After the showers of the Dieppe Raid weekend (which we largely avoided), Wednesday was forecast dry and warm: perfect. A good turnout at Cobham despite many regulars still returning or having a day off after Dieppe. We mustered 15 riders for the A ride and set off promptly at 11.10 for a gentle stroll through the downlands of Ockham and gently up to West Horsley. The warm-up completed, we headed up Shere Road, a less gentle way up and over the hill to Shere, sporting a chevron both up and down. In the process, chemical energy, otherwise known as cake energy from Peter Bett's birthday cakes, was converted to potential energy at the top of Combe Lane, and shortly afterwards into kinetic energy (40+ mph according to Mark's graph) and then transferred into heat in our brakes and grins on our faces. I'm not sure that grins are an official form of energy but hey, never mind.
Through Shere, onwards and upwards again, more gently this time through sun-dappled lanes, to reach the summit of Barhatch, from where we plummeted into Cranleigh. This was the main hill-climbing finished for the day, but being in Surrey, we still had a bit of a climb to Ewhurst Green before a mainly flat ride to Oakwoodhill, or Okewoodhill, or Okewood Hill depending on which map or sign you read. Good food was provided by the Punchbowl Inn: after a worrying wait, it all came out together so in the end we weren't waiting too long, and after all we were sitting outside in the sunshine.
After lunch there was an immediate right turn to get to Weare Street: in our experienced group it seemed most knew this except me, leading to a U-turn about 200 yds after the junction. "We wondered if you might be heading to Weare Street". Which we were ... up Weare Street to Ockley and across to Capel and Newdigate. For a bit of variety we came home via Parkgate and Root Hill, meeting a couple of rather aggressive motorists on the way. I couldn't see that we had done anything wrong but they clearly could and let us know their annoyance. No harm was done and we cycled on thinking what we would say to them if we met them in a queue just up the road.
Tea at Denbies for most of us rounded off a very enjoyable day out. Nobody was lost, thanks to Mike Barrett our back marker, and we completed 36.7 miles and 2400ft of ascent from elevenses to tea.
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