London Rides - Outside the M25

Sick of the city and want some countryside? You can hop on your bike and soon find yourself some different and varied vistas. Surrey highs, a royal residence or a pedal along the prom at Brighton - take your pick!

Box Hill and Surrey

I’m sure most of you will have heard of Box Hill – at 2.5 km long, with an average gradient of 5% and just 129m of height gain, it is by no means an incredibly testing climb, but its proximity to London and being nestled amongst the scenic Surrey Hills AONB means that in 2019 it was crowned the most popular cycle climb in the world. It was also host to the 2012 Olympic men’s and women’s road races so you’re in the presence of real history when you hit the hallowed segment.

The initial ride from London (I lived SW so add a bit on if you’re North!) to Box Hill takes about 1hr 20. One of the things I always disliked about rides in the London surrounds is that it takes nigh on an hour to escape London into the countryside you’re aiming to get to, so there have been a few times where I opted to get a train out to Surrey and bike from there. 

The Surrey Hills are a perfect place to head on the weekend if you’re in search of some tough climbs; there are plenty to choose from and they’re pretty unavoidable. But the scenery more than makes up for the pain!

If you’re heading to the Box Hill area, I’d definitely recommend also fitting in Leith Hill which is 10 miles further south, just the other side of Dorking. It’s a bit of a tougher climb than Box Hill at 2.24 km long, with an average gradient of 5% and 152m of height gain. A real test for your legs.

Windsor Loop (100k)

I’ve done this route numerous times and have loved it every single time!

The roads are always chock-a-block with other cyclists pedalling the roads from London > Windsor and back, being a very popular weekend ride for cyclist across London. 

There are different routes to choose from but I’ve always enjoyed cutting through Windsor Great Park on the way there and taking a more direct route on the return leg. The ride is incredibly flat and easy going, so it’s a great longer test for novices. 

On arriving at Windsor, you might be forgiven for thinking you’ve entered a town in the full throes of a Lycra festival – every bench, coffee shop and spare sunny spot will be with bursting at the seams with cyclists. If you’re looking for a good café spot to fuel up for the ride back to London, head to Cinnamon Café. There are warm cinnamon buns the size of your head and delish coffee - you won’t be disappointed (unless your friend orders said cinnamon bun and you stupidly order a small flapjack… I’m still not over it). 

There is also the option here to carry on to Henley-on-Thames and Marlow to make it a century. The week before moving up North I took advantage of the flat route to do my first century doing just this! We actually misjudged the length so had to pop into Richmond Park on the way back for a lap to tip us over 100 miles (at which point I was having a slight sense of humour failure, having not been able to feel my toes for the best part of six hours. Our fault for doing it in Jan with highs of 0C).

Brighton

Another ride you’d definitely save for the weekend is the famous tour from London > Brighton. Heading south, you’ll be up against many more hills than when wandering out west. From SW London it was an 83km ride with 900m of elevation gain. The hardest of the hills you’ll come up against is Ditchling Beacon, the third-highest point on the South Downs – at 1.45km long, with an average gradient of 9% (max 16%) and 143m of height gain. But once you’re at the top it’s 10km downhill all the way to your destination and you can treat yourself to some well-earned fish and chips and a nice cold beer!

Disclaimer – for every chip on your plate there will be five hungry seagulls hungrily staring at your plate, waiting until you lose concentration for a millisecond, when they will pounce! We had to cover our plates with food menus to protect them from the ginormous scavengers.

If you’re feeling brave you could make it a circular route and bike back to London!

So what are you waiting for... Head outside the M25!

Pushed for time and need something a little closer to home? Here are my three favourite inner-city outings.