There were three races on the card, each with six riders. First off was Neil W and here is his report -
From the recce ride the previous Thursday I knew the coffee in the C&C cafe was ordinary, and as they were overrun with their biggest customer crowd of the year, I tried the Bakery along the street - even more peculiar but good coffee and muffin.
With regular fast group riders Hans, Janice, Patrick and Steve W in the group, I set a pace that was challenging for me at least, and I managed to leave them behind a little on one straight and one snappy left turn.
We went through Woldingham Park at a leisurely pace, it is as good as roads get for chatting. I mentioned some of the famous alumni of the school, Clarisa Dickson Wright of Two Fat Ladies being the most notorious.
My true or false, "Clarisa had 11 forenames including Trilby" bombed, group: How could a question like that not be true? She wrote about her many outlandish stories in her memoir, 'A recipe for wild living', her web article with that title gives the low down on, for example, the floor of the commons and 'psychopath' Tony Blair. Despite her troubled and chaotic life she held to Catholic beliefs cultivated at Woldingham School.
Going east we continued past the turn to White Lane to view the eastern-most Surrey Hills monument. The group declined to come any closer to the nearby the Kent border...
... preferring the more comfortable backdrop of the Pilgrim Way sign and the pure Surrey landscape.
We rode south tracking a few miles inside the border with Kent. At the junction of Honeypot Lane, Kent was only 500m to the left. Here the border follows the Kent ditch. From an earlier google street view there is no 'Welcome to Kent' here nor on other roads I checked. So no interest in viewing it by the group, perhaps they would side with Surrey campaigners who want a proper border ..
Nearer to Lingfield I was a little late noticing the left turn, shouted out 'LEFT!" - mercifully those on my back wheel prioritized avoiding me over making the left turn. Great backmarking and camera work by Mike R.
The Greyhound provided good food but we were disappointed the blackcurrant with soda was just 'essence of' .. same with the orange.
The ride back was unusual in that there were no hills, which was no disappointment after the climbing we did in the morning, Denbies with their early closure (3pm) and 'no bikes in sight of customers please' did disappoint.
Excellent route and weather, thanks Neil C.
_______________________________________________________
Next up is was Brian and he writes -
Our group of six left promptly and after my easiest ever crossing of the A22 enjoyed the pastoral scenes up past Woldingham School. In spite of some nervousness the group took Gangers Hill with ease and from then on we were a tight knit group all the way to lunch. Dave B was limited to only the small chain ring but didn't slow us down. The half hill at Limpsfield seemed quite tame after Gangers and we we soon enjoying Grants Lane - the first time I have ever ridden this from end to end.
 |
| Brian's happy group (Photo by Janice) |
Lunch was quite slow and five of us left about 2pm - Dave Ward having taken the train home. The legs had siezed up a bit after an hour and a half of inactivity and leading into the wind on the way home was tough. We reached Denbies about 3.30 to find that the hatch is now takeaway only with no seating. Apparently inside opens tomorrow. Anyway three of us enjoyed tea and a chat.
My thanks to Dave W for backmarking to lunch, Dave B for stepping in after lunch and Neil for an interesting and enjoyable route.
__________________________________________________
Last off was my group of Frances, Gina, Mark, Simon and Dave V.
We were out for a good time, not a fast time. So we rode along chatting, stopping at viewpoints and taking our time but still got to The Greyhound at Lingfield before one o'clock.
The other groups were there, sitting in the sun, but still waiting for food. We ordered our food and chatted... and waited... and chatted... and waited... and chatted about what was available at the Tesco Express just over the road... and waited. As we cooled off Simon was on duty to repeatedly get up and press the button to restart the heaters.
Finally really good food arrived (with apologies for the wait due to Covid distancing issues in a very small kitchen).
It was 2.45pm before we left and headed back to Dorking with an increasing headwind.
Denbies was a disappointment for us too, and I won't be rushing back.
But overall a great day out and (almost) like the old times.
No comments:
Post a Comment