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Took a ride out in the [url= http://app.strava.com/rides/19926900 ]Surrey Hills[/url] yesterday for the first time in 3 or 4 years yesterday, rode some of the trails that I got to know when I moved to London 10 years ago
Wow, its changed.
Lots of good little trails seem to have been abandoned, overgrown or fenced off, whilst some of the more heavily used trails seemed to have either improved with time , or be complete motorways.
The best bit was Yogurt pots, the trail has been massively reinforced and the new tree growth makes it feel like a totally different trail.
The bottom of the T trails was also great fun.
I thought i would have a final ride out there before moving from the area and it was like revisiting an old mistress, time had taken its toll and the areas where most fun was to be had been artificially enhanced.
There many more trails and many more riders. Some of the old favourites are holding up reasonably well, others are pretty dead. Some of the new stuff is great with a natural feel, some of it is pretty "constructed" more dirt jump in style.
When I returned to the sport in 2010 I was stunned by how popular the Surrey Hills had become, how relationships with local land owners had broken down, and what a breath of fresh air the whole deal with The Hurtwood was.
I was stunned how wet everything looked this morning (just passing through) in comparison with places such as Hindhead/Punchbowl/Hankley where I was riding this weekend. The top of Supernova looked a bog from the road.
Nice analogy in the OP though (apparently, I should add)!