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On Wednesday 4th November a select band of 6 group 4 riders set off from Ripley for coffee at Polesden Lacey. The f’cast was for showers, but actually we scarcely got rained on at all. After coffee we were heading for the Scarlett Arms at Walliswood, but so were the group 3 riders, so our main objective was to get there first We went via Box Hill, Betchworth, Newdigate, Capel & the lovely (if poorly surfaced) Weare Street.

We arrived at the pub about 10 minutes before the other group. Result! But there was plenty of food for all. After lunch I returned via Elstead, Cranleigh and Shamley Green. Strava says we did 88.2k & 720m of climbing. It also calls one of the Strava segments “Box Hill cake stop”, but I can assure you we didn’t stop for cake! Many thanks to Nick Davison for leading us (& getting us to the pub 1st!).

Somehow I’ve managed never to visit this tucked away spot before, despite its being only a few miles from several of our regular watering holes.  Do you know where it is?

You may recall that this morning we stopped to regroup just after reaching the Bath Road at Hare Hatch, outside this pub:

This is how it looked in the 1920s, a sketch by Charles G Harper in the April 1922 C.T.C. Gazette:

It hasn’t changed that much, but the Bath Road certainly has:

– Another sketch by Charles G Harper in the January 1922 C.T.C. Gazette.

I have uploaded my photos of this recent cycle tour to flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_jeggo/albums/72157658803960279

Barbara and George of Woking Cycle User Group were able to join me for the first week;  I was on my own for the second.  You will see some photos of the effects of serious flooding which occured during my trip, but fortunately most of the heavy rain fell overnight, and I only had one wet day, plus a few damp ones.

Louise Gagnon writes…..

What a joy it was to ride the usual Wednesday Midweek Wayfarers G3 ride in such glorious sunshine (cool shades were a must) and replace the traditional pub lunch by a delicious BBQ hosted by Neil and Elaine Eason as well as Laurie Mutch.  Chris Williamson did a super job in leading 15 of us though the spectacular Farnham area countryside before returning to Neil’s place just in time as this latter was turning over the last Pirbright’s own butcher sausage on his massive gas BBQ.

The banter and humour were at an all-time high throughout the ride, probably fuelled by the constant mileage countdown by a few of our hungry riders of how far we were from sinking our teeth into juicy beef burgers: 7 miles to go, 4 miles to go, etc.

A fantastic and very inviting spread of food so kindly prepared by our 3 hosts awaited and we had a wonderful afternoon of [more] banter and camaraderie in the sunny back garden.

Laurie had done great work in trying to rally as many G3s: of course quite a few were away on the day but we were fortunate to see a few familiar faces, such as Jane Gillbe, William Boothby and Lee Hereward.

And so a very warm thank you Neil, Elaine and Laurie for organising this very successful event, proof positive that riding with our Club is so much more than just merely “piling on the miles”!

As usual, here are a few pics of the day:

What we had all been dreaming of for 47 miles.

Brian King (on the right) trying to look away from the tempting BBQ food being prepared as John Child and Keith Ricketts look on.

Derek Ridyard, Gill Ridyard and Maggie Daffarn enjoying the feast while trying their best to stay out of the sun.

Laurie Mutch (standing centre) doing great work catering for the hungry crowds. L to R: Alec Mackenzie, Chris Williamson, Lee Hereward, Laurie Mutch and Keith Stainer. Notice Phil Gasson in the background, probably going back for seconds which is entirely legit.

“Maggie, are you happy to be away from all this contractor dust?” “Oh yes I am!”

Our 3 wonderful hosts who made this such a memorable event: Laurie Mutch, Elaine and Neil Eason. Thank you all!