Love to Ride? About the rides

Looking for a friendly bunch of people to ride with? You've come to the right place

If you're new to riding, or have never ridden in The Surrey Hills before, you might have a few questions before you join one of our rides. Here we try to answer some of the common questions people have about Love to Ride.

Why Love to Ride?

Many of us have been riding informally together for many years through local bike shop rides and with other local groups. Hooking up with each other was always hard and we needed a way to communicate ride information amongst us. A web site seemed to fit the bill.

We have also recently started a Love to Ride Facebook group (now with over 150 members) to give you another way to hear about our rides and news.

Where and when do you ride?

In the beautiful Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and The North Downs including Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill, Pitch Hill, Winterfold Woods, Norbury Park, Headley Heath, Box Hill, Ranmore Common, Mickleham Downs and Newlands Corner.

Our ride calendar is always on the home page of the Love to Ride web site, but as a general rule our rides follow the following programme:

In British Summer Time (approximately from the start of April until the end of October) we also run weekly Thursday night cross country rides. Thursday night ride follow the following programme:

Members also we also organise an Awaydays (or sometimes a whole weekends). These consist of either challenging backcountry rides or visits to trail centres in Wales, Central and Northern England and Scotland. These are advertised on our Facebook group page.

In the spring we also usually find time to go up to Scotland for a full week of mountain bike mayhem!

Can I come too?

We always welcome new people on our rides; it's a great way to meet like-minded mountain bikers and talk about all things bike related.

All we ask is that you contact us on 0333 12 12 125 to tell us you are coming in advance of your first Love to Ride ride. This is so we can check that you have the right equipment, technical skills and physical fitness to enjoy the rides in comfort and safety.

Do I need to tell you I'm coming?

For Tuesday night rides you can just turn up on the night as they always run. For Thursday night rides please RSVP via our Facebook page or send us a quick message.

How hard are the rides?

Some rides can be harder than others in terms of technicality and fitness required. We only usually ride for a couple of hours on an evening ride so, if you can ride that long, you should be OK.

To help you decide which rides are technically right for you each ride is graded according to International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) trail grading standards.

Our rides each have a Leader that knows the trail ahead and can warn you if any section of trail is particularly difficult. However, please remember that mountain biking can be a dangerous sport and you are participating at your own risk.

What if my MTB skills aren't up to the job?

If you have never ridden singletrack before or are a relative newbie, our good friends at Astounding Adventures may be able to bring your skills up to scratch.

They also have courses for relatively seasoned riders who may want to look again at their fundamental skills or want to reach the next level in their riding.

Here's a selection mountain bike courses available:

Courses are held regularly throughout the year in The Surrey Hills and also Lee Quarry in Lancashire, Gwydyr Forest in North Wales, Yearsley Forest in North Yorkshire and Grizedale Forest in The Lake District between April and October.

What if I get left behind?

We'll never leave anyone behind and will stop regularly to regroup. However it is your responsibility to inform the ride leader if you are struggling with the pace, have a mechanical problem or decide to leave the group before the ride is scheduled to end.

What equipment do I need?

Most importantly you need a well maintained mountain bike that is ready to ride and suitable for sustained off-road use. Hybrid or commuter bikes are not suitable. Your bike must have bar end protectors fitted (plugs or locking caps)

Mountain bikes are available to hire from Astounding Adventures (see below). Please contact us on 0333 12 12 125 if you are unsure if your bike is up to the job.

Your bike should be serviced at least once a year. If you need your bike serviced, please contact our friends at Cycleworks.

You will also need:

Equipment notes

1 Your helmet should be undamaged and less than 5 years old
2 You should carry water enough for at least 0.5 litres per hour
3 Including a spare inner tube, speed links and mech hanger

Do I need lights?

We ride all year round at 7:00pm (meeting at 6:45pm). This means that for three quarters of the year it is necessary to have a good quality, reliable set of off-road lights. The battery will need to last for at least a couple of hours and the light output needs to be a minimum of of 20 Watts/200 lumens. Commuter lights are not suitable.

Surrey Hills Mountain Bike Guides & Bike Hire have a number of off-road lights for hire at the following rates:

Bar lights: £10.00 per ride
Helmet lights: £5.00 per ride

Subject to availability they have the following lights:

Call them on 0333 12 12 125 to book your lights. Please book the day before your the ride at the latest.

Can I hire a bike?

Surrey Hills Mountain Bike Guides & Bike Hire also have a fleet of Orange and Specialized mountain bikes available for hire.

They can also supply mountain biking equipment such as helmets, gloves, off-road lights and Camelbaks for a small fee.

Call them on 0333 12 12 125 to book. Please book the day before your the ride at the very latest.

Any more questions?

Send us a message if you have any other questions regarding our rides.

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