The plan for today was to do the sort of ride I've been doing all Summer - some lanes, some trackways. There's plenty of this sort of riding our part of the world, with a well-established network of Rights of Way and plenty of decent pathways. I find the riding enjoyable, I've found new places, and I've hardly seen a white van.
Seventeen of us set off from Redhill, a good crowd, and we went through Watercolour (pretty enough for some to question if we were still in Redhill), through Bletchingley and over Tilburstow Hill, taken the opposite way from our normal route. From here we went down the Enterdent - definitely easier than climbing it - then up through Church Town to the track that leads to Woldingham School. A left turn at the top, and up through the woods to Gravelly Hill, the first of our viewpoints.
A sparkling vista here, with the South Downs visible in the distance and the hillsides of the North Downs, which formed our day's ride, rolling away to the West.
Over the top at War Coppice Lane, then down briefly to avoid a wet patch of trackway on one of the many White Hills. There's a pond on the top of this one, and water gathers, so there must be a bit of clay up there.
On towards Reigate Hill, reaching the top by a handy trackway and stopping again for a moment to take in the next vista, then over the iron bridge and trackway again to Colley Hill. A stop here for photos, including Mike's splendid shot of all of us at the Temple. From here you could see the line of trees in the far distance, through which we would pass at the end of our ride.
Along the ridge in the bright sunshine, then through the woods to The Sportsman. This used to be a rather scruffy pub in the middle of nowhere. It's still in the middle of nowhere, but now it's a Time Well Spent gastropub. We were welcomed and well served at a long table in the garden, which is a bit of a treat for the end of September.
A bit of changing of the guard here - Mike B signed off as back marker, and Simon took over, and Mike M, Sue and Dave W set off home across the Heath. The rest of us set off across Walton Heath Golf Course, where preparations for the Masters are well advanced, then a few miles of road to the top of Box Hill, again from the opposite direction to our usual one.
Another stop to take in the view, which I think isn't as good as some of the others we enjoyed, and is much busier. But it's a classic, and we swooped down the zig-zags and went up Chapel Lane to the top of Ranmore.
Dave left us here, to meet us at tea, the rest of the group rolled along Ranmore Common until a well-hidden left turn took us through the woods to White Down Lease. This is a fine place, and slightly odd. It's an old trackway down the hill, very similar in layout to the current White Down road, which is about a mile to the west. There's even a wartime pill box at the top, just like the one on White Down, so this now-abandoned track was evidently important enough to defend, in relatively recent time.
We descended a little, and then stopped to look at the hills we had been over. It's a fine view, and it feels quite remote. This was the line of trees that we could see from Reigate hill - not far to tea, now.
Down to the bottom, around the hair-pin bend, and then another rather remarkable piece of trackway. To my mind this is a good fit for the Pilgrims' Way, although maps (and Hilaire Belloc) don't agree. It sits between the chalk and the agricultural land, rolling along with quite a decent surface. We were all keeping a close eye on the spire of St Martins, Dorking, knowing that the cafe was next to the church.
As elsewhere on the Pilgrims Way, the trackway ends suddenly, as someone had, long ago, built a house on it. Around the house, and we were back in the 21st Century, with a short run down the hill to the Musette Cafe. A good place, and you can park your bike inside, which is always a comfort in a town centre. Teas, coffees and cakes, and a sort of collective sigh and a stretching of limbs. Quite hard, these rides ...
As I noted when we rode to Canterbury, the sort of bike you use doesn't matter very much. We had the full spectrum from carbon racer to full-suspension mountain bike in our group, and the advantages and disadvantages of each cancelled each other out in the course of the day. Each did perfectly well, but the middle ground seems to be a fairly sturdy bike with a decent set of tyres. Sort of a 'tourer' really ...
My thanks to all for an excellent day out. A complicated route which we managed with no difficulty at all. No mechanicals, no punctures, no mishaps - just a sunny day on the bike.
Mark
