A good few years ago I was made redundant from my job as a management consultant. With no more income coming in I decided to economise by resurrecting the old bike that had stood in the shed, unused, for ages. At first I used it simply to save myself a few pounds on petrol and car parking for trips into the town. But cycling can become addictive. Before long I was using my enforced spare time to explore the lanes and tracks I'd previously only seen when speeding past in the car. My short trips became longer and longer as I discovered the vast network of tracks and bridleways criss-crossing the Surrey countryside.
It had never occurred to me that there were so many hidden-away places in Surrey that you could explore by bike, and I decided to write a couple of cycling guide books so that I could share them with other people.
I wanted the guide to be more than just a list of directions, so I set out to discover the fascinating stories about the places and countryside through which the rides passed. I aimed that no matter how familiar the area, the reader would be certain to discover new sights and see a few familiar places in an entirely new light. And, by mixing on and off-road sections, together with alternatives for those sections which might be too demanding for some, I planned them to be suitable for ordinary people, including families with children, without the need to be an athlete to enjoy them. The shorter routes of up to 10 miles were planned to offer an ideal half-day's outing, while the longer rides were for those looking for something more ambitious. Or, for an even greater challenge, two or more of the routes could be combined into one ride!
The Guides are published by Cicerone Press, publishers of a wide range of books on walking, trekking, mountaineering, and climbing, as well as cycling and mountain-biking, covering Britain, Europe and the rest of the World.
Vol 1: West Surrey ISBN 1-85284-272-5
Vol 2: East Surrey ISBN 1-85284-273-3
both priced at £7.99
Click on one of the buttons below to see a list of rides in that book, or click sample ride for details of one of the rides.
