If you haven’t got your better half a Valentine’s Day gift, all is not lost. Stay away from the petrol station flowers or chocolates and cast your eyes around our picks for the dirt merchant in your life.
There’s plenty of really good experiences, kit, rides etc. out there waiting for you to discover them, so why not get them as a gift for your better or worse half this Valentine’s Day? We delved into our collective Wideopenmag mind to bring you our best suggestions for Valentine’s Day.
For the ladies…
Go-Where Scotland’s Mountain Lassies.
If you’re looking to score brownie points or just to treat your good lady friend, then why not get them booked into Go-Where’s ladies’ only Mountain Lassies trip? Starting at £315 for the Border Raid, and rising to £995 for the Soul Trails, you can send your better half off to shred Scotland’s finest with a group of rad ladies. If those prices make you wince, then you can always grab a gift voucher to go towards a trip.
Buy Go-Where Scotland’s Mountain Lassies.
Hopetech Women Enduro – Gisburn.
Racing can be a very intimidating experience for anyone, and with most races filled with sweaty men, there probably isn’t an awful lot more off-putting for a lady wanting to have a shot against the clock.
The Hopetech Women Enduro aims to solve that problem with a low-pressure event in October at Gisburn Forest. A short course, single day event should appeal to anyone from first time racers or those looking for podium spots. You can enter here.
Buy Hopetech Women Enduro – Gisburn.
Air Maiden Coaching Clinics.
Skills and coaching days are the fastest way to get… well… fast. Air Maiden run coaching days exclusively for the fairer sex all over Scotland and England. Take the pressure off and get your lady shredding better than ever before.
Warning: This gift can be misconstrued as implying your young lady is a bit crap on a bike. Tread carefully.
Buy Air Maiden Coaching Clinics.
Leggings!
Ladies and gents need different padding when it comes to cycling shorts/bibs. Nothing is worse than grinding your undercarriage away on a long ride, especially if you plan on being romantic for Valentine’s Day afterwards. There are plenty of options out there, but our Rosie has a set of Anna’s Legs on test currently and swears by them. Expect a full review soon.
Buy Anna’s Legs leggins online here.
Hopetech Women Basic Mechanic + Ride.
Not only do Hopetech Women run races and rides, they’re also getting ladies together to improve their bike mechanic skills. Covering the basics that will allow your lady to head out into the hills, knowing that if disaster strikes, she doesn’t have to walk home. Something everyone, not just the ladies should know how to do. Check out the full details here.
Buy Hopetech Women Basic Mechanic + Ride.
For the gents…
Uplift Days.
Regardless of where you are in the UK, uplift days help you get the best of your time on a downhill bike, or get you to the top if you’re too lazy to ride. We made a list of 10 uplift venues that are still running full steam, you can check it out here. Get the dust off the downhill bike and get your man to an uplift day!
You can a list of our favourite uplift days here.
Fitness Coaching.
One of the best ways to improve your riding is to get yourself strong and fit. Feeling strong on the bike is a pretty good feeling, especially when you can drop your mates on both the climbs and the descents. This is healthy competition in its purest form. We put together a list of UK bike fitness coaches by region which you can check out here. Warning: This can have a similar effect as the coaching for the ladies, implying in this case, that your man is a bit porky…
Check out our list of Fitness Coaches in the UK here.
Mechanic’s evenings.
A large part of the cost in owning a bike is keeping it serviceable, once you’ve bought your pride and joy, obviously. Many bike shops now offer evenings in their workshop with their head mechanic teaching you anything from indexing gears to suspension servicing.
If nothing else, this gives you a massive advantage should you have a nightmare on a big ride and need to make a quick bodge to get you home, but could save you in the long run. Learn some invaluable skills and support your local bike shop in the process.
Bike servicing.
If your gentleman’s cycle is usually in such a state that mechanics courses would bankrupt you before he knew how to fix it himself, you can’t beat a good old service by a professional mechanic. Most bike shops now offer gift vouchers, so you could book his bike in for a service then give him the voucher to decide what to spend it on. Either way, you’ve won.
A new MultiTool
Nothing says – I love you and I want your babies like a new multi-tool. We ran a round up of our favourites on Wideopen last year which is still super up to date. Grab one from the list and you’re guaranteed a happy, well maintained partner.
Read our Multitool Group Test here.
There we have it – good luck and Happy Valentines Day!