The first bicycle race in Guildford was on Coronation Day June 28th 1870 during the Surrey Rifles Volunteer fete in Stoke Park. There was a bicycle race with three competitors and a velocipede race with two competitors. The event included Twosaw's Royal Waxworks show, containing life size moving models of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson and Napoleon Bonaparte. There were over two thousand people present at the fete, who paid one shilling for admission.
The Working Men's Institute held their annual fete on August 5th 1878 at Stoke Park (by kind permission of C Hulme and the Earl of Onslow) and the program included an open three miles bicycle race, with a £1 10s for the race winner. There was also a veterans handicap running race over 120 yards, with one yard start for each year over 50. The Institute moved their fete to the cricket pitch in 1880.