B Group - 4th September

The rain had cleared and weather was perfect for cycling and 17 riders joined the B group despite the promise of hills. Our route to lunch took the familiar Staples Lane climb over Combe Bottom and down to Shere where there were no offers to try the ford crossing.

We took the narrow back roads through Farley Green and up to Winterfold Wood. This route can be very muddy and slippy but despite the morning rain the roads were dry and relatively traffic free. We enjoyed the long descent to lunch at the Three Horseshoes, Cranleigh.

Lunch was served promptly and we selected the 'less miles more hills' option to tea at Pilgrims Cycles. We took the Tanhouse Lane route to Coldharbour on the basis that it is a lovely car free ride or walk. It was resurfaced 2 years ago so it is no longer a muddy track.
 
33 miles from 11s to tea and over 2000 ft of climbing.
 
Thanks to all the corner markers and Tim for being the back marker.

~ Ken

Apparently Ken had some concerns when he designed this route about whether it would be a reasonable ride for us, but his day out with us on John's ride from Caterham allowed him to calibrate the B Group legs quite accurately and allay his worries about leading a grumpy peloton through the hills. Even Tanhurst Lane isn't as bad as it used to be.

RideWithGPS reckons the elevation gain to be 2373 feet.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/39519557

~ Tim