I had volunteered to take the advertised leader's, Adrian W, place as his back had seized up; hence the disappointed expressions on the 6 faces of the riders. I had decided to head to Hurstpierpoint instead of Llamaland. When I described the route, Wolfgang reminded me that Meath Green Lane was closed for the Reigate half-marathon. We took the reverse of my usual route - Copthorne, Balcombe Road, right towards Handcross and left by the water tower to descend into Staplefield. Down Deaks Lane to Ansty and straight on to Washbrooks Farm.
We returned via Warninglid and then carried on along Hammerpond Road around Horsham and into Wimland Road. Walter had been singing the priases of the refurbished Frog and Nightgown. It did not take much persuading for the party to stop, apart from Billy W. who decided to carry on on his own. (knowing Billy, I suspect he relished the opportunity to add an extra 50 miles to the route). We returned via Rusper, Brockham and Betchworth.
An excellent day out in good company. I hope the others enjoyed the day as much as I did.
Mike Ormerod
P.S. Sorry about the picture but the Web site insisted on displaying it sideways, whatever I did!
PPS Frank and photoshop to the rescue