Forum menu
@HoratioHufnagel - I think you hit the nail on the head there. 😀
One of the reasons people are quite cagey about telling others about where the trails are is that quite a lot of very good trails are nowt but scratches in the ground. once everyone knows about them, then they suddenly become 20ft wide mudfests. As there's no obligation to tell everyone, people tend to pick and choose, and show their little stash to people they like.
Put another way - better that than Surfer-style localism, which sucks. One of the local paper's journalists, a keen srufer, was gobsmacked that 'us locals' weren't beating up outsiders for riding on 'our' trails. We had to explain that it doesn't work like that in mountain biking.
Grum that was my point. Perhaps not well made
I was trying to be ironic
It seems accepted on here that people will pay to be guided in the alps, to save on hassle. But that some how this is insane in Surrey. I don't think I would pay for guiding in Surrey but I can see why you might.
Paying for a guide instructor for a family I think makes total sense if know one in the family has expertise on a bike
Jeez I hate trail names. Makes me cringe every time someone talks about them, especially the ones where it's just some crappy bridleway... 🙂
"oooh yes we rode all the way up Bobby's A**ehole last night then over to Ewok village 2"
aaaaargh!
@HoratioHufnagel - I think you hit the nail on the head there.
+1
When I moved down south I put a lot of effort into meeting the right people to find the good stuff in Surrey, some of them are still friends.
However, I don't really ride any more as I have young twins, a manic job and my wife works, so what little free time is available takes meticulous planning to get the most out of. £30 is a small price to pay to take the planning out IMHO.....
Not that I'd actually undertake that myself, as planning is part of the enjoyment of the process, but I can see the appeal
I think if people feel more comfortable with a guide, even in a central area of the country, then that's fine. Some urban born-and-bred people find the countryside a wee bit alien, others are intimidated by the technology and hype of so called extreme sports. A bit of help to get past that coud be worth paying for. At least they are giving it a go.
30 quid per person sounds pretty damned reasonable to me. When you look at the likely number of days work the guys are going to have, the fact that it's very likely to be seasonal, Liability Insurance costs (assuming they have some!) they can probably only do one trip per day as even if it should take a couple of hours, it could take 5 hours with an inexperienced group, so no chance of safely arranging a 2 trips per day and coining it in! So it might only be a half days work, but you still need to earn a days wage.
I could go on, but I doubt they are going to get rich doing what they do, I certainly know that feeling.
£30 for 3.5 hours - seems pretty reasonable.
If I had an afternoon to spend in Surrey I think I'd be tempted. I'd be paying £30 so that I'd spend my time cycling rather than wandering around lost.
It's £30 FFS, I spent that on lunch in the smoke today. Can't see the issue, if you don't like it don't spend it but why criticise?
Nothings waymarked so it may £30 well spent
I like how their XC routes are all 25 or 25 & 3/4 miles long, regardless of if they are 30km or the 'killer loop' 40km in length. Ooops.