Wednesday, 30 July 2025

A Group ride report 30 July

Last time we went from Caterham, in May, numbers were low and indeed only four rode all the way to lunch. As it had been a nice ride on roads that we don’t use very often I decided to use the same route to Hever and then Brockham. This time we had 14 signed up which was a great turnout given how far out Caterham is for some.

The Westway Centre at Caterham put on a great spread with lots of delicious pastries, fresh strawberries, yoghurts and also, tea and coffee. Suitably fortified for the hills ahead my group of Andy H, Patrick, Steve D, Hans, Dave B, Mike R, Peter S and I set off first.

The long descent to the A22 roundabout gave a short respite before we turned into Woldingham School and from there to the sharp left turn to ascend Gangers. We met the B group at the bottom of the hill to find they were doing a longer and hillier ride to Sevenoaks!

We enjoyed being almost on the flat for a few short miles until we had the wonderful long descent into Westerham and this was enjoyed by all. Payback came soon after as we turned right and into the next climb up Hosey Hill. After that it was left to go past Chartwell but that part of the ride was somewhat spoiled by a very long stretch of loose gravel.

The hills flattened out a little and we were all enjoying the scenery whilst passing through Bough Beeches when suddenly three deer shot out and crossed about 10 feet in front of us. We were very glad not to be 10 feet further on!

After that, we passed through pretty Kent countryside (with only one idiotic driver) and it wasn’t long before we arrived at the King Henry VIII pub in Hever. It was slightly chaotic there as they had no record of my booking with them. Nevertheless we all got served eventually.


The afternoon wasn’t as hilly as the morning but nevertheless there was a bit of a headwind just to keep us on our toes. However, we arrived in Brockham with plenty of time to spare and all stopped for refreshments before the onward journey home.
 

Thanks to my group for their cheerful good company and in particular to Peter S for back marking.

~ Janice

Ged's report: 
Our compact group of Sue C, Andy C, Brian and Dave V left Westway soon after Janice's fast group. It was an uneventful morning. The grind up Gangers Hill was rewarded by the swooping descents from The Ridge into Westerham - greatly enjoyed by all. However Hosey Hill soon after reminded us that the climbs weren't quite over! Despite warnings of long waits for lunch, King Henry VIII delivered remarkably quickly, some of the first group still waiting for their orders after ours had arrived. Chips were plentiful!


We collected Geoffrey S for the afternoon leg, and were snapped by Andy following a 10 secs. delay before leaving. Geoffrey did very well with limited miles in his legs, keeping pace with the group, and resisting the temptation of an early train home: we arrived for tea at Brockham only missing Sue. (I subsequently caught up with Geoffrey on the train at Epsom, having decided myself to take the easy option at Leatherhead for the last 15 miles home).

Thanks to Janice for a lovely route, and to Dave for very visible backmarking.

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