I'm no Enduro racer (awaits flaming...) but I'm pretty sure I could ride *most* of this:
without too much issue - but living in the SE the choice of mountains to ride up/down is, well, limited...
I'm starting to realise my favourite type of riding is non-trail centre, long climb on a fire-road/climb trail (not up, then down, then up then down, just straight up for miles if needed) which then earns you a nice long descent. Repeat until your legs are toast or there's no light left 🙂 Friston forest is the best example of this locally that I've found, and obviously Surrey Hills is going to be even better.
Looking at google maps terrain it's a sorry affair as apart from the odd pocket of elevation (North downs/Surrey Hills/South downs) the closest decent hills are the Chilterns which doesn't seem to have much in the way of riding, then the Costwolds and south Wales! There's a few areas close by me that I can explorer, but I'd love to find somewhere resembling the video above.
The Peak district and south Wales are both 3-4 hours away which is doable there and back in a day, but not really financially doable that often - £70+ would be a round trip for me, which soon adds up.
So, is there anywhere within an hour or 2 of me that has great, natural trails with great descents and long, mind-sapping climbs? 😀
No.
What was this about the SE being a wealthier place? Shiny bike but lack of riding....
Woods behind Nationwide in Swindon.
There is plenty of great riding in the Chilterns and most other 'hilly' places, but you are clearly not going to get the elevation gains of what you are hoping for. You need to adjust your expectations a bit.
It's a bit like asking where in Scotland can I ski a run similar to what I can in the Alps or Whistler!
sshhh don't tell him where the massive mountains are near london...!
Have you tried Swinley? 😀
Have you tried Swinley?
Yeah, it was too gnar for me 😉
There is plenty of great riding in the Chilterns and most other ‘hilly’ places, but you are clearly not going to get the elevation gains of what you are hoping for. You need to adjust your expectations a bit.
It’s a bit like asking where in Scotland can I ski a run similar to what I can in the Alps or Whistler!
I'm not expecting to find exactly the same, just hoping that there's some decent natural, long descents somewhere in the middle of England! 🙂
We used to get up early and gun it to south wales from Woking. I seem to remember it taking under 2 hours. this was 12 years ago so traffic may be worse and my memory was 'hazy' back then
The answer is to buy a more econmical car , that takes 2 people . Then a drive to Wales and back will be £25 each. That is as close as you are going to get to decents that take more than 3 mins. Everywhere else is winch-plummet down tracks that lose 300-400ft only, not a 1000ft + drop.
Having said that there must be linked sections of singletrack off Leith Hill that will be closer , but will have fire road bits and no rocks.
That's a great trail, though probably one of the less techy Zona Zero sections. Book yourself a trip to Ainsa!
There's a uk terrain map here
http://en-gb.topographic-map.com/places/England-66577/
not a lot of rock on the Surrey Hills. Trips further away are a lot more economical if you make it a weekend or longer. My rule is the riding has to be longer than the driving so any more than 2 hours each way and it's got to be an overnight.
senor j has the correct answer!
Get yourself a bike bag and a trip to heathrow. All the riding of europe open to you then
Cheers Simons, that map is very useful.
Ok, so that ainsa descent is 400m, that's getting on for half the height of mount Snowdon from sea level!! 😮 Maybe I was being a bit hopeful...
Rode that trail last week with Basque MTB, they called it The Ridge. There is nothing like that in south east england. Your best bet is Cwmcarn which is about 2hrs down the M4 from west London. Both The Twrch and Cafall trails are a long slog to the top, before riding all the way back to the carpark. Not sure what condition they are in since the fire in the summer though.
Edit: Sorry, didn't read OP properly, that south wales is too far....
Here is a gratuitous shot of that Zona Zero trail again! ;0)
FAKE NEWS that is defo Swindon
Think you find that's not Swindon, but round the back of Heathrow T5 🙂
Aston Hill, it's a hill bot a mountain but does have more gnarr and a hill than post of the south east.
Is PORC still going? Not heard of it for a while.
There was a good article in the mag a few years ago "the gnarr where you are" about making the most of your local riding and managing expectations. Ive only been once but actually really enjoyed the riding arround North Kent!
There’s a uk terrain map here
http://en-gb.topographic-map.com/places/England-66577/
/blockquote>Not seen that before, quite handy.
PORC is back open, but it is not the big elevation change he’s after.
I live SE London/ Kent area. There isn’t anything exactly like you describe unfortunately (Surrey and Friston as good as there is within an hour or so drive) but there are some half decent woods that can be ridden to keep up skills/ fitness. What area are you based?
Rode that trail last week with Basque MTB, they called it The Ridge. There is nothing like that in south east england. Your best bet is Cwmcarn which is about 2hrs down the M4 from west London. Both The Twrch and Cafall trails are a long slog to the top, before riding all the way back to the carpark. Not sure what condition they are in since the fire in the summer though.
Edit: Sorry, didn’t read OP properly, that south wales is too far….
That's handy actually it's good to know which Wales trail centres I'd enjoy - after watching a video of Llandegla I think that's one to avoid.
Also it doesn't have to be several hundred metres of elevation change, just a decent natural descent. Minton batch looks really good from a couple of videos I've seen, although that's still over 200m.
I do envy you lot who live up in Scotland or close to proper mountains, but on the plus side I can drive for just over 8 hours from my house and be in the Alps...
PORC is back open, but it is not the big elevation change he’s after.
Yea, but SE and elevation change are pretty much mutually exclusive. We've got hills, not mountains. You can make the most of what's there (like the Surrey Hills) or drive 2-3 hours to somewhere else.
I live SE London/ Kent area. There isn’t anything exactly like you describe unfortunately (Surrey and Friston as good as there is within an hour or so drive) but there are some half decent woods that can be ridden to keep up skills/ fitness. What area are you based?
Maidstone - so for all the local riding there's Bedgebury, bluebell hill/detling hill, covert woods (Saturday morning shop rides from biketart), Friston forest, Surrey Hills, and some other cheeky not marked trails around some of the chalk ridges in Kent/east Sussex.
Oh and QECP a bit further, and Epping forest but I'm guessing that's flat as anything.
I'm going to get a Bedgebury membership as it's a good place for a blast and is only 30-40 mins from me, I'll aim to be able to blast round in sub 45 minutes for a lap or 2, eventually.
Ah okay, you’re a bit farther south than me. Sounds like you’ve got some decent stuff fairly local. There’s a FB group called Gravesend Grunts that also ride local(ish) to you that may be worth looking up..
Another shout for Aston Hill. It's got some of the best descents I've ridden in SE England so far. Albeit more "steep" tech than long natural.
EDIT: Ah not great if you are south of London
few long descents that get a bit rocky and loose on Gibbet Hill / Devils Punchbowl. Heading north down the bridleways and byways tend to be more open and loose rock, with a few steppy bits nearer the bottom IIRC (but busy with walkers partic at the w/e); heading south/southeast off Gibbet Hill is more typical Surrey Hills type, forests, roots, bit steeper.....
There are some decent trails at the top of bluebell hill. Ride along to detling and down monkey breath (search on strava).
few long descents that get a bit rocky and loose on Gibbet Hill / Devils Punchbowl. Heading north down the bridleways and byways tend to be more open and loose rock, with a few steppy bits nearer the bottom IIRC (but busy with walkers partic at the w/e); heading south/southeast off Gibbet Hill is more typical Surrey Hills type, forests, roots, bit steeper…..
Cheers, looks a decent area - will add to the list.
There are some decent trails at the top of bluebell hill. Ride along to detling and down monkey breath (search on strava).
Yeah I've ridden most of the trails up bluebell/detling hill. The climb back up to the top is a bloody killer though, can only manage it a few times.
Hi Paul
Maidstone has a really strong mountain biking community, with some well established Facebook groups plus a myriad of other groups of friends that ride etc.
Best bet is just get chatting with people as you ride around, maybe join them for a trail or two. You'll find your level, that is to say you'll ride a bit and you'll get dropped, drop them or be in roughly the same ballpark. Go for a pint, ride together and before you know it you'll be bundled into a van heading to Wales or the FoD for the weekend.
Surrey is about an hour away, 50 miles basically.
Go explore, meet up with people and start to learn the place, you can put together some lengthy descents by linking up 2 or 3 trails at a time.
But as mentioned above, embrace what you have.
Go explore the trails around Canterbury, some great long, sinewy woodland trails that snake through the trees for several minutes at a time.
I love the riding in the SE.... sure its different elsewhere but that's what makes trips away so special.
Have you ever tried riding along to Holly Hill, up that and then a long gradual descent to cuxton? From there I go over the M2 high level bridge back up to bluebell hill and then along to detling. Quite a nice ride for fitness although not very technical. Sometimes go along to Trosley country park to add some length.
Nowt in the way of long descents here in the South East.Most of the bigger descents probably aren't much more than 200 ft,its a different style of riding that's more high frequency-shorter downs and shorter ups,but more of them and can still add up to a good few thousand foot of descending on a ride.
Reminded me a wee bit of this -
Same country, kind of.
LD - I'm game for that... So would the lads...
It's on the list!!