Shoreham Century – Wednesday 19 June

A beautiful day, with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20’s.

I counted 19 riders (a Shoreham record?) leaving Henfold promptly at 10.45 including 3 new faces on Wednesday rides. Clearly this ride captures a spirit of adventure and ambition.

We made excellent progress, affected only by one puncture and one mechanical, arriving at the Bridge Inn, Shoreham around 1.45pm. The pub garden overlooking the harbour was packed, but luckily we had booked in advance. Food was excellent, and the staff were most helpful, despite some delays in service.

After lunch it was difficult to prise ourselves away from the garden; some elected to make their own ways home, so 14 of us set off on the “official” route just after 3pm.

Tea around 5pm in the Pavilions Horsham was similarly leisurely, leaving just before 6pm. On the homeward leg we managed a bit more speed, arriving at Leatherhead Wetherspoons at 7.30pm for a welcome celebratory drink.

My thanks to Brian Greenwood for such expert back marking and to a really enthusiastic group for making it such a memorable day.  

Distance N. Cheam to Leatherhead 95 miles; most will have made it a century. 7 hours cycling time averaging 13.7 mph on the road.