Nine rode out through the weather window
Attracted by the thought of cake.
But, enough liberties taken with Beatles lyrics. On with the ride report.
According to my garden rain gauge, a centimetre of rain had fallen since midnight so the previously dusty trails were likely to be a bit soggy. The rainfall radar on my phone promised that the persistent drizzle would stop at 09:15 and that there would be a window of dry(ish) weather lasting until the early afternoon. Well, 09:15 came and …………………. it stopped raining! A small crowd of nine riders including new guy David and newish guy Gareth had gathered at Reigate Hill car park and we set off along the ridge towards Walton on the Hill. The overnight rain had cleared the air and there were some great views towards the South Downs. We went over the motorway and crossed the completely empty golf course, through Walton on the Hill, into Queen’s Close and down the excellent Sandhill Wood descent and back under the motorway through Costal Wood up to Headley. After Langley Lane we went down Life on Mars to Stane Street. Life on Mars had added interest because the Stick People tribe had been laying their elaborate obstacles across the trail, which made it even more fun than usual. There was a brief discussion along the lines of Who are they? Where do they come from? Why do they do it? Is it some arcane ritual? We’ll probably never know, so for now we can just appreciate the fact that they love us and do everything they can to make our rides even more exiting. Up and down the undulations of Stane Street and then left down the bridleway which twisted through the woods (careful with those wide bars) to a warm welcome at the Bike Beans Cafe in Ashtead. Probably the best cakes and coffee around, friendly staff and a healthy tolerance of mud. While we were inside, a few dark clouds gathered and we had a brief shower on the way past Langley Vale Farm. A right turn at Nohome Farm (anyone know where the name came from?) took us up the bridleway to Walton on the Hill. This is beginning to wear in and, with luck, will be back to its old interesting self before the council sanitised it. We crossed Walton Heath then went along the ridge arriving back at Reigate Hill around one o’clock after about 18 mostly rain – free miles. We didn’t lose anyone apart from Mike peeling off near Mogador for a shortcut home.