The recce nearly killed me. I had thoughtfully put in a few hills to keep us warm on the way to Walliswood: White Down, Abinger (basically Leith Hill) and Holmbury hill. On a bright but bone-chilling Saturday, the two co-leaders Janice and Brian were up and at 'em like a pair of gazelles, leaving me, their leader, acting as back marker.
Wednesday was a bit warmer, thank goodness. Janice led the first group:
We managed to set off from Stoke D’Abernon on time despite Neil W’s puncture on the way and Dave B having to shove half his mince pie in his pocket. Thanks for organising the mince pies Simon!
Temporary lights just after setting off caused some confusion and also unnecessary irritation in some drivers and we were glad to leave the busy road behind as we were on Lower Road and heading for the hills leaving all that behind.
A cool day was quickly overlooked as we tackled the two climbs before lunch and arrived in Walliswood in good time. Service at the Scarlett Arms was quick, the food was good and the marquee was heated. It doesn’t get much better on a cold December day in 2020!
After lunch it was a relatively flat route to Denbies where Neil stopped for refreshments but the rest of us pushed on home. Indeed I was home by 2.30 with over 50 miles on my garmin, freeing up plenty of time to give my bike a much needed wash.
Thanks to my group (Mark, Neil W, Fiona, Dave B and Mike R) for good company. Also to Simon for an enjoyable route and for ensuring it was so much milder than the reccie on Saturday and that the marquee was heated (Saturday was possibly the coldest I’ve ever been).
My group, consisting of Ged, John B, Steve W, Peter B and Dave V, took a slightly more comfortable (for me) pace. Nobody took up my generous offer to bypass one or two of the hills so we had to do the whole route, arriving at Walliswood just in time to see Janice's group getting ready to depart.
They had very kindly defrosted the marquee for us so it was comfortably warm - well, maybe less cold would be more accurate. It was very tempting to see lovely warm fires burning inside the pub, but sadly, nobody sitting inside.
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| Out of bounds |
We returned via Weare Street, and five of us stopped at Denbies for tea, despite the approaching dusk. Thank you to my group for your company, and to Dave V for back marking.
The final group consisted of riders who I think had less far to travel home, led by Brian:
Our group was reduced to four - just Sue, Alan, Dave and myself. We set off fairly promptly and made steady progress up to Ranmore. While regrouping two young labradors appeared unaccompanied heading west along Ranmore Common Road. Concerned for their welfare and the traffic hazard Sue set off after them hoping to stop them and find a phone number on a collar. Fortunately several cars stopped to help after about a quarter of a mile and we left them to deal with the situation. After that we enjoyed the lanes around Abinger and Holmbury Hill arriving to find a warm ( heated!) tent and Simon's group enjoying their lunch. Our food was quickly served and we were not far behind them leaving. After being almost hypothermic on the recce I was glad I had dressed well. A mere 4degC along Weare Street was even colder than Saturday. No-one stopped for tea and we stayed as a group to Ashtead. Thanks to my group for their company and Simon for the mince pies.
In previous years, this has been the week of our Christmas lunch, but not this year. Roll on 2021. I am continually surprised and grateful for the willingness of so many people to turn out on rides and brave the outdoors for elevenses, lunch and tea stops, and especially so for all those who offer week after week to co-lead rides so we can accommodate multiple groups of six. Thank you especially to Janice and Brian for helping make this week's ride go smoothly, and for contributing to my winter training programme on the recce.
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