Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Weds 11 Nov - hills please!

When I asked Dave Ferrett about riding today his suggestion was "a hilly loop" possibly including Farthing Down. So the challenge was not to repeat too much of his Oct 7 ride and fit in as many rarely ridden/never in that direction miles as possible within 15 miles of home.

So up Chalk Lane to follow the edge of Epsom Downs round to Tadworth and then down Chipstead Bottom to double back up How Lane. We then cut across to Farthing Down via Hollymead and Downs Road. When we got to the top Dave pointed out that we had about 7 minutes to get to Chaldon church before 11.00. We probably missed by a minute but the thought was there and then we viewed  the mural for which the church is famous. See here

We continued over Hilltop Lane to Merstham for coffee before tackling Dave(W)'s delight of last week, aka Harps Oak Lane, in the uphill  direction. Continuing with the theme we turned off the High Road and made our way to Mogador through the switchback of Rectory Road and Green/Smithy Lane. Tadworth Golf course was a bit wet but rideable and then it was mostly downhill from Walton to Ashtead. 

About 31 miles, 2300 ft of climbing and home before the rain. Thanks Dave for a great morning out.

1 comment:

Dave F said...

Thank you for your variations on a theme route and flexibility with the start time. It was a very enjoyable and suitably challenging lockdown ride. You forgot to mention that you were also recovering from vaccination side effects.