One of the most satisfying aspects of leading a ride is being told by the participants that they really enjoyed every part of the ride and the club run to Isfield seemed to have been enjoyed by all. On a clear but very frosty morning eight of us set off from the Angel in brilliant sunshine. James on his new winter bike (a very fetching Ribble) had brought along his friend Ben who looked as fit and as fast as James whilst Allan and Mick Conway joined us for the first part of the ride. The Walters tandem with Steve steering and Barbara stoking made one of its rare appearances whilst an even rarer member of the peleton was Alex who is just as rapid as ever. How does he do it? Must be herbal smoking mixture in the roll-ups.
The route to Turners Hill was along main roads so as to avoid any possibility of black ice but from Sharpthorne the lanes were dry and with the sun warming up the air we had no problems. In fact it was perfect weather for a winter ride with the pace kept brisk but not too fast as most had on several layers of clothing.
Cinders café at Isfield is the old station buffet and by arriving just before 11.15 we avoided the usual rush of cyclists from other clubs. My computer said 48 kms (30 miles) covered in just two hours, thanks to no head wind and very little traffic. After several cups of tea with some partaking of full breakfasts whilst other tucked into soup and bread pudding it was time for the homeward journey through Barcombe, Plumpton Green, Wivelsfield, Ardingly, Turners Hill and Horley. I cannot recall having read in any of my training manuals that a full English breakfast is part of a healthy diet for a sporting cyclist and on the return journey some of those who had indulged had reason to regret their choice and it was a very depleted peleton that made it back to Horley.
As I said at the beginning of this report everyone enjoyed the ride to Isfield and enjoyed the tea stop but the same enthusiasm was missing on the return journey, perhaps due to over indulgence. For the record my computer read 116 kms (73mls) for the round trip at an average speed of 23.6 kph and back at the Angel by 14.55.