[Closed] New mountain bike, live in Balham, no car!

leith hill is your best bet!!

head to dorking train st but its quite a ride from there.

i live in croydon. there is some stuff but not much

When i lived in Tooting, I riode a couple of Time with Addiscombe - either train out to Croydon, or ride out if you fancy the miles. We also went out by train to Godalming and to that forest place wher ytou have top buy a pass, can't remember the name offhand

train to dorking either from balham or clapham junction depending on the day (journey time should be 33-40mins on the faster train). if you want to go out for an hour on some tame trails you can ride to richmond park via wimbledon common and along the river then over the a3 (go via gravelly drive in wimbledon park)

or a train to martins heron from clapham junction to go to swinley.

adddiscombe are no more!!

yes they are!

website is undergoing development but the forum is still popular

Yep - get on down to the Surrey Hills - train to Dorking is easy peasy.

no mtb rides any more as the guy who leads the rides cant do it any more (just had a chat to him on facebook and no its not cowboy).

also try and get a login for the acc website. its like trying to find rocking horse sh1t.

Dorking. You'll need a local to get the best out of the trails tho.
There are usually quite a few mtb'ers getting the train out of clapham junction at the weekend.

There are organised rides of Leith Hill and the surrounds most weekends from Nirvana Cycles in Westcott, just outside Dorking. (Rideable from Dorking)

That 'forest place that requires permits' is probably Swinley Forest near Bracknell. Nearest station is Martin's Heron which is on the Waterloo-Reading line. Again, excellent riding and a bit flatter, but you're probably better off finding someone to show you round as nothing is marked. The permits are just £2/day or £18/year, and the money goes towards trail maintenance.

Stop spreading false rumours oneoneoneone !

Addiscombe have got an off road ride on tomorrow :

http://www.addiscombe.org/members/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9891

Granted, the mtb rides are no longer led by Marco, nor are they every week.

.

tedtrumpet - put your knobblies on, and get yourself down to East Croydon station for 10ish for a local North Downs ride. There's far more off road/single track riding in Croydon than you might imagine. To give you an idea, all the stuff on this link is within 30 mins bike ride from East Croydon station :

http://www.jbutler.org.uk/London/Croydon/Loop3.shtml

website is undergoing development but the forum is still popular

Thanks everyone. Any more? I'll definitely be trying most/all of these soon.

Ted

have a look at [url= http://www.diaryofamountainbiker.co.uk/Routes_epsom.php ]diary of a mountainbiker[/url] here and get yourself a map- the stuff around here is a bet easier for a novice, and a bit easier to follow than a lot of the Dorking stuff, especially if you're by yourself. Get a train to Epsom, or Tadworth.

A copy of the Vertebrate Guides book 'South East Mountain Biking North & South Downs' could be a useful starter guide to what's accessible.

I keep meaning to have a look when I've got the time at that loop Ernie keeps posting.

vinnyeh - that loop is really intended for walkers - along footpaths, bridleways, etc. I only post it because the pictures are a good representation of the sort of stuff which is in very easy access from East Croydon station. There's plenty of singletrack/notrack stuff as well, but you really need someone who knows the trails to lead a ride. That's why Addiscombe cc rides are so useful - you get ride stuff that you would never otherwise find.

tedtrumpet - one of the guys on the Addiscombe cc ride yesterday had cycled up from Balham, where he lives ........ just thought I'd let you know 8)