Thursday 2nd January, off road The Patisserie, Stoke D’Abernon


The first off road ride of the year was a cold and bright one with a luxurious 10:00hrs start time. I was early, as driving time over cannot be guaranteed with the roadworks on the A3/M25. This did afford me a twenty minute sit in the warm Nonsuch Mansion Cafe with a hot tea as the temperature outside was hovering around 1°C.

Around 09:55hrs Sean Slammon turned up closely followed by Tracy Caudle, Trevor Kite and a few minutes after that our illustrious leader Bill Martin. He had found a front wheel puncture greeting him when he went to the stable to retrieve his steed and had quickly reshod it with a wheel from another bike. Today’s route out had the bonus of no park run enthusiasts and a peaceful ride along paths usually totally taken over on a normal Saturday.  Out through Ewell, along the Hogsmill, into Horton Country Park, west side of Epsom Common and across into Prince’s Coverts. The Coverts are still a little dodgy from all the logging work, but it was negotiated without incident.

As we approached Stoke D’Abernon we began to compare notes of which bodily extremities had gone numb with the cold, some the odd finger, mine were toes as I’d been remiss not to put two layers of socks on! So upon arrival in Stoke D’Abernon I made a beeline for the first cafe option, as Effingham didn’t appeal to me with the temperature. Luckily I wasn’t outvoted – the numb fingers might have had something to do with that! The cafe was warm, the tea was hot and in a pot, and food was good.

Bill’s route back went out to Downside, Cobham, Bookham Common, Fetcham, where we chanced it that River Lane wouldn’t be flooded at the river crossing point. Then back past Randell’s Crematorium and the back streets of Leatherhead.  It was then the usual up and over and under Junction Nine of the M25 to gain access to Epsom Common. Soon after we were on the corner of Horton Park and the end of my ride with the others continuing for Cheam and Sutton.

A good, bracing ride for the first outing of 2025, 27 miles for me.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *