MOUNTIN BIKING IN LONDON? Is this a JOKE?!
In this video, I take you through my (cough, cough) MTB loop in BATTERSEA PARK.
Battersea is a small pedestrian park near my flat. With no real trails and limited dirt, this is where I train, cry, and try to make the best of it.
I ride the perimeter, hit some unofficial paths, and squeeze in interval workouts while dodging pedestrians and dogs
It’s not Sedona or the Swiss Alps, but it’s what I’ve got.
🚴♂️ Gear tested: DJI Osmo chest mount
🌧️ Conditions: Classic UK drizzle
🏞️ Nearest real MTB spot: Surrey Hills (2 hours away!)
If you’ve ever tried to mountain bike in a city, you’ll feel this one.
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My mountain biking life in London is not good. In fact, there is no mountain biking, so it’s really beyond not good. It’s non-existent. But I do have a nice apartment. And to start off on the positive side, I do love it here. But unfortunately, the only place I can find dirt is Battery Park, which we’re going to head over there now. And I’ll show you the extent of how bad it is. So, this is Batter Sea Park right next to my illustrious condo. It’s a pedestrian park, not that big along the waterway. It’s uh yeah, a small park. This also happens to be my mountain bike course. Uh to call it a mountain bike course is more of a joke, but also reflects my unfortunate mountain biking life. In fact, biking life in general that doesn’t really exist here for me in London at all. Anyway, let’s jump in the bike. We’ll take a look at some of the trails and you can cry along with me. So, the idea I ride the perimeter of this park and I hit these little side trails or like pedestrian walking trails and uh I hammer it out. Usually a lap is about 11 or 12 minutes. I do about 70 or 80% of the ride on this terrain and then probably the 30 30ish% comes up on the road. Believe me, there’s plenty of times I’ve come out here practically crying knowing this is the extent of my riding here. But let me hit the positive sides. I love living in London. I love living in the UK. It’s a great place. So much history, so many interesting things, polite people, friendly people, just overall great atmosphere here, access to other European countries. Done a lot of bike touring. I made the best of it. The nearest mountain biking I have is Siri Hills, which is decent. Problem is, it’s so far away. The only way I can get there is via train. And that is like a 2-hour operation just getting there. It’s not worth it. As I promised, little road section and appropriate for being in UK. I’m getting rained on right now. Usually the first lap I go about 70% and then the subsequent laps usually two or two or three more four in total I’ll I’ll pretty much at about 90%. I try to make a little more fun by trying to set a record each time when I do a loop. I don’t know, maybe it’s more than 30% of the road. I don’t know. I try to stay in the gravel even on the sidewalks. and it’s really the only way I can do continuous rides out of the door on the road. It’s traffic light, traffic light, cars just a big fat mess. But here, at least I can go without stopping too much. It’s huh. Yeah, it’s definitely not an exciting video for biking. Just a recording of what I have here. maybe years to come as I’m up in some killer terrain in Italy or Sedona, Arizona, I’ll think back on this video and appreciate where I’m at even more in those circumstances. So, this is one of the hammer sections. Also testing out my new chest mount today, my DJI Osmo. I had the GoPro one on there and it bounced around too much. So, this one has a plastic backing plate. Supposedly, it’ll be more stable. See what happens. Although, you’re not really being able to test it out here, that’s for sure. really much in the way of technical terrain, but honestly, it’s just to be out with the trees around me on the dirt. I’m grateful to have even this little bit as you’ll see shortly. There’s a little wooded section. So, in a full loop, this up here is end of the lap. Very few of these sections bikes aren’t supposed to be on like this upcoming trail, but I’m only on for a couple of couple of seconds. These trails are most of the trails I’m on this loop are not official trails. They’re just dug out by people walking. I get yelled at now and again. People don’t know what I’m talking about. Whatever. Okay, into the woods we go. Yeah. Yes. Mountain biking at its best. Carefully. Slippery leaves. Embarrassingly, I actually broke my finger out here in this tame area. I just blocked the tree and the bike. You never know. You always got to be cognizant, be careful. Nature of the beast. Okay, here’s our little wig weaving in and out. Yes. Oh, look at this technical section. Oh my gosh. Can I handle? Oh, yes. This is a really narrow section coming in here. Watch these trees. [Music] Zigzag, zigzag. Around we go. We go. [Music] Okay. [Music] Yeah, not much to this part, unfortunately. But then again, I really couldn’t go that fast, so I’m using it just for training, which is primarily why I’m doing it. Uh, section wouldn’t be the the way to go, but I like adding it in. Now, going back on a section is not allowed bikes till right here. So, back on the road we go. This is where we started. Like I said, that was about that was about 12 minutes. All jokes aside, this being mountain biking area, it’s simply my interval training location where I can just go out of my door, hit these trails, get a nice workout in without being interrupted and at least a couple of trees around me and a little bit of dirt. So, not a perfect riding scenario. Anyway, as always, this is your trip traveler Roberto over and out. [Music]