Twenty four of us set off from Cobham in three groups. My group were last away and made our towards the back-doubles of Guildford, pausing only to admire the dry ski slope, before picking up the Christmas Pie Trail at Wood Street Village. The day had started sunny but it had clouded over ominously as we left Cobham. Heavy showers were forecast and a few drops of rain saw us pause to don waterproofs. Fortunately, the rain fizzled out and it was soon bright again. That set the pattern for the rest of the day - warm sunshine alternating the threat of showers which, fortunately, never quite came.
The Christmas Pie Trail is certainly well-used judging by the number of cyclists we saw, and could surely do with a bit of investment. Generally it is pretty good to ride on, but there are a few rough stretches, a few muddy patches, and some dodgy bridges. Along the way Neil and Dave V, who we had passed earlier mending a puncture at Send, caught us up again. I say 'again' because they had already caught and passed us once - victims, no doubt, of the mysterious 'Christmas Pie Triangle'!
Once back on civilised tarmac we were soon heading through the heart of military country with army vehicles in abundance, then, after a few Farnborough backwaters, we were suddenly at the pub. It was very gloomy inside because of the scaffolding outside, and quite busy, but we all found tables, and most of us got served quite quickly despite the queue at the bar.
After lunch there was a quick history lesson about the last Emperor of France before we crossed the railway at Farnborough North. A local told us that the foot crossing here, which, if you look carefully, is controlled by a man in a small hut on the platform, is to be replaced by a footbridge with lifts! Never mind, there is always the next foot crossing half a mile further on. There, at Frimley Green, we were delighted to see that bunting had been put out in our honour! We next toiled along tree-lined roads through Deepcut, Bisley, Fellow Green, Chobham and Stonehill before coming to an abrupt halt at Addlestone level crossing barriers. A quick consultation of train apps told us that we would be waiting for five minutes, so we made the unanimous decision to take the footbridge. It proved to be the right choice, not only getting us to tea at Walton Bridge a few minutes earlier, but also serving as a practice run for any future visit to Farnborough North!
Many thanks all for your company, and special thanks to Hans and Dave B for volunteering to co-lead, not least because Hans had a puncture on the way to elevenses.
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