1st-time London visitors seek fun, culture and bikes.

The countryside is mud without culture.

HTH

cornwall is quite nice, in a muddy, hilly kind of way.

BUT the OP asked for

fun, culture and bikes

and you won't find those things in the countryside. Wales is a long way to go to see a fat bloke on a mountain bike eating a baked potato

fair enough wales was not the best idea. i was more meaning to go out into the country side and see more than just london. i still stand by the fact i like wales though. it's got some very nice rides.

cheese or beans on the topping, Sir?

^^ both and a kebab and chips and 14 pints of your finest and a big plate of cheese cake to finish.
thanks barrrrrr man.

It's true.

I live in Peterborough and chock full of mutants - ugly, ugly mutants.

I hate it here.

Dude, I used to live and work there. It seriously sucks so much harder than any other place I've ever been to. In the end it got so bd that I simply quite my job and ran screaming back to London with no work lined up. So much better.

Fuck Peterborough.

It pains me to say that I'll be glad to move back to Swindon when my gf's contract ends in September. Such is the life of an engineer's wife.

Alas I can't persuade her to move back to my beloved London but at least I like the Cotswolds.

Dude, I used to live and work there. It seriously sucks so much harder than any other place I've ever been to. In the end it got so bd that I simply quite my job and ran screaming back to London with no work lined up. So much better.

Fuck Peterborough.
Hehe. Fuck Emap, eh Sano?

[Edit] It was Fall Line publishing you were with there, right?

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for replying! Sounds like you all (I'm trying to train myself not to say "y'all." I'm not originally from the south.) know how to have a good time. I wish I could answer to you all but as it's 8am here, I need to rock the pedals and get to work. But don't worry, we won't spend the whole time in London. Week two includes a trip out to Oxford for a wedding, a stay with the happy couple in York, a trip to Stone Henge and likely plenty of time to spin around the countryside. We want to go to Brighton but we don't know if we'll have time. Ok. Off to work!

Stonehenge is a massive let down, tiny and you can't get anywhere near it now and Brighton's shit. Imo of course

Stonehenge is a massive let down, tiny and you can't get anywhere near it now and Brighton's shit. Imo of course

+1 stonehenge is a tourist trap - costs a bomb.

Look into seeing some other interesting pagan places in that part of the world, you won't regret it... Avebury is amazing (a village in the middle of a giant ring of stones)... and its free. There are loads of sites in the West that no one goes to much, just do a little research. http://www.stonepages.com/england/england.html

Have fun.

Get one of the Cambridge lot to take you punting on the river Cam. Few beers, few funny cigarettes and a very beautiful way to see Cambridge.

I am listening to Grantchester Meadows right now! Wow.

Hehe. Fuck Emap, eh Sano?

[Edit] It was Fall Line publishing you were with there, right?

The job was the only thing that kept me half way sane. Seriously, that 'city' is a fucking dump.

It's true.

I live in Peterborough and chock full of mutants - ugly, ugly mutants.

I hate it here.

is that near stevenege? i once got the wrong train and ended up there at around 2am, almost got beat up by 1. hoodies, 2. lads with foot ball tattoos 3. police. then deiced not to sleep in a park, as i could not find one, as the train station was in the middle of a massive car park, with closed shops and more carparks, so hitch hiked back to london at 3am. dark times

In approximate response to what some people have said:

Go to Avebury: it rocks. (As it were.) And if you're feeling super-keen, it's on the way to Bath, and it's quite a nice bike ride, albeit a long one. Bath is nice too.

Ride up to Cambridge and go punting. In fact, I'll take very little persuasion to escort you up there and be your punt chauffeur. And there are good pubs on the way. And villages called things like Ugley, Nasty and Shingay-cum-Wendy.

And go on the London Eye. It's mindblowing (I've done it about 6 times and am still not bored) and there's a comedy photo-op at the end.

Oh, and when people say they're pissed, they're drunk, not angry.

Enjoy!

What about a pissed Hippy? :S

What about a pissed Hippy? :S

Erm...

I can see absolutely no reason for anyone, let alone a tourist visiting London to waste their time going to Wales. Come on mate, 23 people have killed themselves in Port Talbot in the last year......says it all

Wasn't it Bridgend? My family are from those parts (actually my second cousin also committed suicide while living in Bridgend) and although Welsh towns are generally rather depressing - the country is very pretty.

Sorry - rather darkened the tone. Maybe it's something about being Welsh!?

But I also probably wouldn't bother going that way if I was here for a week. I hardly do anyways!

Don't knock Wales, it has vistas and mountains to climb and I enjoyed the Dragon Ride there this year.

What about a pissed Hippy? :S

I'm always fucking lovely..

Where'd I put my gun?

cool thread!!!

i'm living here until september, just moved from New England. Ive already done alot of the tourist-y things, now wanting to do some more less known things as well. planning on going to a festival in august outside london. also went to the farnborough airshow last weekend.

But in general, everyone has been super nice. this forum for sure, even a guy i met on a fixed gear in regent's park was totally down to earth.

so any advice in this thread i will certainly consider. Also, i need some bike stuff while i'm here! point me to the good cycling shops. any deals to be had?

fun shit to do at night, too. night busses run 24/7?

all in all, london has been an awesome experience so far and im excited to see what the next few months will bring

Don't knock Wales, it has vistas and mountains to climb and I enjoyed the Dragon Ride there this year.

What?? You did the Dragon Ride? Why didn't you mention it........?! ;-)

and rain and bad food and racism and horrible people and The Nothingness..

Wales is a great place to go as it makes you realise how much you love London

Each to their own...

Don't knock Wales, it has vistas and mountains to climb...

+1. great mtb country. good for road riding as well as it is quiet and have good rd surface. top scenery and in most parts, all you'll hear is nature itself...sometimes i like the nothingness. wales is great cos it reminds me what i miss in london ;) stay away from the cities tho. depressing and grey. did someone dis wales for bad food? dunno but ive heard of a place in nth wales that serves the best roast lamb...didnt get to try it cos it had a week long reservation list!

as mentioned, skip stonehenge. it's no biggy. if you're dying to see it, head for somerset or cotswolds via the A road it's on (nicer part of england...them+lake district on top of my list). stick a camera out of the car when stonehenge is on target, take a couple of pics.

on london. i take visitors to the markets (eg borough, spitalfields, camden). on a bike, do a circuit around the thames and go around tiny hidden streets of the city (on a sunday). i find going around the old london wall and it's rediscovered remains interseting as well.

Ok, still haven't had a chance to organize most of these suggestions. We definitely plan to make it out to one of the drinks. And we want to see if we can get some Rapha schwag by going on a ride they're sponsoring next week. Probably won't have time to get to Brighton. And we'll be spending the whole second week out in the countryside.

Oh! Found out where we're staying! On the south bank, near the Stockwell tube stop. Anybody know what's cool in that neighborhood?

Oh, and if anybody wants to check out where the Atlanta bike kids hang, look at fastermustache.org. If I go our to meet you folks, I'll likely be sporting some FM gear.