I was born in Friday Street and now live in Abinger Common, so I think I've got a fairly good angle on these issues. A couple of points:
crossfire 80 - I don't think it is reasonable to expect Peaslake to be a sleepy place with next to no commerce or visitor activity. Just because you were lucky enough to buy a silly-priced house in a beautiful place, doesn't mean that place is an idyl for the wealthy. In the past there would have been much more going on there. Plus, if you have caused criminal damage, or have sanctioned or encouraged such, you deserve everything coming to you.
(Some) riders - inconsiderate parking is not on - go and park up the hill somewhere if the village is looking a bit full. You have a bicycle!
And - a hell of a lot of confrontation would be avoided if bikers would stop (or go down to walking pace) when they encounter walkers. Just do it - then wait until you have the space back to yourself and then get on with enjoying your ride.
well said Glen.
There's no need for any cyclist to park in Peaslake, and in fact I find the store much nicer as a mid-ride stop than start/end point anyway.
Pretty much anywhere between Dorking and Guildford - that's about 10 miles - puts you on good trails in the network.
This thread is the gift that just keeps giving. Are you familiar with the concept of bald men fighting over combs? 😆
No. What do you mean?
Sorry Woppit. I'm just being smug and gloaty northerner again. All our southern cousins getting proper worked up about going riding somewhere where there aren't even any proper hills anyway 😉
Binners, the difference here is the real or perceived threat of damage to other peoples' property, surely?
I am surprised that this has not been moderated.
A valuable contribution to a sensitive and controversial subject from a valuable contributor with an objective viewpoint.
Well we did ship you a bit of Derbyshire down for your sports day....
[img] 
[/img]
But don't tha be thinking tha's gerrin' any more
😉
Yes, binners. We know you don't think the SH are worth riding in. You keep telling us. We get it. It wasn't very interesting the first time though in, when was it, 2002 or something? Please stop trying to hijack the thread with your not very relevant opinion.
I assumed it was a new opinion, trying to be 'hilarious'. Bit sad if that's a regularly voiced stance. Still, at least he'll stay up north!
says a lot about city life when surrey hills rates as good riding
says a lot about city life when surrey hills rates as good riding
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[i]Sorry Woppit. I'm just being smug and gloaty northerner again. All our southern cousins getting proper worked up about going riding somewhere where there aren't even any proper hills anyway[/i]
You don't need 'proper hills' to MTB, just good trails - and the North Downs is criss-crossed with superb MTB trails/singletrack.
soobalias WRONG.
The Surrey Hills are great. A month ago I rode a route that I last rode 7yrs ago. I didnt take one wrong turn and all of it was achingly beautiful.
Never mind north vs south, it sounds like an idiotic local is sticking nails in peoples tyres! At best its a few hundred quids worth of vandalism, at worst someone doesn't notice before getting back in their car. In fact, wasn't there a serious crash a while back for similar reasons?
Let us know what the police say Carlos45
Agree with hora, did the grizzly lung buster route on here last weekend, stunning autumn countryside with plenty of hills, I was with a northern rider and he was a broken man after 6 hours in surrey.
plus we don't put our beer through those silly sparklers.
I feel sorry for the guys who build the trails (who some morons in this thread won't to stop) that do all the trail work only to have a load of brake dragging squids turn up and get stoked every weekend but never lift a spade.
Perhaps they should build trails to a better spec?
Horatio....
I didn't see the nails till later that day. This was a few hrs after returning home when the tyres looked pretty damn low on air pressure down one side. The guy in the garage showed me the nails. I would have put it down to bad luck until I read this thread this am. Way too much of a coincidence if you ask me.......
Quote from Carlos45
Well - thank you very much - several nails in my car tyres on Saturday. Damage is £550. Doesn't matter whether its an Audi or not. I've been riding in the Surrey Hills since 2001 and this is no way forward. Interesting observation is that the damage was done to 2 tyres...... Remarkable coincidence yeah..... A call to police beckons...
If you really want to carry on the subject - it wasn't me and I've got no clue, I mean no clue, who that was. And I feel sorry for you and for the person who did it. There's lots of CCTV footage from Guildford area to proove where I was on Saturday plus other hard evidence so if you want to do it, bring it on. Provided you're not lying or it wasn't coincidence. But all in all it's a waste of your time IMHO.
Mentioning flat tyres was a reaction for an arrogant post before, I can't imagine anyone being so stupid to do something like that just because someone else rides a bike. On the other hand - I guess most of you is just blind to see the problem that has been rising for a long time. And if Carlos's car really was damaged, then maybe this would make you think twice before bringing bad behaviour to a very peaceful place like Peaslake. Of course, you can carry on and pretend everything's fine. It'll not help anyone.
Summing everything up again - there's nothing wrong with mountain cycling, Peaslake does get overcrowded, especially the centre of it and the car park and the image of majority of you suffers from the minority behaviour. Maybe the latter is the bursting point mentioned in the title of the thread.
Have been a regular Surrey Hills rider for about 15 years now. It's definately busier now than it was. When I started riding up there I remember Leith Hill being the busy hill, then Holmbury and Pitch was the quiet hill - so have always done more of my riding on Pitch Hill when doing smaller loops.
I noticed what seemed like a surge in numbers when the work was carried out on Barry Knows Best. Maybe I'm wrong, but I am sure more riders started visiting the area after that, and Pitch is definately busier now than it's ever been.
Personally I don't get the need for everyone to park in Peaslake, or walking Bottom car park. I get that for [u]some[/u] riders it's all part of the "show" - hanging out in Peaslake, bike posing and talking the talk etc but surely everyone doesn't need to cram their vehicles into the village or WB car park to do that - there's another large car park at the top of the hill and the Windmill Pub also encourage bikers, do food etc, not to mention all the small car parks in the area.
Away from the village, the trails [u]are[/u] an issue - the errosion is just awful and that has got really bad over the last 2 years - I'm talking official and not official trails here. We all ride them all but as JCL rightly said, they get the ass kicked out of them all year round with zero maintenance and they just won't last unless something is done (and I have offered) Barry Knows best may not be the most tech or fun up there, but it's one of the only year round trails that copes with the traffic (just a shame so many riders insist on braking into that last right-hand berm!)
Have never witnessed any problems up there between riders and walkers, horse riders etc which is encouraging. Sad to read some of the posts in this thread though - damaging someones car, whoever that was is plain low, cowardly and pathetic - thought that sort of thing was only done by low life chav scum that unfortunately habitat my home town 🙄
Sorry Woppit. I'm just being smug and gloaty northerner again. All our southern cousins getting proper worked up about going riding somewhere where there aren't even any proper hills anyway
Binners I wouldn't mind but you're not even that good a rider so quite what you're getting gloaty about it beyond me. Besides the trails here are way more technical than most of the Peak District. They aren't rocky I grant you and the total vert isn't as much but hey, compared to the alps you could level the same argument to the peaks, Scotland, lakes etc.
Not all of the Surrey Hills is at bursting point. Never see many riders at the Punchbowl or Puttenham Common, and none at all on Hascombe Hill.
There's more than just Peaslake!
[i]I didn't see the nails till later that day. This was a few hrs after returning home when the tyres looked pretty damn low on air pressure down one side. The guy in the garage showed me the nails. I would have put it down to bad luck until I read this thread this am. Way too much of a coincidence if you ask me.......
[/i]
Surely you could have picked up the nails someway on the way back?
Yoghurt pots was never in top repair/condition but its pretty ****ed now mid-section 🙁
Out the bottom of Yoghurt- straight over and dogleg left provides a great alternative to the Telegraph run.
Oh and Iwill say it again, Surrey hills is full of flow. Most of the peaks are devoid of bends- just fairly straight rocky widr descents (sadly).
Flowy,speed carrying tight technical foliage with rollins. Awesome
b r
Yep - could well have done.
Going thro two tyres would be very bad luck.
"I am a Peaslake resident and British Legion member. Together with several of my colleagues I attended the service at the village war memorial yesterday and we were very touched to see so many of your members present, specifically for the occasion. One hears frequent mutterings about the numbers of bikers cluttering the village at weekends, but it is also heartening to discover that many of those outsiders who use Peaslake as a recreation centre are sufficiently responsible to respect also the life and customs of the village, in this case the annual remembrance service for those who fell in two world wars. "
http://www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk/kwccforum/viewtopic.php?p=99731#99731
End of thread...
The Surrey Hills are great. A month ago I rode a route that I last rode 7yrs ago. I didnt take one wrong turn and all of it was achingly beautiful.
You opted to miss out on all the new stuff then?
I reckon the reasons Peaslake is getting more rammed these days are because:
1) Pitch and WF are believed to be more trendy than Leith and Holmbury (and Redlands)
2) Forums like this give more credence to the above because it seems to lend some sort of reverence to the area
3) With the above in mind, many riders either don't bother checking out Leith and Holmbury or when they do, they give up finding the best stuff (particular on Leith) because they can't find it
Just my tuppence.
Write up of the remembrance service at Peaslake and a picture of some of the riders there:
http://www.muddymoles.org.uk/rides/ride-report-sunday-11th-november-remembrance-ride
That's all well and good Turner guy but if those riders were muddy they would have messed the place up, apparently.
What do you class as the old stuff?
I can't be bothered reading any of the previous 8 pages, however I am intrigued that anyone thinks there are actual hills is Surrey. Unless they're only 8 inches tall. Then I can understand how some of Surrey might look "hilly".
Perspective- a Cumbrian lad commented on his visit to the Peaks that he liked it and the hills dont take long at all to get up. 😆
Binners I wouldn't mind but you're not even that good a rider
Cheers GT. That's actually the most complimentary thing anyone's ever said about my riding. Out in'th'ills last week my riding style was referred too as 'like a big diesel Volvo estate'! 😆
Right - I'll stop taking the piss out of your 'hills' now, as whats going on there does all sound a bit mental. Sorry for being flippant
If you really want to carry on the subject - it wasn't me and I've got no clue, I mean no clue, who that was. And I feel sorry for you and for the person who did it. There's lots of CCTV footage from Guildford area to proove where I was on Saturday plus other hard evidence so if you want to do it, bring it on. Provided you're not lying or it wasn't coincidence. But all in all it's a waste of your time IMHO.
My suggestion is that as a "local" who started living there well after people here have been riding around the area Peaslake, you try to be more productive rather than threatening to stick nails in tyres then getting offended when someone suggests that the nails in their tyres might be down to the person who threatened to do it. The bikes are there in Peaslake whether you like it or not so the energy spent on being argumentative might be better spent trying to work out better ways for everyone to get along. As an aside, I've seen a lot of locals parking on the grass verges on the way up to Walking Bottom so it's not just cyclists.
As with earlier comments, perhaps you should just get the Store to close then the number of people would drop dramatically. Look at Coldharbour. It has about 10 parking spaces and one pub and even on the busiest days on Leith, it's almost empty of cyclists and the locals actually seem to be quite welcoming when you do stop.
I'm sure there's the occasional arse on a bike who is genuinely annoying/dangerous/offensive, but we could level the same accusation at locals with branches across trails, lines over bridleways (as near Newlands Corner) etc. I don't think everyone on STW is assuming everyone is out to damage them so maybe a constructive approach to the discussion might help?
It's a beautiful morning, to my eyes, today. The trees poking up through the fogbanks on Denbies make it look like Amazon rainforest. I love autumn in the Surrey Hills.
We're all lucky to have such a wonderful area to walk and ride.
I assume you do know what a hill is and that you can read an os map with contour lines? Know one is saying it's the alps or lakes but if you ride for a day around the north downs you can stack up a lot of elevation.however I am intrigued that anyone thinks there are actual hills is Surrey
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/trailguide/uk/south-east/the-north-downs/ ]Grizzly Lungbuster[/url]
I am intrigued that anyone thinks there are actual hills is Surrey.
There are hills in Surrey, there are mountains elsewhere in the UK. Mind you if you asked someone in France, Italy or Switzerland if the UK had any mountains I suspect they'd say no.
[b]mattjg[/b]
We're all lucky to have such a wonderful area to walk and ride
Agreed a million times. This year I've visited North and South Wales, the Lakes and of course the Surrey Hills where I live. All different, all stunningly beautiful.
It all stops being beautiful when you become bitter and twisted. Friends should point out this malaise and drag said-friend back from the brink.
@rewski: the good thing about those maps is they keep "out of towners" on the BWs and leave the proper stuff to the rest of us 😛
I drive past Hurtmore, drove past it this morning actually on my way to another office, but hey.. and I’ve often wondered just what it’s like to ride “them there hills”.
I shall pop up one day soon, looks like you are having fun and by the looks of it it’s similar to where I ride now.
Room for another car?
@ spacemonkey: proper stuff! You mean there's more than just BWs?
@bikebouy Hurtwood not Hurtmore http://www.friendsofthehurtwood.co.uk/
But it's nice, mail in profile if you want to ride sometime.
Someone remind me about this in a year, what say we all go have a nice ride in the Surrey Hills next Rememberance Sunday. Maybe meet in Westcott, ride over to Peaslake for 1045 to pay our respects, have a cuppa and a chat with the locals and the Legion, then ride on.
I'm in.
Westcott?! We don't want to see any more Audi and BMW's with roof racks littering up our village. Go park in Abinger!
[b][i]our[/i][/b] village.
Its not your village. Its everyones. Everyone can park, visit and go there and anywhere in the UK.
As I said to an inbred prick in Calderdale 'does this mean you have to ask my permission to visit Manchester'?
😆
[b]mattjg[/b]
There's no need for any cyclist to park in Peaslake, and in fact I find the store much nicer as a mid-ride stop than start/end point anyway.
Unfortunately a lot of people aren't even aware of WB car park. Not their fault, they're just directed to Peaslake.
[b]joao3v16[/b]
I can't be bothered reading any of the previous 8 pages, however I am intrigued that anyone thinks there are actual hills is Surrey. Unless they're only 8 inches tall. Then I can understand how some of Surrey might look "hilly".
North downs & Surrey Hills ridge is basically a bloody great glacial cliff.
It's no mountain but while some mountains in Wales may be higher in actual altitude, the base to top climbs of the Surrey Hills are reasonable and more to the point there's a lot of top to bottom to top on the routes, whereas many trail centres are long climb up, level and final descent.
Recent SH session covering just three of the hills, 2119ft elevation gain. Whites Level total loop earlier in the year, 1996ft gain. Similar amount of riding for both (utterly different terrain though).
As for Westcott - well just have to watch the Obsessive Hoarder documentary to see what the attitudes of the locals are there 😛
Hora, I know I'm kidding all are welcome, come and have a coffee if you happen to be passing by 🙂
No, you've upset me now. I must put the head of a dead pony at the bottom of your bed 😯
I propose we put less effort into correcting people's misconception there's no good reason to come here.
(My impression from the hoarder documentary is he was the most likeable person in the film by a good margin). I have a couple of mates living in Westcott, they're OK. Mostly.
Ohhh an offer I can't refuse, thanks for the info, shall be in touch.. 😆
My bike was born in Westcott, well built, born in Asia really.
A valuable contribution to a sensitive and controversial subject from a valuable contributor with an objective viewpoint.
I don't think you can get a more 'objective' viewpoint than through the bottom of a pint glass in a Manchester pub. Of course, Binners is all-knowing about all sorts of things he has no actual experience of; I thought this was an established fact on here?
As for the 'nimby' attitudes of some residents of the Peaslake area; I imagine many of them make/made their money working in/from London, a heavily congested city. I wonder if they ever pause to consider the impact their commuting into the city has on the residents there? Or maybe they just think that because they have ample waelth, that they are somehow entitled to peace and quiet away from us plebs?
Why not move to a remote part of Scotland, if you want such tranquility?
Hi Mike
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/being-nice-to-people-makes-you-happy ]*waves*[/url]
Hi Binners. I find it somewhat unnerving that you manage to reply so quickly to any mention of your name. Do you have some sort of sophisticated software that alerts you whenever your name is mentioned? A sort of attention seeking app?
Wonder if you could enlighten this thread with your undoubted limitless knowledge:
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/how-does-the-claims-system-work-following-an-accident
Not really Mike. It just get lonely, and I've got the attention span of a goldfish. Its a lethal combination, and the subsequent yawning emptiness it creates at the very heart of my being, means i sort of permanently need a hug
I'll have a look at the thread now. See if I can bring my omnipotence into focus....
Maybe we need a critical mass Peaslake set up? Any volunteers?
As for the 'nimby' attitudes of some residents of the Peaslake area; I imagine many of them make/made their money working in/from London, a heavily congested city. I wonder if they ever pause to consider the impact their commuting into the city has on the residents there? Or maybe they just think that because they have ample waelth, that they are somehow entitled to peace and quiet away from us plebs?
Theres new money and theres old money.
I hate the former, with the latter you (ok, slight generalisation) tend to experience intelligent/educated people.
The former tend to be arrogant (in my opinion).
I'll repeat what I said earlier- everyone I've met in that area has been friendly and inquisitive. If your mannerism or approach is off you tend to get the same (or advantage taken by the new rich).
Thanks MikeConner. Sometimes this forum really could do with a 'like' button.
If this was some remote rural idyll where everyone lived off the land and married each others cousins in some kind of pre-industrial Amish like existence the OP might have a point. It's the south east of England, if you want beauty and isolation you need to go buy a Scottish estate rather than spending your, not insignificant amount of money, to live in a desirable village in the Surrey Hills.
Like many others here I buy food from the local shops and beer from the pubs when I ride in the area. I've had chats with lots of people walking with their kids or dogs and never had any unpleasantness.
I do think it would have less impact if riders didn't park in the village itself and if not everyone tried to park in WB. Shuttle runs on BKB also strike me as a really bad idea. The locals could do with driving a bit slower in their 4x4's - hey, they could even walk or cycle to the village shop.
BKB shuttle runs were, indeed, a daft move. It's not like it takes 30 mins to get to the top and even when there it's not like you're going to use some sort of 40lb DH bike with everyone else riding too.
Blimey I thought the shuttle run comment was a joke? Please no.....
Recent SH session covering just three of the hills, 2119ft elevation gain. Whites Level total loop earlier in the year, 1996ft gain.
Whites level is ONE hill.
All that's going to happen is that due to the increase in popularity all the trails will be straightened,flattened and covered in gravel.
Its the surrey way.
Seriously? Link or I'm calling an early April fools.BKB shuttle runs
I don't want to name names in case I misremember but there was a certain sponsored rider who put it out on facebook that he was doing SH shuttle runs, primarily BKB and somewhere else. I think the overall sense of horror and disbelief may have put him off it.
That said, there is a 2 year old thread on STW which says that someone saw an ad in the bus stop at Peaslake for uplift
[b]happyrider[/b] - Member
Westcott?! We don't want to see any more Audi and BMW's with roof racks littering up our village. Go park in Abinger!
Parked my Audi (no roof rack) in Westcott on a Wednesday lunchtime for the Nirvana ride in the Spring, got left a nice 4 page colour note explaining how parking clogged up the village at the weekends and showing where else they would like me to park. Quite amusing really. Wednesday, deserted.
[b]hora[/b] - Member
BKB shuttle runs
Seriously? Link or I'm calling an early April fools.
I'm not going to name the rider (who I recognised) but I saw Pedal and Spoke driving "testers" to the top of BKB to demo a new bike - pretty laughable really. I am possibly the lamest climber on STW but even I can ride up Radnor Road a few times no problem.
but I saw Pedal and Spoke driving "testers" to the top of BKB to demo a new bike
lol surely riding uphill is part of the 'demo' ....
lol surely riding uphill is part of the 'demo' ....
that means they were probably rubbish pedaling bikes and Howard was trying to dupe them...
but I bet they weren't cheap rubbish
Whites level is ONE hill.
er. Yes, but you don't just ride up the fall line and straight back down do you? There's a climb, a bit of a descent, a bit more climbing, a traverse etc etc. A bit like riding in most other places in the UK. Actually - what makes UK riding more interesting than big mountains in many ways.
Looking back at a few rides I Strava'd over the summer I've got 56km/1123m on the Surrey Hills, 43km 1049 last time I was at Glyncorrwg. Riding out in the Pyrenees we were only doing about 1200m of climb off road (admittedly over as little as 28km). Surrey ain't flat unless you want it to be.
I'm doing about 1900 feet over 14 miles on the Surrey Hills most weekends. Over 28 miles, I do 3600 feet of climbing.
Flat as a pancake, Surrey.
Distance: 22.9mi
Elevation: 2,789ft
Sunday's ride, Leith to Pitch and back
jambalaya, that's a shame it really is! Bt it doesn't surprise me unfortunately. If they have the time to write a note 4 pages long they have the time to to navigate around a few cars extra. As long as people are parking with due regard for other people, resident or not, then its ridiculous to get upset. However people are people and most find something to moan about, don't understand it myself.
lol surely riding uphill is part of the 'demo'
I guess it depends on the bike. If someone was buying one of the v10s he had on demo, maybe dragging that up the hill would be a pain. That said, I'm not sure BKB is an ideal place to test it either
