Report for B Group - 25th February

The pecking order having been confirmed on Tuesday, three flocks of assorted free-range poultry assembled at the Fairfield Centre for a good old cackle, then at their prescribed times they flew the coop and into the leafy lanes of Surrey.

We were sorry to find out that Ray had fallen off on the way to Leatherhead and hurt himself and damaged his bike, including broken spokes we understand. And although Brenda made it to Elevenses she decided that the funny noises emanating from her drive train were a sign that she should go to a bike shop rather than risk riding with us. And Carolyn had to attend to some urgent repair to her house and so miss the ride. Nobody else chickened out and we were overjoyed that Sue F came to join our ride with Stephen’s flock, The Old Crafty Hens. 

 

The first flock out were The Old Crafty Hens (“Oak-Aged”)

Flight departure: 10:45

Leader: Stephen

"We assembled at Leatherhead in warm weather with the sun shining and blue skies - a glorious contrast to the weeks of rain which have characterised so much of this year.  Not surprisingly, the turn-out was good.

Stephen led the first group of 8 (’the Old Crafty Hens’), consisting of Sue F, Steph, Lilian, Chris McC, Arwyn, Martin and Tim G who very kindly backmarked.

The scenic route - much enhanced by the Spring sunshine - took us up to Effingham, down to Effingham Junction, past Ockham and over the A3 on the new bridge to Wisley.  Here we got tied up with an amazing queue of cars. In answer to the question ‘What’s going on?’, the Wisley traffic managers explained that ‘the sun has come out’:  the queue was simply people trying to get to the Wisley car-park.  We were able to weave our way carefully past most of the traffic (helped some of the way by the new, partially completed, cycle lane), but it was a relief to get back onto clear roads again. 

From there to lunch at the ‘Saddlers Arms’ at Send was a straightforward loop near Pyrford.  At the pub we sat outside, somewhat amazed to be basking in sunshine.  Food was simple but good -  the home-made soup was a particular stand-out.

The Old Crafty Hens

Afterwards we headed to Ripley, Ockham - again! - Stoke D’Abernon, up Leigh Hill Road, down Sandy Lane and then an interesting route (Stokesheath Road) to Fairoak Lane (where Steph and Lilian left for home) before taking a wooded path, the footpath over the A3 and down to Claygate where 5 of us stopped for some well-earned tea.  Althogether a very enjoyable day out on a lovely Spring day!

~ Stephen

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The second flock were The Old Golden Hens (“Refreshing”)
Flight departure: 10:55
Leader: Bernard

"The body ages but the heart is forever young.  The early morning sun rays poked me awake.  I jumped out of bed with excited anticipation of a glorious day’s ride.  Cycling shorts season had arrived with just two top layers instead of the winter’s half dozen or more.

A little kid was dragging me by the hand and urging me to get on my bike, “come on, hurry, let’s go... the sun’s out!”  Like flying swallows making their way from Africa to our northern summer the kid in me spread his arms and felt the sweet breeze head on.  Sabina and I joined our fellow cyclists for elevenses at the Fairfield centre in Leatherhead; a throng of kids dropped off for a day’s cycle riding on the first sunny day of the year.

As we rode the sun spread its arms wide across the horizon.  The greys of yesterday were gone.  Only one or two sheepish small vaporous clouds made an appearance. Young hearts coasted through fields of green, blues and whites.  A blackbird perched and then darted into a hedge.  A fox flashed into the road, u turned and disappeared.  Sparrows all along chirped and chatted.  And us, kids, in our youth, pedalled to the rhythm of joy.  At Wisley we met a convoy of cars, sunseekers, escaping winter’s enforced hibernation.  We arrived for lunch at the Saddlers Arms in Send Marsh, equidistant between Send and Ripley.  Lunches pre-ordered for young souls.

Our bellies filled, our hearts happy, on our bikes we got.  The sun and the blue sky were taking good care of us and on we pedalled.  A sheep stood in a field watching us, the rest had their backs to us chumping on grass.  Hills came and pinched our muscles.  Down we glided.

We arrived at the café in Claygate where some kids were tucking into cake.

Thanks to Tim C for the route.

The Old Golden Hens

My fellow riders, ‘The Old Golden Hens’, were Sabina, Julie, Karen, (Brenda), Chris, Geoff and Tony H.

Thanks to Mick for backmarking.

~ Bernard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The last flock to depart were The Old Speckled Hens (“Distinctive”) 

Flight departure: 11:05ish 

Leader: Tim C 

The original weather forecast for this ride wasn’t very promising but as we drew closer to the day it became apparent that we could expect very agreeable temperatures and sunny skies.

We crossed the Nature Reserve by the Mill Pond and up the Lower Road towards Bookham and Effingham. At nine miles in we arrived at the Wisley roundabout and although only a week had passed since our recce I managed to lead our group a bit too far (anticlockwise) around the roundabout before I wised up to my mistake. Although the area is still a mess of major construction and we were rather confused about where we should be riding it was also exciting to imagine how it will be for cyclists once the project is complete. What really astounded us was learning that the huge buildup of traffic on the new Wisley Lane and bridge was all due to the sun shining and the multitudes deciding to visit the Wisley Gardens.

We looped through Wisley Village and Pyrford, stopping for a team photo by the lock, then around through Old Woking to Cartbridge, ultimately relieved to get away from the  fairly persistent traffic and into Send Marsh Lane for our lunch at The Saddlers Arms.

The Old Speckled Hens by Pyrford Lock

We used to visit this small pub quite frequently several years ago. As agreed with Yvonne we would just have a limited menu, mostly a lovely leek and potato Soup of the Day and several species of panini with side salads and optional chips. Still February but twenty four of us sat in the sun in front of the pub for lunch. Yvonne and the pub staff ensured that we were very well looked after and it was a shame we had to leave. We should look forward to visiting them again.

After lunch we headed towards Cobham and took the obligatory Chilbrook Road diversion then River Lane to the Cemetery, the Tilt Road and Leigh Hill Road for a nicely flowing route through to Sandy Lane and ultimately up New Road to Claygate. Anne’s chain had come off somewhere in Miles Lane but our trusty backmarker Mr Betts brought her back to us before Sandy Lane. Thank you Peter. 

Parade and Albany is a good choice of Tea stop for anyone arriving before they close at 4:30. Their Tea, Coffee and Cake is excellent. Terry, Grant and Alan had peeled off towards their homes before we got there but the rest of us enjoyed our visit to the café.

Thanks to my cheerful team, Anne, Gill F, Mags, Peter, Grant, Alan I and Terry for our lovely day out. And a huge thank you to Stephen and Bernard for leading their teams. 

~ Tim C