A rather pleasant day with lots of sunshine, all be it still chilly with temperatures around 7°C. Seven riders out today: Adam Domaingue, Tracy Caudle, Trevor Kite, (Birthday Boy) Bill Martin, Lucinda, Bill Kent and myself leading.
Our route out followed the Hogsmill River for a couple of miles, then Chessington South and on to Claygate. At Claygate Adam picked up a rear wheel puncture and repaired it in most unexpected circumstances. A local resident in the side street we were in saw his predicament and carried out his bike stand and track pump to assist repairs.
And so with local assistance we were soon on our way across Esher Common and heading for Thames Ditton. After following various trails through West Molesey we found ourselves on the Thames Towpath about a mile west of the cafe.
At the cafe we met Bill Kent who’d cycled in by road and had defended a table until we arrived. A busy cafe with nice staff and good food. There were various topics of conversation today including Bill Kent’s recent adventures in the dentist’s chair, which none of us envied one little bit!
The return route was fairly straightforward. East towards Hampton Court, along the Thames towpath and over Kingston Bridge. We then carefully threaded our way through Kingston Market on the local council’s ‘camouflaged’ cycle path (check out Google Earth street view!) heading towards Berrylands, Tolworth and back onto the Hogsmill River at Worcester Park for the final push for home in Cheam.
A good ride, 26.5 miles for me and good company.