B Group - 10th July

A very large number of us set off from Leatherhead in Wednesday's sunshine. At around 29 this was the biggest group since Robin's ride to Windsor some weeks ago and I felt a certain apprehension about towing such a long train over the 2 hour route I had planned. David kindly allowed himself to be press-ganged into the role of back marker and sadly he became the first casualty of the lack of communication between the engine and the caboose when, slowing down for riders ascending the rise up from Westhumble Station in Chapel Lane, he lost sight of the peloton which by now was chugging up Ranmore Common Lane. So David carried on up the steep slope in Chapel Lane and didn't rematerialise until we reached the Saddlers Arms.

After regrouping at the Denbies gate we cruised along the top, enjoying the scenery and the summer smells, eventually leading into Crocknorth Road and its steep descent. We remembered to take the sharp left turn into Green Dene which is a rather beautiful route though it would seem that I had lied to the few riders who sought reassurance about the terrain in that lane.

I think this was the first regular ride with B Group for Paul and Maggie so I want to extend a big hearty welcome to them. I hope they haven't been discouraged by the severity of the hills we like to tackle on some rides. They were with us in Dieppe so I don't imagine they will be.

Along Combe Lane we reached the top of Staple Lane and from there it was downhill all the way to lunch in Send Marsh. After the numerous times we have ridden up Staple Lane I have often imagined leading a ride down it and I like to believe that by the time we reached East Clandon most people had forgiven me for hauling them up onto Ranmore Common.

The appalling road surfaces in parts of Ripley Lane and Hungry Hill Lane left us rather shaken but we were soon enjoying lunch outside The Saddlers Arms. The folk who run the pub made us feel very welcome and given how very numerous we were they coped very well and bustled around making and serving our lunches until everybody had one. For a few this involved a bit of a wait but this was understandable. Good food I thought; I hope we all enjoyed it.

I was obliged to leave the ride after lunch and I am writing this in a hotel room in South Wales. When I return and find out how the afternoon ride went I will add another paragraph or two.
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For the afternoon ride I struggled to devise a route which would offer as much fun as the morning ride. Having set in my mind the idea of Tea at Squires in Stoke d'Abernon I considered how to pad the ride out to the expected 13 or so miles. Fortunately I was not around to deal with the fallout and David kindly led the group the long way to Ripley, followed by the long haul down Rose Lane to West Horsley then a change of tack up to Effingham Junction via The Drift then SE down to Effingham and past the Vineries. Some people evidently realised that something weird was going on and bolted for home from Effingham Junction when common sense over-ruled the desire for tea and cake.

But I understand that a tearaway group, entering more fully into the spirit of all this meandering, decided to extend the route from the original plan by an extra mile, veering into Fetcham to achieve this. I gather that a good afternoon tea was enjoyed at Squires by what was still a large number of people.

Many thanks to David, who did the recce with me on Monday, rode as backmarker in the morning, then led the ride during the afternoon, armed with the confusing pile of information I had given him. Thanks to Terry who was back marker in the afternoon. Thanks to Bernard too for publishing some photos. Thanks to everyone who came for the ride and contributed to the enjoyment of the day out in the sunshine.