Through the suburbs to Surrey.
Posted on Monday 2 February 2009 by Paul Foster
I awoke to bitter cold. A grey sky looked at me severely, as I shivered to the rendezvous at Euston, secretly hoping that only 1 or 2 would pitch up, and a few coffees could be sunk in a warm café close at hand without the need to cycle anything other than a token amount. No such luck – in no time we had 9, keen and eager, apart from the mildly reluctant leader. A puncture delayed Rory promised to show in 5 minutes. 5 Naomi Campbell minutes later Rory hove into view, much to the relief of the party. No concessions were made to the conditions as the ride did what it said on the tin – a trip through the suburbs to the Surrey Hills. The group’s enthusiasm warmed me to the project and we rode well as a group, and did not get spread out over traffic lights, which are the bane of any group of more than about 4! It got progressively colder, and patches of ice were first spotted at Tooting, but fortunately the wind was rarely head on. We had no mechanicals which was a blessing to say the least.
Lunch was taken slightly late at the Dolphin in Betchworth, where we managed to get a table next to a roaring log fire. It started to snow properly as we tucked in, and the consensus of the group was to make its way direct to the station rather than knock out another 40k or so. Conditions under wheel had deteriorated, and there were a few tricky moments in the lanes. Fortunately everyone managed to keep the rubber on the road. Redhill was soon reached after the final ascent [(Victoria?) Pendleton Hill], and a warm cosy train soon had us to Victoria where we were greeted by an icy blast and fierce snow flurries.
Riders (in no particular order): Richard Ireland, Martin Hayman, Naomi Wolf, Keith Butcher, Rogers Cline & Fretwell, Kay Bettis, Rory Rhodes, Gerard Veglio & Paul Foster.