B Group Ride Report - 2 February 2022

Sue's Report:

The sun came out to greet our Tour de North Downs teams as we departed Cobham and with 22 riders in 3 groups.  Word of our Tour had obviously spread amongst the HGV community in and around East Horsley and large lorries thundering by weren’t too much of a problem.  

It was good to have some new faces in the group and all managed the climb up onto the Downs in expert style. Views from Staple Lane were magnificent with Wembley Arch, the City and Canary Wharf all clearly visible. 

Food was generally good at The Seven Stars but service rather slow; the kitchen went into a bit of a tailspin with the Peloton and the Domestiques arriving simultaneously! 

The opportunity for a seriously good photo was missed along the Wey Navigation; the Domestiques as the following group, were all compelled to concentrate on avoiding walkers, dogs and tree roots rather than trying to snap the Peloton ahead with their rainbow assortment of jackets beautifully reflected in the canal. 

The Domestiques halted at the level crossing in Addlestone

All safely arrived back in Walton with the hard core heading for the Riverside Arts centre for tea and cake. A necessary sprint finish led by Tony when we realised that they close at 4pm! 

- Sue

Clive's Report:

I had a very pleasant ride in the morning sunshine, from home through Bookham Common and Downside, to Cobham RBL where I had just enough time for a cup of coffee before mustering the Tete de la Course (composed of: Annette, Bob, Colin, Gill, Paula and Tim G) for departure on the day’s ride.

As the name suggests, our group were first off. We started at the same time, and in the same direction, as the first of the As. But they very quickly vanished into the far distance leaving us to enjoy the scenery and soak up the sunshine as we cruised along Horsley/Forest Road towards East Horsley where we would begin the climb of the day - up Chalk Lane and Green Dene. 

We agreed everyone would go up at their own pace and that we would regroup at the car park at the top. First to arrive there were the three rowers in the group - not that rowers are competitive of course, that’s just how it happened.

After the climb we had a bit of a breather, taking it easy along Combe Lane and stopping at the top of Staple Lane for this photograph. Never mind 'Tete de la Course', it felt like 'Tete du Monde' up there. 

Annette, Paula, Bob, Gill, Tim G and Colin modelling this season's cycle wear
(Clive behind camera)

From here we could see Woking in one direction and the City of London, in the distance, in the other. Bob was able to point out the Lloyds building in the City, amongst others, but we were all stumped as to what the two tall buildings were, one shorter than the other, that you can see on the horizon between Gill and Tim (you will need to zoom in to see them - or possibly have a higher resolution photo).

After the photo stop we enjoyed a fast roll down Staple Lane; according to Garmin I got up to 29.9mph. If only I could have gone 0.1 mph faster - I need to work on my aerodynamics! This was a welcome contrast to when I did the recce on Monday when I had to pedal down parts of the hill into a stiff head wind.

We cycled on through Clandon, past HM Prison Send, which seems so out of place in the pretty countryside, and then to the Seven Stars in Ripley where we all had an excellent lunch, apart from Tim G, who of course doesn’t eat lunch. I believe he is able to extract hydrogen from the moisture in the air and convert that in to energy.

The other two groups arrived at the pub pretty much at the same time, just as we were finishing our meals, so we had a few minutes to mingle before setting off once again for the afternoon leg.  

The post lunch ride was a very relaxed amble to the bridge at Pyrford Lock and then along the River Wey Navigation towards Addlestone where the towpath was dry and the tree roots were few. We went through Weybridge and then to the tea stop at the Riverside Arts Centre in Walton. Bob set off for home while the remainder had tea and cake. We ended up with a surplus of tea due to a mix up with the orders. It’s a shame we had to leave before the others arrived or they could have had some of it - I think we just missed them as it turns out.

Thanks to Sue for organising a very enjoyable ride and to Colin for back marking my group.

- Clive

Thanks Tim C for photos and map (I wish I'd had that sausage, egg and chips now, I'll have to go back).