[Closed] Swinley forest..

Went on Monday. All dryish and riding well.

It looks like they've had a quick clear up of the worst bits of fire road where the heavy plant has been working

Awesome cheers guys! Hoping for a 50+ miler so mud can do one!

Think that's a bit unrealistic around Swinley at any time of year...

rode there today! A little bit of orange splashy mud on the frame from the digger/fire road section - otherwise pretty much dry. Didn't even need to change shorts to get in the car!

Is that likely to change with tonight's rain?
My garden has turned into a marsh and the patio is now a pond..and that's just from this evenings rain..

Why is it unrealistic??

3 - 4 laps of Red / Blue unless you plan to ride there and back as well. Even with off piste you'd be looking at 3. I wouldn't fancy it on that crappy surface in the wet for 50 miles. You be better off riding out into Deepcut and Tunnel Hill to extend to one big loop.

I'd be bored sh!tless doing 50miles of Swinley.

As for the mud though, suck it up, it's winter. Bikes don't melt in the mud. 😛

I find the cobbles are harder work than slogging the odd bit of fireroad round there. But get off piste and over Crowthorne way and you'll get a better ride, and yes, extend it to TH etc for the miles and way more fun. There will still be mud though, just not ginger 😉

A decent 50 miler though off road... Surrey Hills, combining them all. Big killer loop (and I mean killer). Winterfold, Pitch, Holmbury, Leith, Box, maybe Mickleham and Ranmore, taking in as many trails as possible. Should do it. 😀 . Most I've managed is 45, and took all day.

Ah i see. Actually thats a good shout, ive got the os maps on my garmin so may have to try and create a route that loops out from swinley. Unless anyone has a gpx route out from swinley?

Ive raced tunnel and all the gorrick used areas but dont know if i could actually remember them to create a big loop.

^ trouble with that is there are sections that never get used again and revert back to nature.

You could do it but the first few goes will be a piecing together event.

I've always wanted to but never spared the time. I end up doing laps of the last course. Not so satisfying but better for improving on specific sections.

So in the end i stayed local (maidstone) and im glad i did. I had next to no legs and the mud just ruined me! The weather was crap and i got soaked and cold which made it worse. 60 miles of mud though so not too bad.

I will be back though, determined to create a big swinley loop doing as you guys suggested, heading outwards to take in some surrounding trails.

Cheers

If you're properly good, you need to keep an eye out for Gee on here; he arranges (loosely, as in decides a route and lets people follow him if they want to) a big all dayer around the area covering Surrey Hills and the nearby areas.

If you're not good, it will kill you though 😉

Gee's mental Surrey Hills (and surrounding area) 81 miler is [url= http://www.strava.com/activities/41272557 ]here[/url] on Strava.

It's been on my "to ride" list for 2+ years.

Isn't too bad to string together, my effort -

https://www.strava.com/activities/385446797

I've always said that we're blessed thart not only do we have good riding in this area, we also have lots of it and the right arteries to string it together, like the canals. I can do a 50+ miler from my house of which less than 5% is roads, and those that are are pretty minor ones.

Just a note - you should make the area around your house private, especially if posting details of your rides on public forums

@deanfbm
Does that route take in the whole Blue/Red/Blue? Doesn't look like what I'd expect it to if it does unless it's some sort of Garmin inaccuracy.

^route didn't take in entire red/blue or most of the trails en'route, could easy top it up to 80+ miles w/o adding anymore road.

PS, i checked the privacy zone around my house, hope it's working.

I used to complain about working in Farnborough so much. I bloody miss it now I'm in Birmingham 🙁

Definitely going to create a 75+ mile ride for the summer even if it means doing the same bit twice 🙂

I used to do a 50+ mile loop from Reading (Shinfield) Wokingham, Swinley and down to TH, as others said you can extend it infinitely if you want to, riding all the way through the Surrey hills, through the MOD land, over Swinley, Bridleways to Reading, then the cyclepath/canal/river to Pangbourne and you're away into the chilterns.

I've done similar to Gee's above but half the distance from Woking and then just Pitch/Holmbury, but using off road between mostly. via the Wey, Merrow Downs, bit of North Downs Way to SH and back through Albury. Half of the ride is gentle cruising really and half is singletrack and climbs.

A real Surrey Hills killer is doing all the hills with singletrack most the way. Even a 40 miler is a killer. Really need to include Box, Ranmore and others to make the most of it.

@deadkenny
Have you got a GPS track for that?

@curiousyellow - Not the SH epic. Not done all the hills in one go, though thought I'd done a longer one inc Box, Ranmore to Peaslake and back via Leith that was 40+, but looking back don't think I did. Done it in two parts, just need to link it all up in one ride.

The Woking to SH was shorter than I thought also. Thought I'd done Holmbury as well. Just went via Winterfold and couple of trails then back. https://www.strava.com/activities/150265910