A Group ride to Markbeech

 

After responding (probably rather rashly) to Clive’s request for a leader for this Wednesday’s A ride from Redhill, I decided the way forward was to use a tried and tested route. Almost exactly a year ago we rode Dave V’s lovely route to The Kentish Horse at Markbeech so this seemed like an excellent option. Dave kindly offered to sub lead and along with Janice, on fighting form after LEJOG, 3 small but perfectly formed A groups left Redhill for the delights of the Weald of Kent.  

 My group of Dave F, Dave W and Mark swiftly dispatched the first big climb of the day in the form of Philanthropic Rd. Presumably named after the Royal Philanthropic Farm School which relocated to Redhill in the 1800’s,  it should be re-named Misanthropic Rd for reasons all those cyclists who have laboured up it will understand.

 ‘Have you ever seen the Crowhurst Yew?’ asked Mark. None of us had so it seemed rude not to take a look and a good opportunity to have a drink off the bike. We duly stopped by the churchyard of said village and viewed what is a most impressive yew tree. I even managed to persuade my group to pose comically in the hollow trunk. They eventually got the idea….

 At the bottom of the climb up to Markbeech I realised that in my enthusiasm to photograph the yew I had left my water bottle standing on a tomb stone in the graveyard at Crowhurst. Hopefully the local vicar will not attach any disrespect to this act and it won’t  tarnish the reputation of cyclists passing through the village.

On the climb to Markbeech we overtook another cycling group, the Meridian Cycling Club. Feeling that they may also be heading to The Kentish Horse it felt prudent to put on a spurt and get there ahead of them. Somehow however they still beat us to the bar and not being as well organised as our good selves took an age to peruse the menu and order. And a rather grumpy lot they were into the bargain!

Well fuelled and wishing Dave W farewell, my reduced group of three set off for our 26 mile ride to Brockham for tea. The route took us through Dormansland which claims to be in the High Weald thus ensuing a discussion about what and where is the Weald. I now know thanks to Wikipedia

Mark peeled off at Horley and Dave and I had a good run back to Brockham. We glimpsed Dave ‘s group at the crest of Horse Hill never to be seen again until The Shop at Strood Green (TSASG) despite some pretty hard pedalling on our part.

TSASG turned out to be a delight. Run by members of the local community, the sole lady working yesterday did not seem at all fazed by the arrival of not only most of the A group but a significant number of B's  as well. Her unfailingly good nature and customer service should be an example to all. Tim Court reports on Strava that the shop had recently been broken into so all the more reason to support them. For future reference there are a couple of tables inside and can accommodate 9 folks so whilst it may not be suitable as a group winter tea venue it’s fine if you are out for a ride with a couple of mates.

 So all in all a grand day out. Lovely company, excellent route and fine weather although we never seemed to benefit from the forecasted wind from the south on the return  home. I just need to explain to my husband now why his favourite water bottle is sitting in a churchyard in Kent..

 

JANICE’S REPORT

 

I arrived early at Redhill to find that it was so busy with B group riders there wasn’t a single bike space available. Fortunately their first group was about to leave so after a short delay I was able to lock up my bike and join the crowds in the busy indoor area.

 

It seems everyone had also arrived early and the first two A groups left on time, if not slightly before. That left Richard, Patrick, Neil W, Ged and myself suddenly rattling around with the place to ourselves so after a short wait we left too.

 

It was into the headwind, Redhill’s traffic and in no time up the first sharp hill. Soon after, this left us on quiet roads and out into the country lanes. The sun wasn’t quite shining but given much of the rest of the country is under threat of high winds and rain from Storm Agnes we got off lightly.

 

We soon passed Sue’s group who had stopped to admire the very old (2,000 years?) Yew tree. We didn’t stop as I guessed that my group had seen it before (I hope that was right).

 

A little later we saw Dave’s group and passed on a narrow lane which meant that we then had the good fortune to arrive first at the Kentish Horse in Markbeech. During the recce, the Friday before, the pub has been virtually empty, but not today! There was an ever-lengthening queue at the bar, with several ‘ladies’ from another party doing their best to jump to the front. Patrick was identified as far too polite to object but fortunately only 1 ‘lady’ managed this. Once ordered though, our food was served fairly quickly and was of a good standard.

 

After a quick photo, before which Neil put his own phone down on a table, we were off again.

 

The wind was behind us on the way back and the roads were fairly flat bar one hill so in no time we arrived at a new venue, the cafe at Stroud Green. We had a lovely homemade Victoria sandwich which will probably ensure that we use it again.

 

Unfortunately at this point Neil realised that his phone was probably still on the table at the pub in Markbeech. He decided not to cycle back for it as he had to be back for a table tennis match. He’ll be driving there tomorrow.

 

A group of B’s spotted us and decided to join us and then both Sue and Dave’s groups arrived too. Hopefully there was plenty of cake left for them!

 

A lovely route so many thanks to Sue F for organising the day and also my group for their excellent company. What a lovely day out!

DAVE'S RIDE REPORT

a big thank you to Sue for stepping into the breach and offering to lead from Reigate. This slot had long been vacant and without her there would have been no A-ride,

My small but perfectly matched group of Peter, Brian and Andy left promptly to face the twin challenges of hills and headwind, but thankfully never both at the same time. We skipped the health check on the Crowhurst 1,000 year+ old yew in favour of a prompt arrival at lunch, achieved as expected in 1hr 30min exactly.

The pub was decidedly busy, and we were lucky to arrive just ahead of a large group from the Meridian Cycling Club who had ridden from Knockholt. Despite this, and our pre-ordering lunch the Meridians were served ahead of us; you can read about their take on the service when (eventually)  they publish their blog.  Despite these grumblings the food was good when it arrived, though most of mine travelled in my pocket to be consumed as an early supper. 

Time was pressing and the temperature decidedly chillier when we emerged. The afternoon was (per Garmin advice) less hilly, but decidedly longer, so we checked out the CTC winged wheel at The Fountain just down the road at Cowden without dismounting. 

 

Furnace Lane was its usual delight. Before a more well-known route from Lingfield, Horley to tea at Strood Green.

We had been swapping places with Sue’s group all afternoon, and arrived at Strood Green only a couple of minutes ahead, and finding Janice’s group making a (thankfully unsuccessful) attempt to consume all the Victoria sponge.

My thanks to all my group for their company and especially to Andy who selflessly spent his lunch break setting up his camera to take this photo.