With a starting group of 26 riders and the spring sunshine already approaching the low 20's, we set out for the wilds of Epsom and Ashtead Common just before 9.45am. Through Horton Park into Epsom common a reasonable speed was set up front, taking us quickly from Epsom to Ashtead Common. A long loop this time brought us up through the winter Horse Ride and to the Glanmire Farm bridleway towards Chessington.
Tony, back on the ride after a few weeks managed to stay saddled up through the lanes, with all 26 managing to get up over the A3 and into the pathways around Esher. Notably Frank was in mischievous form, skidding down the dusty path leaving a trail of dust for the back markers to negotiate. How he was ever voted Cabin Captain I'll never know :-)
Back on the trails a decent pace was maintained with no breakdowns or punctures. A new loop in Esher Common gave all a short taste of technical riding before making our entrance up and over into Cobham. With a lack of mud we made good time and arrived on Cobham just as the 'tea stop' cries had grown louder from the ranks.
A seat by the river was initially met with dismay but the delights of Costa Coffee and a few local bistro's soon hit the mark and the coffee and cakes went down nicely. Incidentally, we will use the pub across the road on future rides, so please come again.
The return leg is always faster as we utilise a mixture of road and trail. As we strung out into Oxshott common, I (Chris) gave Adam the lead and unfortunately his idea of left is my right and we ended up in two groups. Frantic phone calls between the two groups were unsuccessful, but luckily my plant (Suzanne) knew the way and, despite taking part in her first ride, led the lead group back to us, meeting up on the one way system.
Over HRH's playground, we re-entered Ashtead common. As we still had 30 minutes of our allotted riding time left, we took in another loop with some decent single track. Arriving back at Horton Car Park at 12.59 and 57 seconds, the general feedback was once again positive!
Chris & John