Riding skills and fitness
Many people ask us about the riding and their skills and fitness. It’s a hard one to answer as difficulty is so subjective and we can have up to 7 different riders, all with different fitness levels and technical abilities.
Riding skills
Firstly, the riding isn’t as tough as it sounds. We’ve chosen routes that give a real Lake District flavour but still make for an enjoyable weekend without killing you.
There will however, be some long days (possibly 6-8 hours or more) and some technical downs (some of which probably everybody will walk a few metres). As long as you can keep smiling when you’re tired and pushing your bike then you’ll be fine.
In terms of riding ability, this trip won’t suit anyone who isn’t happy riding red grade trails in typical UK trail centres (please ask us if you would like more detail).
Fitness
It’s much more about stamina than speed or strength. There are some long days and we won’t be racing anywhere. On the bigger days, we’ll ride at a relaxed pace that can be kept up all day. We’ll also take more care than we would at a trail centre as a bad fall in a remote place is not good news.
The best training for this kind of trip is actually just getting out riding – preferably longer distances at a steady pace. 30km at a steady pace will be more useful than 15km at racing speed, so if your local trails are short, slow it down and do 2 laps! Check out this blog by Matt Mooney of MTB Fitness regarding preparing for this kind of holiday https://mtbguiding.co.uk/uncategorised/guest-blog-6-top-training-tips-get-mtb-holiday/
I’m sure everybody will have their own strengths and weaknesses and everybody will have good days and off days. If we pull together as much as possible, a strong team will achieve way more than a bunch of fit individuals.
There is always the option to sit out a day at any point if your