The only mountain biker in Surrey
Today I was the only mountain biker in Surrey…
As a working family man, the moon and stars have to align before I get a half day off with no commitments. However today was one of those days and the sun was shining bright. Perfect.
I dropped my son off in school fully kitted out to start a ride knowing that I had to be back to for 1:30pm to pick him up with only a vague ride plan other than seeing how many of my favourite trails I could put together in a morning.
Once I’d negotiated school traffic I headed up to Bocketts car park and along the Admirals Trackway. Next it was up to Polesden Lacy, across Yew trees, up to Ranmore and along to Collarbone. Down White down and along the roughs to Abinger Hammer, then over to Holmbury youth hostel.
Then across to (a very worn)BKB, down into a cyclist free Peaslake, up Walking bottom to Two headed dog, a quick tour of Pitch hill then back to the quarry, down the T trails and back to Peaslake. Up Radnor lane, over the great trails (Yoghurt Pots, Telegraph Road) to Holmbury St Mary.
A blast up Mother to Leith hill, past a completely quiet Tower, along to the bomb holes (the entry now has a “Cyclists this is a footpath” sign) to Waggledance, Summer Lightening, Wolverns Lane, the Rookery, Westcott, along to White Down and back the reverse of the start of the ride. Phew!
4 hours of non-stop riding, a few walkers and horse riders, but not a single other rider. Today the best MTB playground in the SE of England was all mine.
Not a ride I’ll forget in a hurry.
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Matt says:
I hope you haven’t come here for a gloat.
‘I mean we’re up to our ears is gloaters here. “Can I come in for a gloat?” they shout and we shout back “Oh you heartless gloaters”.’ – Percy in Blackadder 2
Seriously Tony. Git!! ;o)
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 8:44 am
paul901 says:
I don’t suppose there’s a Molesauraus on the names for trails and highlights used on the site, particularly those invented by the moles?
On my first ride a month ago Matt said “this is Collarbone, so called bcause I fell and broke my…”
I’m reading Tony’s write up and thinking “Mother, hmm, allegedly the last word uttered by many before they die, right I’ll give that descent a miss then” and “Waggledance, hmm, I do hope it was a femole rear that inspired that name…”
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 10:33 am
tony says:
Hi Paul
We unfortunately need names (Death Star, Numbskull etc…) to know where you are, otherwise it’s the trail past the tree on the bridleway out of Peaslake etc.. However go to the Diary of a mountain biker site and there are locations for many of the Pitch Hill / Winterfold hill trails.
Mother isn’t a mother. It was simply the first trail people rode. It goes between Leith Hill car park and Holmbury St Mary. It’s a drag up to Leith but a swoopy blast in the other direction.
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 11:38 am
Matt says:
Like the idea of a Molesauraus – watch this website for a project to at least explain what we understand as the origin of particular trail names.
As for locations, well, a lot are in the public domain but not, of course all of them. We don’t even know all of them! But some will have to stay under the radar I think.
This might have to be a ‘collabo’ project between various riding groups.
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 11:48 am
tony says:
Perhaps a moleasaurous ride is what I should plan. A whole day out to ride as many of our trails in one go as we could? That would be a big day out!
You could almost think that I was in training for something ?? 🙂
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 12:12 pm
PIJ says:
….I think many of the trails will have to remain unpublicised, either for simple legal reasons [footpaths] or we just don’t want them spoilt by being over-ridden [entirely selfish].
A few I use are unmarked and can be difficult to spot, even here on Reigate Hill. One over in Caterham is literally a gap between two bushes that is impossible to spot for much of the year unless you have deliberately chased it down [“this be a trail for local people”].
There are clues out there for the committed to follow, and personally I prefer it that way. Make it too easy for people to find, and they’ll get bored and move on – you want people coming back to your site / cafe / bike shop don’t you?
Or The Authorities will lie in wait for us allegedly naughty people…. I suspect a lot of landowners tolerate us provided that we don’t become pains in the neck!
Personally I like it that people can cut their teeth on the more obvious trails, like Stane Street or Box Hill, and if they like what they see then there are years, if not decades, of exploration ahead of them. I’ve ridden these trails for 17 years now, most Sunday’s, yet I’m still ‘finding’ relatively major trails that I was unaware of [Alpine being the biggie – D’oh!].
Long live secrecy! Long live mountain biking in the Surrey Hills!
PIJ
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 2:31 pm
paul901 says:
My point about a molesaurus was not a serious one really. Clearly the write ups of rides wouldn’t work without indicators that others understand and hard earned secrets don’t deserve to be given away lightly (legalities aside).
A mate of mine learned most his coffee roasting from a master roaster who said he could teach him everything he knew in 7 minutes but why should he as it took him 7 years. Easy answers are never as rewarding and also often not understood without the effort to obtain them.
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Cathie says:
What a wonderful ride, I love Whitedown and Summer lightening very envious office worker 😉
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Posted on June 18, 2010 at 5:15 pm
kc says:
Four hours! Sounds like a good workout.
Another envious office worker
Guacamole
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Posted on June 19, 2010 at 7:25 am
D'AndyC says:
Just to make you lot even more ‘pee’d off’, here’s what I got up to on Friday afternoon http://ukbikeskills.blogspot.com/
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Posted on June 19, 2010 at 11:10 am
James(pro)H says:
I spent the day on the beach! Lyme Regis, lovely.
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Posted on June 20, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Orange Roo says:
You are indeed very fortunate! To this day I still remember taking a weekday afternoon off in about 1996 and cycling up to Holmbury Control with John Rapley. Like you, we had the whole place to ourselves and time to take in and appreciate the views. What a fab area to play in……
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Posted on June 22, 2010 at 2:03 pm