UKC

anyone got any good route ideas involving mountains in the lake district. preferably around patterdale/glennridding area although anywhere will be good. thanks

In reply to thom8822:

MTB or Road?

In reply to balmybaldwin: ah i didnt state, mountain biking please

In reply to thom8822: I've got dozens...how far, how hard, how technical?

In reply to thom8822:


Skiddaw loop

In reply to mark catcher: well i cant to do anything to technical as i have some people joining me new to mtb but something theyl enjoy and get them hooked. likewise with toughness so they dont get put off. one route i thought of was helvellyn via scales fell.

In reply to thom8822:
There are some lovely rides in this area of varying degrees of difficulty. The first three here are the easiest, then they get harder:
1 Lonscale Loop - head out of Keswick to Threlkeld along disused railway line. Head up bridleway past Blencathra Centre and ride up as far as you can (beck on left). Cross beck, head up for a few hundred metres, turn left, Lonscale Fell is on your right, head back down to Keswick, pick up bridleway down the side of Latrigg. Lots of fun downhill, bit of a short climb at top of beck (push if you want), great fun down the side of Latrigg.
2 Loop of Skiddaw - don't worry, you don't go anywhere near the top! Start as per first route. At the head of the beck turn right. Pass Skiddaw House hostel, follow track past Whitewater Dash, descend to road. Road work back to Keswick.
3 Whinlatter Forest - blue Quercus route is an absolute hoot and very good for beginners. The two red loops are good, too.
4 Bit of a contraversial one - just went up Loadpot Hill from Pooley Bridge at the weekend. Head over Askham Fell to vague direction of Widewath, then onto Keldhead. Pick up bridleway and push / carry to Loadpot Hill (this was a bit hideous). However, from summit of Loadpot it is 5km of easy downhill. Mr Christine thought it was not very technical and lacked finess. I, though, am fundamentally very lazy and thought there was nothing wrong with this. Point bike downhill, keep balance - brilliant! Turn right at bottom of hill for more downhill to Howtown, road back. This is easy riding, EXCEPT for the push up, which might be off-putting. Also nav would be interesting in poor weather.
5 There is a route up to Helvellyn and the Dodds. Head out to Dockray from Glenridding, up to High Row. Climb, climb, climb, ride over top and there are a choice of 3 routes down - Sticks Pass, Keppel Cove or Grisedale (Long). I wasn't a big fan of this, as there was lots of grassy climbing, but each to their own.
6 There is also a loop from Keswick up to Wadentlath, I think it then descends to Rosthwaite, up Honister Pass (not all the way), then pick up bridleway down to Grange via Castle Crag. Bridleway along the bottom of Cat Bells towards Portinscale (!walkers!), return to Keswick - this is quite doable for beginners.

Have fun & hope this helps.
Christine

In reply to thom8822:

I would have thought Helvellyn by any route would involve a lot of climbing and pushing. It would certainly have daunted me as a beginner.

The vertebrate graphics lakes guide has a number of nice routes that would suit, might be worth picking it up.

Something using the Skiddaw area bridleways would be fun, and not too technical, although Lonscale Fell can be exposed at times with a biggish drop to one side. The other option would be the Borrowdale Bash, which would be mostly rideable by a beginner, with a couple of rocky sections that would require a push.

Another option is to work out something based around Grisedale Forest - out to Parkamoor, down to Nibthwaite (some tech may require dismount for novices), across to the other side of the forest then back down one of the bridleways to the visitor centre.

In reply to thom8822: thanks for all the suggestions people, given me plenty to think about