Four riders left Cheam bound for Stoke D’ Abernon, the elevenses spot.
The weather was dry clear and bracing being around 2degs C when we left Cheam. We ran into the usual jogger mass group in Nonsuch Park, but matched their speed and rolled with them.
The ride after that took us down through Ewell following the Hogsmill River for around a mile and then south to cross Horton Country Park and exiting in the direction on Chessington South.
We then joined an old and trusted route first mapped by our late and great friend Mick O’Brian across the A3 and around the outskirts of Claygate. After recrossing the A3, Bob suffered a puncture on the bridge and so we assisted in the prevention of the egress of air from his inner tube in the usual manner. Assistance, coaching and boring stories of glorious Clarencourt of days gone past.
Bob’s resignation from the club is in the post!
Once Bob was happy with the pressure in his front tyre we then crossed the B280 Fairoak Lane and supposedly, although I deny ever being in the area and sightings are still to be confirmed by MI5 of us cycling in the Phantom Zone.
This zone is verboten to cyclists. However rumors are that objects moving at less than 10MPH can pass through without setting surveillance droids off. Being the Clarencourt we had no chance of triggering the droids and so we trundled on our merry way blissfully ignorant of the possible death we could instantly received from the ‘Windsor House’.
(For those outside the UK: It’s a bit of wooded scrub land in Surrey the “Crown” owns. IE: HM Queen doesn’t like cyclist perambulating through her land. It’s not a UK missile base or anything scary like that. To be honest who would be crazy enough to cycle through a missile base or go for a pleasant ride thorugh NASA’s back garden if you happened to be member of a cycling club near to the rocket base in Florida?).
It’s a bit of wooded scrubland in Surrey the Queen owns, nothing illegal.
After the joining the A244, Leatherhead Road north for around 500yds departing from an area I’ve never seen and never cycled in, we turned left onto a bridleway southwest to Stoke D’ Abernon and across the fields.
We were soon caught up by some MTB riders from the Kingston Phoenix who suggested that, “The left turn is good, a bit muddy and you may have to walk at the hill!”
Porridge is all I can say!
We arrived at our Stoke D’ Abernon tea stop and enjoyed the Coffee, cake and the sun which had decided to blaze through the conservatory glass of the cafe.
The route back was retraced after elevenses, avoiding the “Kingston phoenix Porridge”bit”.
We then traversed in reverse ‘An area I’ve never been into and deny ever being near’ via Telegraph Hill across to Ashtead Common and then through Horton Country Park and back to Cheam.
The temperature had warmed by around eight degrees, but the air was crisp and clear, crossing Ashtead common we commented on being able to see the downs on the other side of London and clearly seeing the supporting steel works of the Wembley Stadium and beyond some twenty-five mile away.
Good ride chaps,
A thoroughly pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning, with the “Ever Exceedingly polite Members’ of the Clarencourt Cycling Club”
Paul White.
(Paolo)