You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Hi, me and 5 of my mates are talking about say a yearly lads break, most probably in the UK. They're not MTBers unfortunately, we're mid 40s.
any ideas? The consensus is that its based around an activity(s) to prevent it becoming a booze fest.
We're all in the north west. I thought of fly fishing at Kelso, even though im not arsed about fishing. But its something we could all do.
my mate is suggesting golf but he has a low handicap and Im a hacker so it would skew the power dynamics - ruin the weekend.
That's a lot of trouble just for some gentleman activity - can't you just use your imagination? 🙂
Quad biking?
I expected this to be a thread about WFH and getting distracted.
Anyway, try something none of you have done before. Dogging?
C&H
Avoids the booze so win win win!
a walk ?
Is this the new polite way of saying coke & hookers...
Paintballing, quad biking, go-karting, kayaking, clay pigeon shooting?
I guess depends how long you want each activity to last, the above are probably only a couple of hours each. Golf or fishing would take a lot longer but are shit unless everyone in the group enjoys them.
Budget?
Charter a boat weekend on a ocean going yacht? Kraken travel might do something...
Canal boat.... 4mph pubcrawl..
Fly fishing would be a challenge if you have never been fishing! How about going seawater fishing instead – it's much less complex (you just drop the line over the boat, wait for a bit then catch something). The day trip boats will usually gut and prepare any fish you catch and want to take home too.
hillwalking weekend
canoe tour down the spey
Furry animal cosplay will add spice to your gentleman activities.
Trials biking? Experience day at Inch Perfect Trials if you are in the North West.
As a non fisherman, I've spent a lovely day fly fishing .... recommended
How about something water based? Coasteering for example. Great fun and it makes you feel like you've earned your beers.
with your username that is definitely a provoking thread title.....
How about something waterSPORTS based?
ftfy
😉
Candle-making
Yoga retreat
Foraging/wild cooking
Frisbee-golf
Health spa and pamper/groom
Night frisbee
fishing ? reminds me of a meme i saw the other week
give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,
teach a man how to fish and you can bang his wife every weekend..
anyway, pre covid we used to do trips all over europe and go to local footy match,
what about zip world or the surfing place in north wales, followed by too much ale.
hire some E-bikes?
mountain biking, but with less sweat?
Dress code: Tweed plus-4s and waistcoats
Walk up some hills, have a go at kayaking/SUPing, do one of them Go Ape things - or all of the above over a weekend?
Esk gorge scrambling.
Golf and fishing - good god, I'd be at the pub ! Too boring.
Take them MTB'ing and show them how much of a god you are ! Me and my mates do both MTB and road, and one of the lads came away with us, but he's a roadie. He borrowed one of the lads nice carbon hardtails (very light). He climbed well and enjoyed himself at the trail centre enough, but we took him to Gwydir Forest - that was just too much - despite him climbing like a whippet, the descents just spooked him too much - he won't even try MTB now.
North Wales - Zip World activities (go carts, roller coaster, zip wire, mine trip) and add in some walking.Fun walk round Bedgellert along the river (bit of rock scrambling) then up and over the hill on the way back - takes 3-4 hours. You've also got the inland surfing lake too.
canoe tour down the spey
Stopping off at the distilleries.
If you don't have something that everyone can do, do something nobody can do. Sounds trite but it works- if you do something that one or two of you can do it tends to throw the balance off, either they're having a great time and someone else isn't, or they become the experts and their holiday is a job, or like sometimes happens with biking, doing their thing down to your level just sucks.
Me and my brother did a long weekend of random "stuff that looks fun"- some beach yachting, some kayaking, bit of coast walking- quite a mixed bag but all with a coasty theme and all stuff that we'd never really done. Ace. And enough variety that if one bit wasn't fun there'd be another in a minute
Hill walking/e-biking - one day of each is probably a good mix. Routes that take a good lunch stop/cafe and end at a pub
A discussion on the pros and cons of Brexit followed by the for and against of Boris Johnson and his handling of the pandemic, a short break while you try to do a Priti Patel based Friday Kylie and then a chat about Black Lives Matter, LBGTQx, Mindfulness in the Modern Generation and the general state of the nation.
Should pass a couple of hours
I have a trip away with some other blokes most years, 4 of us are into bikes, MTB and road, but the other 3 or 4 are not.
We tend to try and get near to a beach, usually camping. We'll do a bit of 'surfing' or body boarding sometimes but generally it's just pissing about in the water, beach cricket and a bit of footie. Pretty much just killing time before we feel it's late enough to go to the pub!
Trampolining
Used to do an annual weekend away with a competitive edge. Several "events" usually a formal one, go karting etc, then a series of tests of manhood such as:
Throwing a fence post
Bicycle assault course
Killer darts/pool
Dance off
Various pub games
Archery
Singing
Penalties etc etc
Requires copious liquid refreshments.
The problem with doing trampolining is that it has its ups and downs
You need to post more often. 👏
Anyroad.
Axe throwing?
Escape room?
Glass blowing class
Survival Skills weekend
Make your own beer in a micro brewery
How about climbing? There are climbing centres all over the country. Its easy to book a lesson for a group and if you go with bouldering you will be off quite quickly. Skill you can take back with you and use.
If you book for ropes and choose a good centre you can laugh at each other getting nervous at the heights. It can be as chilled or as competitive as you fancy
a short break while you try to do a Priti Patel based Friday Kylie
What kind of sick and twisted mind comes up with that? 🤢
a short break while you try to do a Priti Patel based Friday Kylie

Yorkshire coast? Lots of options around Whitby (coastal walks, fossil hunting, museums, abbey etc).
Hovercraft racing?
Digger World?
Learn to cook?
Hide and seek in that old abandoned mine.
Brass rubbing... (Counting Money in Yorkshire)
I hear Louise is doing guided tours....
bare knuckle fighting.
Escape room?
This is relevant to my interests, I could talk about it all day. I've played most of the North West venues if the OP / anyone else wants suggestions.