Tour of the Hills August 2025 Report
The 43rd edition of TOTH Audax, and the Greensand ride that the club runs in parallel with it, took place on Sunday 10 August. As with last year, we had a warm and sunny day for the events.
The superb response we received again from the many who volunteered as checkpoint marshals and in the hall and kitchen ensured that the day was once again a great success for the club.
TOTH Entries
We had just over 100 riders who signed up for TOTH including 3 on the day. As usual, about 20% failed to show up for the start (mostly without any explanation). Of the 82 starters, 65 made it back in times varying from an impressive 4 hours 54 mins to 7 hours 30mins – all well within the limit provided by Audax. The first rider back in the hall, Sean Kilroy, does his regular riding (and hill training?) near his home in Cambridge. The 17 who failed to complete the course provided the usual array of explanations – my personal favourite was the chap who said he didn’t realise it would be so hilly!
Entry numbers were some 10% down on 2024, and the fact that this was the second successive year of decline is a bit of a concern. 100 entries is a nice manageable number and generates a healthy financial surplus for the club, but we do need to keep thinking about ways to sustain the numbers in future. The entry fee was held at £15 this year, which, at the cost of coffee and cake for two in Surrey these days, provides excellent value given the support we offer to the TOTH riders.
As well as a good contingent of Audax regulars, we attracted riders from many local clubs (Charlotteville, Ditton, Epsom, Godalming & Haslemere), but this year the biggest contingent by far was the 14 or so from Kingston Wheelers. Five regular WSCC riders entered the event. A further 17 had joined the now-traditional course check ride for the club G5 group on the previous Wednesday (though I could not help noticing that their numbers did thin out a bit on the approach to Barhatch!)
Unfortunately, there were a couple of medical emergencies this year. First, a rider from Woking CC took a tumble on her way to the Village Hall for the start of the Greensand ride. Second, one of the TOTH riders came off on a seemingly harmless stretch of road after the Whitedown Lane climb. Both unfortunately ended up in A&E and whilst the Greensand rider’s injuries proved less serious than initially feared, the TOTH rider suffered fractured ribs which will take a few weeks to heal. Neither accident involved other road users, but it highlights the need for us to continue to offer a clear safety briefing for riders on events such as this.
The accounts have not yet been finalised, but we should generate a good surplus for the club from this year’s event. Along with the success of the Elstead Audaxes run by Neil McIntyre and his team in June, the income from these rides continues to place the club in a healthy financial position, which is good news for all of us.
Greensand ride
We had more than 20 riders who signed up for the Greensand ride (“TOTH-lite”) this year, a 50km route that takes in a more manageable 700m of ascent. Once again it was nice to see a substantial group from Woking CC, organised and led by Kevin Hawken, and Angela also led a club G2 ride on the route. We could perhaps do more to promote this ride within the club in future, perhaps offering a choice of routes.
Event Publicity and Sales
We now have a pretty good idea of what combination of factors works to advertise the Tour of the Hills. It is an event that seems likely to continue to attract a good contingent of Audax die-hards, so the critical factor in maintaining or boosting numbers is encouraging cyclists from local clubs to the event. Some of these clubs actively promote TOTH to their members. We send details to our database of cycling clubs and cafes, and Alison Warren does a great job to follow this up with social media reminders. But given the number and diversity of WSCC members, I’m sure there’s untapped potential for using human contact with our friends and acquaintances in other cycle clubs to encourage them to bring a group along.
Volunteers
I say this every year, but we had a really wonderful response from club members to take on the many jobs required to get the event moving – a team of 25 or so all played a part and, as in prior years, the response was so good we even had the luxury of a few reserves.
Jill did a fantastic job managing the catering again this year. With shifts from the volunteers in the kitchen (Helen, Paula, Marion, Alison, Phil and Jessica) everything fell into place and we delivered the now-customary high standard of nutrition with a smile – much appreciated by the riders.
Nick Moses once again coordinated the marshalling effort, with help out on the road from Ian, Martin C, Ben, Martin V, Nick F, Peter, Brendan, Roy, Penny, Ian, Liz, Anne and Clive on the 6 checkpoint desks, and Maggi volunteered once more for first checkpoint duties on Dunley Hill. Many riders back in the hall commented on the cheery good luck messages they received, along with bananas and jelly baby supplies, from our volunteers. The steps we took to ensure more water supplies paid off this year too.
Back in the hall I also received valuable support in checking the riders in and out from Nick M, Nick F, Keith (who also took charge of on the day entries as well as the Greensand riders) and John Carolin. It was also good to see other club members who came by for a chat and a cuppa throughout the afternoon.
Rider feedback
One of the great joys of helping with TOTH is the fantastic positive feedback that our volunteers receive from the riders. Here’s a selection of the comments:
Just a quick thank you for yesterday. An excellent route and an enjoyable day. But I’d like to thank all the volunteers what a great job they did!
Big thanks to all your team for a well-organised ride on Sunday Derek, very much appreciated, we almost enjoyed it….(!) and well done in organising the good weather too…..
Just wanted to say a massive thank you today. It was brilliant. Obviously helped by the weather but the organisation was impeccable and catering just staggering. Please pass on a big thank you to all those that helped on the catering and all the check points, lots of encouragement all the way.
I’d love to go again next year and will try to get a bigger contingent from Angmering Cycling Club.
I greatly appreciated all the unseen hard work by you and your team behind the scenes to make the event the huge success it was. I was really impressed with the caring attentions to detail throughout the end-to-end process. Everyone was super friendly too which made for a special day out. Thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Ride was really good so thanks for organising. Will definitely do another one
Thank you to you and everyone at WSCC for a friendly, well organized and thoroughly enjoyable day out. You picked a perfect day!
Next year? – ALL CHANGE!
We have requested our booking for next year’s TOTH at Shere Village Hall on Sunday 9 August 2026, however this is provisional at the moment and may change.
Jill and I have been heavily involved in organising the TOTH and its catering since 2019, and even though we all had an unscheduled break in 2020 due to the COVID cancellation that year, we both feel that being in the lead roles for the five years since then is long enough. So next year the event will have a new team in charge.
John Carolin has stepped in to take on my role with the Audax admin and management of the riders, but the club still lacks a clear plan for who tales on responsibility for the catering. However, this gets resolved, Jill and I will be on hand to assist the new organisers and to ensure a smooth transition. We have set up the WSCC Events Committee which pools resources, energy and ideas across the club to make sure that both the TOTH and the Elstead Audaxes run successfully.
So if this is something that appeals to you, please let me, Jill or someone on the Committee know. It really is a rewarding experience to be involved in an event that generates so much goodwill and interest around the club and across the cycling community, so please don’t feel shy about stepping up to the challenge!
Derek
Riders can choose from three distinct courses, tailored to various experience levels and ambitions. All three routes ventured westward into the picturesque counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire, offering riders sweeping countryside vistas and glimpses of historic landmarks:
