Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Easy riders - Wednesday 27th July

Easy riders - Wednesday 27th July

A dull sort of day and just a bit chilly first thing but the weather forecast said “no rain”, just white cloud with some sunny intervals. A good turnout of Easy Riders at Leatherhead. Mark Roy said he would take a short ride on his own and Dennis opted to make his own way slowly to Brockham our intended lunch stop. Thirteen of us left the Day Centre , the girls in force, Lynda, Sonia, Sandy and Beryl, Phil Barnes, a refugee from B Group our other Phil, Les, Nev, Ron, Roger, Norman, Tim and yours truly as number thirteen. Turning right along Leret Way/Linden Road Way we made our way up to the traffic lights and across into Church Road. We turned right at the end then quickly left to go down Gimcrack Hill, and along the cycle track to the Young Street roundabout. Across that and we followed the cycle track until the Denbies roundabout. A bit quieter now as we made our way along Pixham Lane to turn left on to the ghastly A25. We were able now to cross to the comparative shelter of the cycle track and thence along what was once an old road to London, passing by the golf course and into Brockham. .The village itself looked as immaculate and floral as ever. We debated a while on which pub to use. What used to be The Kings Head has gone up market and turned itself into The Inn on the Green “Grumpy Mole” restaurant so we went for our initial choice The Royal Oak. This has been given a complete face lift since I last visited, but prices are modest and we were given a friendly welcome. The rear of the pub has been transformed into a pleasant garden with tables and umbrellas where we were able to sit in the sun which had appeared during the morning.

After our appetites had been satisfied and our thirsts quenched we set of for our return journey to Leatherhead. We had little option but to retrace our morning’s route. The alternative, way out of the Mole Valley involves some awkward hill climbing which I for one did not fancy. Once in Leatherhead we made for Annie’s for teas. Annie herself greeted us warmly with news that she had just taken a Victoria sponge out of the oven.

The store opposite Annie’s (formerly Currys, now closed) is being turned into a Salvation Army establishment of some sort. It now has a large metal grill in front of it to which we all locked our bikes. We sat in Annie’s window eating our Victoria sponges and drinking teas and coffees, watching puzzled passers-by looking at our bikes wondering perhaps if they had been left there as donations to the charity shop.

Teatime over, we made our separate ways home, thankful for a dry and mainly sunny day.

Mike Withers

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