I'm sorry to have missed this ride, having planned it before going to Normandy on holiday. But I am massively grateful that a strong team of leaders stepped up to lead very soon after I advertised that after falling down a step in a BnB my leg was too wonky to ride a bike. I had probably undersestimated how challenging the afternoon ride would be but this didn't deter the 21 riders and their leaders who turned up to enjoy the cycling, the scenery and lunch.
I planned the ride as a 'Height of Summer' experience so I shared the leaders' anxieties about the rainstorms in the preceding days.
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The route went further off the beaten track than I'd imagined
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It had seemed like a long time since we had lunch at The Royal Oak but from all accounts Kizzie and her team run a fine establishment and serve good food and I hope that we'll plan to go there a bit more often.
Thanks to everyone who joined the ride and it is good to see Tim G riding his bike again, and peeping out from the photos below.
~ Tim
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Art in the café
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Francis writes:
After a refreshing coffee at chic Parade and Albany in Claygate, my first group of Gill, Carolyn, John A, Karl and Tim G (back-maker) left promptly at 10.30am in glorious sunny weather. Given the heavy rain downpours the previous couple of days, I decided that we will avoid the long off-road track through Arbrook Common and instead head down Copsem Lane, which was surprisingly light in traffic, to Oxshott station to pick up the route from there.
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Tim explaining the history
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Crossing Oxshott Common, we followed familiar roads towards Downside (stopping for the obligatory group shot on the bridge over the River Mole.) In no time, we were climbing High Barn Lane, then headed down towards Sutton Abinger finally arriving at the Royal Oak pub in picturesque Holmbury St. Mary. An enjoyable and delicious lunch was served in the garden.
The return route to Peaslake, Westcott and Leatherhead proved to be as hilly as we expected, climbing up the never-ending Hoe Lane and other renowned lanes, though we were eventually rewarded by an exhilarating fast downhill along Radnor road to Peaslake. To compensate the group for missing out on riding through Arbrook Common, I led the group through Abinger Roughs on the scenic NCN22 towards Westcott. Our local historian Tim G gave us an excellent talk at the Celtic cross memorial to Samuel Wilberforce, 3rd son of William Wilberforce, who died there after falling off his horse.
In no time, we were having tea and cake at Lucio’s in Leatherhead. My thanks to Tim C for a well thought out route across mixed terrain and some of the finest Surrey hills, my group who worked pretty hard on the ride and their infectious humour, and my back-marker and historian Tim G.
~ Francis
Bernard writes:
This was a metaphorical ‘calm before the storm’ ride…one where we were lulled into a false sense of security before the hurricane hit us. Perhaps we should have taken heed…two leaders, for different reasons, pulled out in advance*. As innocent lambs we cheerily gathered for the start on a High Street in Claygate. A quaint little town where locals sip their coffees, mid-morning, in the various cafes watching the numerous cubes of giant steel with wheels and engines just about managing to avoid mangling each other.
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Elevenses at Parade and Albany
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First the lull or a better word would be the idyll. We rode to the tune of ‘Here Comes The Sun’¹ for after a night of torrents the sun had indeed survived and was now with us in its rightful place high up in the vivid blue sky of mid July. We were oblivious to the clouds; real and metaphorical.
Our road was flat and often straight with fields of various greens and yellows either side. We were slicing through the countryside past Oxshott, Stoke d’Abernon, Downside, Great Bookham and Effingham where one of our flock, Terry, joined us. This was quintessential English countryside…the backdrop to so many Anglo novels of yesteryear as painted in words by Hardy, Austen, Lee and so many others. And then…into Ranmore Common where it all started to change.
For no reason we could understand that genteel countryside turned on us…as if we had offended it. The hills, for there was more than one, despite my crying out in desperate and vain hope that this would be the last one, bit hard into our leg muscles like piranhas that would not let go. Our lungs were squeezed tight and our hearts beat the drum fast and hard. Our prayers however were answered when in the midst of our suffering, like onward soldiers, Mary graced us and we took rest and sustenance at the Royal Oak.
There we forgot our pains… and as our food arrived… like so many Friar Tucks… we merrily enjoyed the fare, resting and basking in the warmth of the sun and each other’s company. We forgot about the Hills.
Refreshed and restored like polished jewels we returned to cycles… machinery unfazed (unlike human limbs) by nature. But the merriment was abruptly jilted as flat turned to incline and the gentle ‘swoosh’ of the pedal became the tearing of the jailer’s iron ball. The ‘Hills’ were not amused and the pain inflicted was surely intentional…or so it felt.
Slowly but surely we pressed on up. On the downs we were soothed by the fast and cool breeze meeting us at speed head on. Eventually riding back the way we had come…having felt the yin and yang of the Surrey Hills we arrived for afternoon tea and coffee in a part of England which is Italian in spirit…Lucio’s…where the drinks and pastries are just reward for our riders on the metaphorical storm² that was the second part of this route.
¹ 'Here Comes The Sun' by The Beatles…written by George Harrison whilst inspired by this area
² 'Riders On The Storm' by The Doors
My fellow riders were; Julie, Sabina, Fixie Dave, Paul, Terry, Tony, Grant and Mick who very diligently back marked. Tim Court designed this great route which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
*I have taken poetic license here because the truth is that both leaders had very good reasons for not being able to make this ride. Tim Court has seriously damaged his Achilles Tendon and cannot cycle and hopefully he gets some good medical news and can see the light at the end of the tunnel and Christina did the recce and gave very useful feedback to Tim to iron out some parts of the route for the benefit of her fellow riders…I understand that this ride then clashed with another commitment which she could not get out of.
~ Bernard
Steph writes:
My group was last to leave the cafe on The Parade in Claygate. It was an excellent venue for 11s.
Ian led Anne, Peter and Martin over a mix of common and road to Oxshott and I followed with Colin and Pinky on the commons route to Oxshott - I only had to lift my bike over mud three times near the Oxshott Road end and that was because my bike had been recently cleaned and oiled.
Reunited at Oxshott we proceeded merrily on the route , crossing to the Tilt and on across Bookham Common in glorious sunshine.
All too soon we reached the High Barn Lane turn off and enjoyed the views, the two dips towards the end providing an added challenge.
We were now descending, legs relishing the rest before arriving at The Royal Oak. Group 1 was just preparing to depart, Group 2 waiting for their food. It was a very relaxing and pleasant time chatting to the other groups. So pleasant we lingered and Pinky (suffering from a slight muscle pain) took the opportunity to ice her leg. We decided she should return direct to White Down Lane and the start of Route 22. Ian very kindly volunteered to accompany Pinky and wait for us there.
The remains of the peloton gamely set forth heading for Peaslake which required an uphill effort in order to enjoy the descent.
Up and down the Hoes and we were soon past The Volunteer and in sight of Pinky and Ian sitting in the sun. NCN22 is one of my favourites and did not disappoint. Once in Dorking we cut through the park to bring us out at the station. It was here that we discovered the workmen packing up to go home and the newly tarmacked road from Dorking to Leatherhead completely traffic free and bollarded off, just waiting for a few bikes to speed along it. The glorious final ride into Leatherhead that can sometimes be a bit of an effort at the end of the day was transformed into a Tour de France Sou'Wester sprint.
We wheeled into Leatherhead just in time to see the tail end of Bernard's group disappearing up the High St . We gratefully sank into their vacated seats . A great day out but sorely missing the route creator. Get well soon Tim.
~ Steph
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