I do like a quiet life and I took steps I hoped would deter anyone from this ride! Suggesting there will not be many hills always puts off 'A' groupers, so that was an obvious first step! Plotting a route not heading west or north-west from Teddington into their natural territory will always unsettle the 'A's', and the very word 'Croydon' is anathema! Mentioning 'industrial estates' and taking the ride through a desolate post-industrial landscape littered with disused gasholders must play a part! Including a ride along the romantically-named 'Pig Farm Alley' must be a deterrent! Arranging for gloomy, cold and cheerless weather will have its role! If all else fails and anyone is foolhardy enough to respond to the invitation, then send a polite reply filled with doom-laden safety warnings and cryptic directions about dropped kerbs and staggered crossings! How could it possibly fail?
The results are rather complicated! 25 booked onto the ride through the usual channels, although three did subsequently see sense and pull out (I will have to watch them)! There were another two late joiners, and Daniel gate-crashed tea at Horton Chapel (as if)! So, sadly, all my efforts at amateur behaviour-modification were to no avail and I will have to think of something yet more dastardly for next time!
On a more serious note, somewhat to my surprise, everyone seemed to quite enjoy the ride! The two-mile, relentless, long drag from South Croydon up Croham Road and Farley Road to Selsdon was particularly appreciated, as was Montpelier Road, Purley's own version of the Alpe d'Huez (especially appreciated no doubt if you have just 'enjoyed' a haggis meal for lunch at Selsdon Wetherspoons)! By the end of the ride even I was growing a bit disenchanted with the roller coaster feel of going east to west across the foothills of the North Downs and there were no more factory estates to relieve the boredom!
Anyway, many thanks everyone for your support and your company and welcome back Gina C! Particular thanks to Hans, Neil W and Neil C for volunteering to lead groups in the face of severe adversity (particulalrly so for Neil C), and to Dave E for back-marking my group.
(Photo credits to Andy C and Neil W)
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