Whilst the Surrey Hills, South Downs and North Kent grab the (South Eastern) headlines, The Chilterns have been quietly enjoying being one of those 'well kept secrets' enjoyed by 'those in the know'. The best hills in the Chilterns are not quite close enough to London for many, and it doesn't have a Box Hill, and is not near Cycling Weekly's HQ either. But if you live 'North of The River', you know it rocks.
I popped out this morning and there was loadsa' lycra getting sweaty out there in those hills, not at Dorking / Box Hill saturation, but looking good!. A Time trial was happening on the Great Missenden Course too. A couple of weeks back I was riding through Dunsmore and was chatting to a bloke who told me that he drives over from Essex regularly to ride the Chilterns. The number of Chiltern sportives is growing and now, thanks to Ride Hard the number of Audaxes is also increasing. Paul Stewart and Liam Fitzpatrick already have Audaxes in the area, so it's just getting better and better.
Following the threads above I had a look at the Chiltern Cycleway, I see the signs all the time, but hadn't realised it was a loop....must do that as a DIY!
Referring to the earlier discussion on info controls, it is interesting to note that the level of info controls advertised on the Mid Sussex event this weekend exceeded the rate of infos per km of the the Chilterns Pub Crawl.......which tends to suggest that, for an AAA ride, the Chilterns Pub Crawl looks pretty good on that level too. Of course, I'll reserve judgement until I've actually done the infos though! The Mid Sussex is a fantastic event and if you enjoy the views from Ditchling Beacon, you'll get loads like that on the Northern section of the Chilterns Pub Crawl.