SkipRatt mountain bike blog

I've been riding bikes my whole life but only got a good mountain bike 4 years ago. Before that, spending more than 3-400 pounds on a bike was completely out of the question. What with commitments and dare I say it, "women". Yeah you know what I'm talking about, we're all in the same boat! Darling can I have, "no" well have we got, "no". Mountain biking is a very expensive hobby to get into and maintain, and once your in you would think nothing about spending a shit load of cash on the latest products/upgrades or a brand new bike. So having an understanding bank manager/wife is of the utmost importance to mountain biking.

I'm very much a fair weather rider because I like nothing more than to rip up the trails and sit in the shade with a nice ice cold Fosters afterwards. I ride alone most of the time so you could call me a solitary rider or socially impaired, Whatever! Riding alone can be boring at times as you have no one to chat to or be competitive with.

I live near a fairly large town called Grantham, located in the East Midlands, UK. The local trails around here are pretty flat and with it being part of the Sustrans network, it's beaten up too. To find any good trails I'd have to travel 2 hours in any direction on the train as I don't drive.

With the viking challenge and other events being held here every year, mountain biking/cycling has become quite popular over the years. Although the trails can be quite bad in places and more needs to be done to make them more suitable for both bikers and walkers alike.

It's very easy to put together varying different loops both on-road and off-road for a 1 hour ride or 3-4 hour ride depending on your level of fitness. I've managed to put together a peach of a loop that totals a good 50 mile and incorporates all the best the area has to offer, that I know of!