Summary (by AI): Returning to the Surrey Hills for a mountain bike ride after 30 years was a brilliant experience that reminded me of how much I love the beautiful scenery and fantastic, varied trails.
Blog: I started mountain biking over 30 years ago, and I remember it well. I was working out on the west coast of Ireland at the time. It was a beautiful place, and since I was fairly young and staying there over the weekend instead of heading back to London, I decided to rent a mountain bike.
I absolutely loved it. I just fell in love with it that day—being out in the open on a bike, exploring, and having a bit of fun with the skills involved.
Eventually, I got my own bike while I was living in London. I bought it from a place called Nirvana Cycles down near the Surrey Hills, right as mountain biking was really starting to take off. Because I lived in Islington and had an MGF, getting out for a ride was always a bit of an ordeal. I’d have to dig the bike out of storage in the flat, get it onto the back of the car, and drive through the middle of London to get to the trails. It was a bit of a hike just to get there, but it was always good fun.
That was over 30 years ago, and honestly, I haven't been back to the Surrey Hills to bike since. I moved out to Henley-on-Thames about 10 or 15 years ago, and because I can bike straight from my door into the Chiltern Hills, I do. After a decade of hauling my bike across London, I still find the novelty of riding straight from my garage too hard to resist.
But since I’m doing my "ABC tour," I finally got around to planning a ride in Surrey. It’s the middle of February now and the weather has been atrocious—just grey and rainy. I think we even broke a record for consecutive days of rain. But for some reason, we hit a little "mini spring wave" with full sun and temperatures reaching 17 or 18 degrees. I didn't want to go too far, so I figured it was time for a Surrey exploration.
I initially told myself I wanted to find new places to ride, but I reasoned—rightly, I think—that after 30 years, it was pretty much a new place again, even if I had technically been there before.
And honestly, it was a brilliant ride. Maybe it was helped by the fact that it was such a lovely day after such a rubbish winter, but the area is just amazing. It’s beautiful, and the trails are fantastic. The weather had brought people out in droves, but there’s so much variety.
I spent a couple of hours riding up and down Leith Hill and Abinger Hatch. There’s a lot of well-maintained technical stuff, some nice fire roads, and fabulous views looking over the Downs and back up towards London. It was a great day, and I loved being back.
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