About 20 of us set from Walton in pleasant sunshine for the last 'B' ride of 2019. We followed the Thames to Weybridge, then took the cycle route to Chertsey Bridge, making a small detour there because my intended route was under water! Then it was on to Charlton and Ashford via 'The Splash', a picturesque old ford, at Shepperton. We took the back streets of Ashford to HMP Bronzefield, where we shimmied over the railway footbridge to pick up the footpath across Shortfield Common, a route into Staines which seemed new to most of the group. Team effort helped us efficiently negotiate the two kissing gates which interposed themselves! I tried to dodge traffic congestion in Staines by taking a route round Knowle Green, but we still eventually ended up stuck in a jam for a short while until we could find a way round it.
Even so, we got to The George just after 12.00 pm. Early enough, I had thought, to bag some good tables together, but, alas it was not to be, for Wetherspoons were already doing a very brisk lunch trade even at that early hour, and, although we all found seats fairly easily in the end, we were dispersed in small groups all over the pub. Tony Hopkins, still recovering from his recent, nasty accident joined us. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Tony!
After a convivial (and competitively priced!) lunch, we set off home just before 1.30 pm. Some took the direct route via Laleham, but a dozen or so joined me for a slightly longer trip back to Walton via Pooley Green, Thorpe, Chertsey (including Willow Path), and Shepperton Lock. Hopefully no purists minded too much that we crossed Chertsey Bridge in the same direction on both the outward and inward parts of this figure of eight route!
We arrived at the Riverhouse Barn well before 3.00 pm, leaving an hour or so for a quick cup of tea and a ride home more or less in daylight for most, all thanks to the earlier December start time, which, I feel, has been a most welcome innovation.
Many thanks to Tim for back-marking, to the many corner markers, and to everyone else for your company.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year, and don't get forget that if you get cycling withdrawal symptoms (I forbear from calling it 'cold turkey'!), you're more than welcome to join the Cheam & Morden group for their rides, or just the lunch or elevenses stops, on Sundays 22 and 29 December, and Wednesday 1 and Sunday 5 January - it seems a long, long wait until the next Wayfarers' rides on Wednesday 8 January!
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