Spent last weekend cycling round Arran - I agree that a bike can distance you abit from the countryside, but as a lover of wild plants and herbs, I found I was still able to spot things growing in the undergrowth from a fair distance and at speed - but maybe thats just my keen eye!
No cycling for me this week though - the excesses of Arran's mountains have given me patellar tendonitis in my left knee - serves me right for cycling up steep hills in 60mph winds and driving rain with no granny ring to make life easier!
havingagiraffe
07-08-2005, 11:43
During the summer months you can ride along the Taff Trail from Cardiff to Brecon, then catch a service bus, complete with bike trailer, back to Cardiff. Check out www.breconbeacons.org
I love my bike, it's a Raleigh 15 speed in black and green. last year some cows escaped into the woods and i followed their trail (not difficult!) on my bike until they went into more hilly ground where i had to walk. I had left the bike where i thohght i could find it but an hour or so later when we finally got them back into the field could i find it :confused: It took me as long to find the bike as it took to sort the cows out. I still have not painted it orange as i swore i would :p
bardsandwarriors
08-09-2005, 15:41
My bike is my only mode of transport. It's an agile hybrid which can handle roads, rough tracks and easy cross-country. On my bike I can easily reach off-road places within a 10-mile radius of my home, mainly on byways, paths and rural roads. I also keep a 'wild food map' on my puter, which is an organised of all the edibles I find on my travels. So for the last few years, at about this time of year I look up what's available my map, hop on my bike, and an hour later I've loaded up my panniers with enough apples to last me a few months, and a few trips later I'm stocked up with blackberries, elderflowers, etc. Other times of the year get me stocked up with other things.
(But this year, I've just moved into a new area, so my map doesn't have much on it yet.)
I use my bike whenever I can to comute, then convert her from a road worrier to the cross country animal that I take great pleasure in getting dirty :D :D
Shes called Kerri...... I'm sad!! :rolleyes:
I used to really be into mountain biking as a kid, I went to races and stuff with my dad, but then I got depressed, lazy and fat. A winning combination, I assure you. I'm getting back into it now though, I recently got myself a pair of offroad lights and they're the business. :D I'm totally going to have to go to hamsterley forest or some similar place to truly test them out in the dark.
i find this biking a bit easier
http://www.ccmowners.co.uk/alan1.jpg
yep, thats more my kind of biking, last one was an xr400, which got nicked, but had a few over the years
ship