Things didn't look all that great at Tanhouse Farm. The cloud was well down, not all that far above the trees and certainly obscuring the hills. But, hope springs eternal, and there was one great advantage over some recent rides. It wasn't actually raining. Everything was soaking, there was standing water in every hollow, but it wasn't actually raining.
So a dozen As set off for the hills, going over Coldharbour as a substitute for the Ranmore climb of the normal route. There are good views to the South East on this route, but we couldn't see them, and went down again to turn into Logmore Lane and join the normal Hilly 50 route. Logmore Lane was in peak condition - mud, gravel, standing water, bits of tree, so we took it steady and were all safely down without mishap.
A mile or so along the A25, including Coast Hill, then left into Sheephouse Lane, said to be the steepest hill in Surrey. The top bit is certainly steep, but we all got up without difficulty, even if some of us were puffing a bit.
Prettily through Friday Street, over to Holmbury St Mary and then up past the Mullard Space Research Lab. It was much brighter, with touches of sunshine, giving rise to what turned out to be false optimism for the afternoon.
We arrived at the Bull's Head in good time, and they had reserved tables for us and served us promptly. Mike Morley joined us here, to ride the second half on his mountain bike. Just after two we were ready to start on Pitch Hill, with full tummies, which may not have been the best plan.
A couple of punctures in quick succession delayed us a little at this point, but it was all tidied up after a short wait, with Ged and Alan taking a short cut to meet us at White Down and Neil nobly sorting himself out and meeting us at Box Hill.
So, Hoe Lane, Raikes Lane and Whitedown and we were almost there. Janice floated the idea of riding back up Ranmore after we had descended, as we had not done it on the way out. Everyone agreed that this was a very good idea, and quite correct. But nobody wanted to do it.
So, up Box Hill, steadily rather than spectacularly, and it was time for tea.
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| Mike Morley - Mr Hilly 50 |
Oh yes, Spring. Next week. Apparently.
Mark
2 comments:
Thank you Mark for organizing this ride. Not sure that I would have made the whole trip especially on my MTB but it was good exercise, especially White Down.
Thank you also to David Ward for dragging me to Cranleigh where I made an abortive visit to Sue, the widow of an ex ABB workmate who passed away some years ago. According to her neighbor she was down under in Sydney with her daughter so I thought that was just a tad too far to divert.
Look out for a re-arranged Hilly 50, probably on Sat 9th Sept.
Mark,
Many thanks for a ride that I would never have attempted without this group's camaraderie and support.
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