Report for B Group - 5th June

Cobham RBL - The Inn on the Green, Ockley - Lucio's in Leatherhead

Francis "The Heron" D'Silva writes:

Leaving promptly at 10.30am, my group (Dave C, Mick, Karl, Tim G and John A) headed out through familiar roads and narrow lanes to the first of two big climbs of the morning, Staple Lane. By now, the sun was shining and under blue skies we steadily ground our way up, enjoying the views along the way. It was at this point that I noticed that Dave C was not 'FixieDave' today but 'Geared-up Dave' as he had wisely chosen his other bike with gears!

Regrouping at the summit of Mt Staple

 

A splendid view over Hurtwood Edge

Descending to the always beautiful Shere village, the second climb loomed ahead, a long drag up Hound House Road. Near the top, we followed a clever detour down Barhatch Lane, to a small lane that allowed a superb view of the South Downs. We passed through the forests of Winterfold and Hurt Wood, to Ewhurst and finally to Ockley for a good lunch at The Inn on the Green, a perfect break after the morning’s exertion.

All too soon, it was time to head back to Leatherhead for tea at Lucio’s, passing through familiar territory of Newdigate and Brockham. A memorable route from Tim C, much enjoyed by everyone in the group. My thanks to Mick A for his diligent back-marking.

~ Francis


Bernard "The Eagle of Toledo" writes:

We gathered for our ride in Cobham, at the Royal British Legion where amidst imagined but never fading poppies a warm-hearted smiling lady poured our coffee and tea.  It was an early June day and the sun was out but an icy wind was squaring up.  For the rest of the day these eternal opponents would slug it out and in turns we would feel the heat and the cold as blow and counter blow was landed.

Through Van Gogh landscapes we cycled, flat like Holland, with wild green grasses, dabs of yellows and whites all drenched in golden hues, hedges with specks of blues and pinks and every now and again daring and carefree sparrows, wrens and robins swooning in and out of our sights.

And then we hit our climbs …and up they went, so high that we could almost touch the talons of the red kite hovering above us.  We dug deep into our lungs and pulled on our muscles hard until flesh and steel frames almost burst and snapped.  Ascending trench like grooves, woven on either side by huge limbs of roots.  Roads deep and narrow as if they had been grubbed and scratched out by some ancient troll lost and far from its Norwegian homeland.

We rode on to a promised new vista¹ …guarded, or so it seemed, by hounds bellowing wolf like.  There we stopped and saw an ocean of greens stretching as far out as the silhouetted gentle slopes of the South Downs.

And then down…the descents…so deep that only by hanging on to a sense of reality did we not disappear into the belly of a huge simmering blue whale as gigantic ribs fizzed by on either side of our peripheral vision.

And now that the ride is over a story of true kindness remains in my cycling landscape.  As we rested for lunch we learnt² about a cyclist from our shores who, alone with only a brave heart for company, cycled across Russia.  In that huge expanse of a country the cyclist fell and was badly injured.  He was taken in and cared for by some locals until he was recovered and with his brave heart no doubt greatly warmed he was able to resume his ride.

We finished our ride at Lucio’s in Leatherhead and were spoilt by Italian service, pastries and coffees.  How wonderful it is to be a cyclist.

Many thanks to Tim Court for overall leadership and designing the ride and to Julie and Mags for great companionship…(Mags got us back on course when I took a wrong turn).

1.  Tim Court’s discovery.
2.  My recollection of Julie’s account.


Tim "The Badger" writes:

After sick notes from two riders, then Terry riding to Elevenses but excusing himself from the ride with a bruised knee acquired when he fell on Sunday, and some defections to the Nor'Westers (names noted), fifteen of us turned up for the ride, lured no doubt by the prospect of two decent hills.

Our 10:50 group, Ken, Ian, Paul, Steph, Keith and myself took an hour to ride to the top of Staple Lane, welcoming the distraction of clear views over the green landscape as we wound our way up to the top.

We paused in Shere for a team photo then up Sandy Lane, over the railway and into Hound House Road for the long climb up towards the junction with Pitch Hill. However, as planned, we turned into Barhatch Lane near the top and at the junction with Winterfold Heath Road (top of Horseblock Hollow) we began our steep descent towards Cranleigh. A short way down the hill we braked and turned left into a very minor lane which skirts around The Warren, affording us some splendid views over Hurtwood Edge before we emerged onto Pitch Hill for a speedy downhill run to Ewhurst.

For the sake of the timings my original idea was to have lunch at The Parrot in Forest Green but I felt that their prices were just too high for us so decided to go to The Inn on The Green in Ockley. Although we were quite pushed to get there in two and a half hours the stretch from Ewhurst is fast, apart from a couple of challenging undulations. This proved to be a good choice of pub and despite the cool air we had a leisurely lunch out on their lawn, oblivious to the traffic-plagued A29 (Stane Street) which passes right in front of the pub. I have to recommend their pies, supplied by a company called Tailormade Pies as I understand.

Looking across the green Steph noticed that Scott's Well was inhabited

The afternoon route to Leatherhead was a totally predictable procession through Capel, Newdigate, Parkgate and Brockham. In a gateway we came across an A Group team packing up after Frances had dealt with a puncture but our ride was otherwise uneventful.

Thanks to Francis and Bernard for being co-leaders and delivering their enthusiastic teams over the mountains to lunch and beyond. Thanks to Steph and Keith for backmarking.

~ Tim

Our scenic deviation