Most of us had woken up to drizzle and there was still light rain in the air when we got to Guildford; five starters took the leader's advice and came by train but Fixie, Chris and Steve cycled it, thus accumulating a considerable mileage by the end of the day. Steve mistimed his run from home and was too busy making up time to send us a text, so assuming his absence we decided to run as one group of seven and set off without him. We let the As go first and set off up Sandy Lane where at the top and purely with the intent of preparing everybody, I described the climb as the first of four morning climbs to get us out of Guildford and Godalming; the rest of the morning, I explained, was merely undulating Surrey and Sussex countryside. But we had Chris in the group, and some of the undulations had to be taken in a low gear and much of the leader's day was spent accelerating out of earshot of a philosophical debate about the difference between a hill and an undulation..
Charterhouse School is well appointed and by then we had all shed our rain gear. Godalming is pretty, and the Sussex countryside was verdant. The start of the ride offered much shade and it was tempting to wish the sun to come out but John and I knew that the afternoon was more open; we had toiled a bit on the recce in the sunshine. The other feature of Sussex was the smart, newly tarmacked roads. The potholes began to appear as we approached the Surrey border.
The staff at the Onslow Arms at Loxwood were welcoming even if one young man serving behind the bar seemed to have a vocabulary of two words; "Perfect" and "amazing". And just when Chris (who had not made a food choice) stepped up to eat the missing Steve's, Steve himself turned up.
By the canal at Loxwood.
We restarted after lunch a little way along the towpath of the canal and then made our way north into Surrey and aiming for Leith Hill. If you have to climb Tanhurst Lane then this was the perfect weather for doing it, and those who had not previously had the pleasure made it to the top.
Tanhurst conquered mid-afternoon on a pretty bumpy ride
A brief stop at the churchyard in Coldharbour for Tim G to give us a short history class, and we were coasting down to Dorking for tea at the Old Clunker, because we reckoned we were not going to make Leatherhead in time.
Oh, and I came up with an answer on the difference between a hill and an undulation. Surely, it's a mere undulation if you can build up enough momentum to surmount it without changing down on the left hand. Chris said he'd do some research. I have no doubt he will.
1 comment:
I think the difference between a hill and an undulation is part of the art of leading. As such it cannot be tied down to a simple definition: it is the leader's prerogative to decide which is which. Also, it's part of the follower's prerogative to disagree, and part of the fun of a group ride.
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