B Ride Report – 11th December

Just 16 hardy riders gathered at Squires Garden Centre for Elevenses (Claygate DC being closed). Great to see Tim C joining us for coffee and hope to see him more next year.

In the end, 14 riders headed out in small groups of 4 or 5 riders at 15 min intervals in low cloud and cold drizzle. At Effingham, 2 riders departed their various ways, before the first climb of the day, up High Barn Road. As we approached the end, on the right hand side, we were rewarded with a magnificent 200 metre long hedge-coppicing.

Descending gingerly on a wet White Down lane, we headed west along Guildford road through the quaint villages of Abinger Hammer and Gomshall. An undulating loop south along Burrows Lane, Hook Lane and Sandy Lane took us back up to the picturesque village of Shere.

 

After a rest and hydration stop, we rode towards the main challenge of the day, up Combe Lane in our lowest gear and the steep turn at the top. Gathering safely at the top, all thoughts turned to lunch in the warm and cosy Barley Mow pub in West Horsley, a short distance away. It was at this point that Mick, leading the middle group, announced ‘No More Hills everyone’ having forgotten the short but steep kick back up Shere Rd!

Lunch at the pub was pleasant as usual, particularly their Thai dishes guaranteed to heat you through. Unfortunately their log burning stove failed to warm us up before it was time again to brave the cold and head out the short distance through Ockham and tea at Café Barbera at Stoke D’Abernon.

En route, we took an old dilapidated concrete road through Ryde Farm Estate where the first group were lucky enough to see 4 kites circling over the wooded area and massive groups of crows roosting amongst the trees for dusk.

Many thanks to my subbies Mick A and Tim G for leading and encouraging their groups round the route safely and to all our back-markers. Well done everyone who came along for the ride.