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Got a Christening on Sunday in the south east so I have negotiated an exit pass for a ride on Saturday, I'll be in Leatherhead so I assume Surrey Hills is the obvious choice? As a humble Welshman where do I start? I'll be driving to "the hills" so where is best start location / where are the best trails?
If anyone local fancies a ride I'm hoping to be there about 12, I'll be the guy looking lost in a battered old 407!
Peaslake is the epicentre of it all, the trouble is that there are no waymarked trails. You could just follow your nose and you'll probably find some decent stuff, but you could lose hours and miss everything worth riding.
It'll be busy, you could do worse than hook up with a random group and ride with them, or ask for directions at least!
Sounds good, I'll head there and try and become a tag along. Anywhere in particular to park, a pub or something?
Park at Walking Bottom car park in Peaslake - assuming you can find a space! If not, and if you don't mind a climb back to the car, there's a car park at the top of Holmbury Hill, too. There are not very many spaces in Peaslake to park, and it's generally considered a good thing to stick the car in one of the Hurtwood Control car parks if you're heading off for a while. HTH - and enjoy the ride!
pretty much what njee said.
Your best bet is to stick to Pitch Hill and Holmbury (Barry's and Yogurt Pots are easy enough to find)
Pitch Hill has a myriad of stuff, you could swing by Pedal & Spoke I think they used to do a sort of trail map but I can't be sure...
drop me an email
Car Park 2 is walking bottom, 3 is top of Pitch - both popular with bikers. 11 is near Barry Knows Best (and generally quiet/empty), 1 top of Holmbury and mostly walkers
[url= http://www.friendsofthehurtwood.co.uk/about-the-hurtwood/map ]Hurtwood Maps - Car Parking[/url]
Thanks for the info, especially the map jambalaya; I've sent you an email.
Any trails I should make a point of riding / any you would miss?
there is no email in your profile but if you want t ping me as well, happy to point you in the way of some of the good stuff
Emailed, I will update my profile now. Still getting settled in here, don't get me started on my attempt to quote you!
You could always get a map from Nirvana cycles in Westcott. I tend to ride up to Leith Hill from Westcott, or drop in from top of Ranmore Common, less traffic and longer ride.
If you've got a GPS type thingummy [url= http://www.strava.com/activities/129466543 ]this[/url] ride has most of the major trails on Winterfold/Pitch/Holmbury. Winterfold is a bit of a mess at the moment, I'd probably skip that depending on how much time you've got/how quick you are.
I'm wondering if I could be persuaded out now...!
go on njee you know you want too
If an email goes round ping it on to me as well, email in profile! I could do with being back earlier, but the weather looks good, so I'm tempted!
Just emailed you njee, if anyone else fancies coming out send me an email.
@njee - Strava tracks like that just remind me how slow I am 🙁
Njee, I've just looked at that gpx and realised it looks pretty rapid! There's even a cup in there! 😕
S'ok, I'm happy to ride more slowly! That was a pretty hard ride. Gee of this parish is a bit of an animal, it's never a slow ride if he's there!
stick me on the mail list pls! bright I sent you a mail
Mega, your on the list (making 3 of us!) And I have forwarded you the email. If anyone else fancies it send me an email orbpost here.
Just replied Bright - I'm in!
Yep, could work for me too. Was planning to go out Saturday anyway, albeit earlier than this but we have nothing planned so should be fine.
Bloody hell, this is verging on becoming something organised!
I'll warn folk now, I don't own baggies, and will wear lycra 😉
Great stuff Gotama. Really looking forward to this, weather even looks OK!
Njee - I'm more worried about you tearing my legs off than your lycra to be honest!!
Haha, nah, you'll be fine! You can all laugh at my mincing on anything downhill!
nothing to see here, I recommend Swinley.
I might be tempted out to play.
It gets dark pretty early so earlier is better for me if at all possible, even 30mins would be good.
usual rules.- If Im there , Im there . If Im not there then do not wait.
C'mon Rob! Meeting at car park 10 - just up the hill from Walking Bottom, it's smaller, but generally far quieter.
Ah, I'd have tagged along, but I'm going on Sat instead.
Errr, this is for Saturday. Unless we're all going for a ride whilst the OP goes to a christening 😀
Whoops! Misread that!
Might see you all there then!
Its definitely ride Saturday, christening Sunday. If I get that wrong, arranging time for future STW rendezvous will suddenly become a lot less difficult! 😕
Mid day, car park 10 then - just up the road from Walking Bottom on Lawbrook Lane.
Might join y'all if that's ok - will be riding my Titus Fileline.
The more the merrier!
Hmmmm, tempting. Not sure if being ruined in the woods by njee is an ideal recovery from manflu or my current dose of fatandslowitis.
Have fun guys should be a good one looking at the forecast.
@bright may I suggest you bring a £1 and put it in the collection cairn at the entrance to walking bottom car park. Money goes to Friends of the Hurtwood, supports the work of the ranger etc.
Perhaps you and I should ride together @Nobby, my last ride there was 12km in 2 hours, clearly the mud was 2 feet deep, the climbs steep and technical the descents very tricky. I did stop a lot 😐
Not sure if being ruined in the woods by njee is an ideal recovery from manflu or my current dose of fatandslowitis.
That sounds a lot more dodgy than I'd like 😉
Two social gatherings in one month?!
Naaaah...
It's madness I tells ya! This riding bikes lark will never catch on.
awesome enjoy the ride fellas
And why are you not joining us...? Feels like it may turn into two rides anyway - I imagine mega and hob nob to be rather beyond my level of woodland pottering!
Unfortunately the missus is in London the whole day and my youngest is in a play with two bl&&$% performances that day.
Not to mention your strava times look scary (he hastily added) 😀
I'm very very tempted by this....
I could offer njee a bit of support and join him in the lycra brigade 🙂
That be good! I'll feel (marginally) less like a sex pest 😉
I'd have loved to have tagged along on this - should be fun. Have an amazing time, chaps!
Damn. I'd have been up for this but I'll be hanging out with Santa around that time. Enjoy the trails chaps.
I'm up for organising something with a little more notice in the new year or sommat!
I'd be up for that. Tomorrow might be a struggle now as we're going to be there early & need to be back in the afternoon.
njee20 - MemberI'm up for organising something with a little more notice in the new year or sommat!
Yes please, despite not being far away I've never ridden over there and would like a ride with you lot who know the area well.
That be good! I'll feel (marginally) less like a sex pest
Can someone email me the details please...gdhurst2001@yahoo.co.uk
YGM Gaz.
hmmm, I might be tempted by this.... will discuss with the other half, what sort of mileage we looking at, so I can gauge time.
I've got two hours really, guess it'll depend how quick folk are!
I was thinking Curly Wurly, Rad Lane, Fork Left and John the Baptist on Pitch, then Jessie's Trail, Delerium, Yoghurt Pots, Telegraph and BKB on Holmbury - folk can do Winterfold if there's time, but realistically it'll get dark earlier rather than later!
Of course if you don't know the area that's utterly useless!
I imagine mega and hob nob to be rather beyond my level of woodland pottering!
If there was a Strava challenge for making cake disappear i'd probably be in with a shout.
Sounds like a good ride plan for 2 hours and takes in some of the nicest trails for us to sample. Maybe a bit of Evian and JWSN action if there is time? Both are pretty close to the par cark so could do them last.
It's going to be fun!
What are the ground conditions like?
Would like to run a RR / NN combo if possible but if its muddier than that can change to something else .
Its years since I have been up to Peaslake , looking dry but very cold. Might be a hot ribena in the CB day.
Sounds like a cracking ride njee20, I ride the loops frequently. Sadly, no pass for me, it going to be an early morning road ride as I have chores to do from 10am onwards! 🙁
Holmbury will be reasonably dry. Pitch will be sloppy in places.
I never see a need to run any different tyre combo than Minion/HR2 round SH all year round. I just adapt to the conditions, the tyres are fine in all.
I'd have used Rons, but I've just got some Beavers and want to make sure they work before I race on them, so they're fitted. Massive overkill, don't reckon it'll be that wet!
so this is midday at the top Pitch Hill car park, yeah? i.e. the one a couple of km up the track from Walking Bottom?
No, the one halfway up on the right as you head away from Peaslake.
lol it's become a "what tyres' thread - gotta love STW
head away towards where? one can head away in many directions 😆
Towards Pitch, and the car park you mentioned. Drive up Lawbrook Lane, WB on your left, about a mile up the road there's a car park on the right. It's that one.
think njee means car park 10?
I do, it's even been named several times in the thread, with a map too. I figured if folk couldn't read it once I'd try a different approach 😉
Bloody frosty this morning! See folk up there
njee, I've taken the liberty of downloading your Strava map thanks!
thx njee yes I should have read back with some attention.
leaving a very cold , but amazingly sunny portsmouth now.
Stopping at LBS en route , see you at 1200
blue Volvo V70 / ano black Yeti 575.
It's exactly the same up here. Hoping there's enough room in CP10 now, I was assuming a couple of cars haha!
see you there for a bit of mincecore, shiny HT, **red helmet
** I guess that's most of us in these temperatures
A mid-tempo mince in the best tradition of STW, thanks chaps & pleased to meet you.
& for the record I liken riding a fat Jones to begin pulled down hill by a steel hawser - steering and body movement have the mildest influence on direction travelled, and braking is near pointless.
Well I thoroughly enjoyed that thanks chaps...shame we didn't start earlier so we could ride longer.
My highlights have to be the squealing and screeching on Yogurt Pots. I assume the Fat Bike was fun 🙂 and almost having a 5inch tyre ride over my face...thank god I saved it haha
Did the OP turn up ?
Yes , He did and despite riding all the trails blind ( ok following someone else )did very well indeed .
Thanks to NJ for pointing us in the right direction , and waiting [s]alot[/s] for everyone to group up.
Not that muddy , 2 mins with a hose and bike is clean again.
Nice to meet up with a few forumites and a damn site better than being barged about in a shopping center whilst xmas shopping
the OP riding Supernova
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The OP likes the Surrey Hill (sic)
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more pics to follow
Yep, I was there. Great fun and a good group of riders, trails were really nice as well. Certainly better than I was expecting! I'll try and get back for a long day (and pub lunch) in the summer.
Nice one boys.
Happy to confirm OP was there.
mrrrr-mrrrr-mrrrr-mrrrr.
There's always one.
ps it was all rideable.