A Group 2nd May

There were just five hardy souls in the A Group today - Dave W, Mike R, Steve D, Ken and myself.
It rained steadily rather than torrentially for most of the way but the aftermath of Monday's deluge was still evident with plenty of muck on the roads and worse, in the gutters, frequently diverting streams of water down the road.

After a steady climb over Whitedown we followed Raikes Lane to Holmbury. I gave Lyefield Lane a miss as the surface is appalling at the best of times so we went down Upper Breach Lane instead to be greeted by a small flood at the bottom. We thought we were doing well until at Ellen's Green I punctured. Rear of course in these conditions. The rain seemed to be easing though and we had a wide, if soggy, verge to get off the road. So we arrived at the Blue Ship rather late just as the blue sky arrived.

The side room we used had a large warm radiator which was put to good use. Plentiful food was served in good time. Dave headed straight home and Ken left us at Ellens Green to go due north to Cobham. The remaining three of us shed our waterproofs as it became warmer and enjoyed a drier ride back to Weare Street and Newdigate. A light shower has us back in jackets before we reached Denbies where Mike headed directly home leaving just Steve and I for tea. Mike was soon in our thoughts as a torrential downpour fell on the glass roof above our heads. Steve was unlucky to find he had punctured when we emerged later into the sunshine.