Tour of the Hills, Sunday 9th August – Your Club Needs YOU!

By on 23 June, 2026   /   Blog posts   /   Leave a comment

Following the highly successful Elstead Audaxes on 8th June, when more than 115 riders took part, thanks to the efforts of Neil McIntyre, the rest of the WSCC events team, and volunteers, it’s now time to turn our attention to the Tour of the Hills (TOTH) Audax.

As most of you know, TOTH is a 120km ride that takes in all the main climbs in the Surrey hills, with around 2,300m of ascent. It takes place this year on Sunday 9 August, at Shere Village Hall. The event is open to all cyclists who are intrepid enough to take on the challenge, and we normally attract cyclists from across the country (and even beyond).

Entries have already started to come in and we are on track for a healthy number of participants. As well as being a very significant income source for the club, TOTH is also a very sociable occasion that brings a lot of club members together and creates excellent publicity and goodwill for the club each year.

Alongside TOTH, the club runs a gentler Tour of the Greensand ride on the same day and venue, which is also open to all comers. Further details of the Greensand ride, which normally attracts a good number of club riders from the G2 and G3 groups, will be posted on Spond nearer the time.

Entry for TOTH (the fee is £15) is via the Audax website at:

https://www.audax.uk/event-details/calendar/14064-tour_of_the_hills

There are two main ways you can help:

  • Volunteering for one of the roles on the day
  • Assisting with publicity for the event

Please take a moment to read on and consider how you can help the club make the event a success.

Volunteers

TOTH cannot function without a small army of volunteers in the hall, and out on the course. Each year, we have had a fantastic response from club members who have taken on these roles, and our volunteers have also had a great time in the process.

Checkpoint Marshals

There are 6 separate checkpoints around the course, and we need at least two marshals at each one of these. Their job is to check the riders in and out, stamping their Audax cards and – most importantly – handing out jelly babies, water top-ups and encouragement.

We are also need someone to coordinate the marshals from the Village Hall. We have a well-drilled system for the checkpoint stations (and all the necessary equipment) so the requirements for this job are already well set out. Expert guidance is on hand for anyone who would like to give it a try for the first time!

Catering and in-hall support

We have a small team (Marion Isaac, Alison Ingram, Jessica Shipp and Alison Dorsett – advised by Jill Ridyard) masterminding the catering logistics ahead of the event, but plenty of help will be needed to prepare and serve the food and the actual day. Our catering is one of the main attractions of the event.  Once again there will be two shifts for helpers (morning and afternoon) to ease the load on anyone who steps forward.

There are also a few other jobs in the hall itself, including a volunteer to deal with on-the-day entries, and checking in riders when they return to the hall at the end of the ride. And, we need a volunteer to coordinate entries for the Greensand ride too.

Spond poll

In the next couple of days, I will set up a poll on the club’s Spond page that allows you to register your availability for all the volunteering roles, at the click of a button.   Alternatively, you can just get in touch with me directly or via your ride leader, if that’s easier. It would be very nice to see some of our newer members getting involved this year.

Publicity

We have already sent out emails to last year’s entrants and more than 60 cycle clubs throughout the South-East and further afield to let them know details of the event, and the Audax magazine and website also provide valuable publicity.

But word of mouth is always a great way to promote this event, and it would be very helpful if club members could use their own cycling contacts and local knowledge to ensure that we bring TOTH to the attention of potential entrants.  Also, please mobilise your social media presence!  A classy looking graphic (png file) is attached to this post showing details of the event with a QR code link to sign-up.  Please use this on any Instagram/Facebook/website where we have a good chance to reach fellow cyclists who might be interested in signing up to ride TOTH.

Finally, we have printed some TOTH business cards and posters that can be displayed in cycle-friendly cafés and other hot spots, so please get in touch or ask you ride leader if you would like to help in that way.

Thanks, in anticipation of your support!

John Carolin

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Hugely successful Audax rides organised by West Surrey CC

By on 12 June, 2026   /   Blog posts   /   Leave a comment
Sunday 7th June saw 116 riders take part in three long-distance rides under the auspices of Audax UK.  All started from Elstead in Surrey and the routes took people west into Hampshire and Wiltshire under grey but not too threatening skies.  The Nearly Stonehenge is a 200km route which has been going more or less in its current form since 1978.  The Danebury and Overton rides (150km and 100km respectively) are a bit more recent but take in many miles of quiet country lanes with glorious views.
Nearly a third of this year’s riders were women, a growing trend that we were delighted to see and one which aligned with AUK priorities to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The events were organised and supported by West Surrey Cycling Club and a team of club volunteers was on hand to make sandwiches and provide refreshments and encouragement for the returning cyclists.

We are looking forward to holding the events again next year and are provisionally holding 6th June 2027 in our diaries.  In the meantime, though, the club will be running the Tour of the Hills on 9th August 2026, another demanding but very fulfilling event in the Surrey Hills (see www.audax.uk for details).

This was my first audax and I don’t think I could have wished for a better introduction into this particular world of cycling.  The whole atmosphere, bonhomie and organisation was first class and thanks are due to you and the team

I rode the 100 with my daughter, and it was her first Audax. I don’t have any negatives to share — only positives.

The communication was very good, and the GPX file worked well.

We both really enjoyed the route. It runs close to where I live in Aldershot, so I’ll definitely be adding parts of it into my regular rides.

That was my first Audax and all I can say is… BRILLIANT ! The communication before the ride, the briefing before we went, the refreshments at the start/finish were all great and most importantly… everyone I spoke to and rode with were so friendly and welcoming.

I’ve completed a few “sportive” events and this felt much friendlier and far less “corporate”, but still professional.

All photos copyright Mike Carrington

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