A Morning On The London to Brighton 21/06/09

18 riders met up this morning in Carshalton with the avowed intention to hijack the popular London to Brighton charity ride. With 27,000 official entrants and about half as many again tagging along, it's the biggest mass participation ride in the UK. The plan was to sample the atmosphere and then veer off to enjoy our own circular ride. We concocted a plan to meet up at the Chipstead refreshment point if we separated but set off intending to ride together.

Because of the sheer volume of numbers, the ride uses proper roads whereas we would normally cut through parks and up alleyways. I wondered if the relentless climbing from Carshalton Ponds to Woodmansterne would have a detrimental effect on our riders but I can honestly say that I barely noticed the climb, simply because of the amount of riders pedalling along at a sensible social pace carried you along. Even so, the descent on Rectory Lane was still welcome, especially as it was closed to motor traffic which meant you could ride on the wrong side for fun!

How Lane is a notorious bottleneck on the ride and we'd advised prior that this would be the case. It's the first narrow country lane and it's a bit of a climb so everyone, without fail, has to dismount and walk. A couple of riders bypassed this section but I felt it was part of the whole experience and most of us walked up, all the way to the top of the Chipstead ridge and onto the pre-arranged meeting point where we planned our attack on Fanny's Farm for elevenses.

Fanny was having the best day of the year, serving sandwiches, bread puddings and teas to hundreds of cyclists, most of whom didn't noticed her excellent kitchen garden and treehouse. We parked the bikes by the Vietnamese pot bellied pigs and plotted our escape from the charity ride madness and onto Godstone for lunch, by turning left at the bottom of the lane instead of following the thousands going right.

Although it was a relief to be away from the hectic charity ride, it was disappointing to be back amongst the cars although fortunately we'd chosen a very lightly trafficked route that crossed the motorways a couple of times in the shadow of the North Downs. A puncture on a picturesque corner of Sustrans' NCN21 route meant we had to slightly curtail the planned route due to time constraints but no problem as we'd already enjoyed some great lanes and a stretch of sandy but passable bridleway through a field.

The board outside the Hare and Hounds at Godstone was attempting to drum up business for Fathers' Day but we'd rung ahead. Fortunately, it seems the fathers of Godstone had been taken elsewhere so we pretty much had the pub to ourselves. Food is great and good value but a huge gap between the first two meals coming out and the remainder had some starting to worry.

The unfortunate reality of dropping off the North Downs is that you have to find a way back up them. We tempered the climb by starting with a scenic ride past the Bay Pond up to the village church. But then the climb started, a mile of tough uphill, our own version of Ditchling Beacon. Some walked, some rode but we all rested at the top. And then one rode back down again without saying a word. Looking for a rider presumed missing but actually resting with everyone else!

The benefits of the climb were the views, either across the Weald to the South Downs on our right or a very distant London skyline to our left. We stayed on the ridge as long as possible, using the cycle path alongside the B269 before a very welcome descent towards the afternoon tea stop. I did forget about one small climb after promising it was all downhill but short and sharp was achievable, especially as we were heading to Farleigh's medieval church for the traditional summer Sunday afternoon teas.

it was such a good idea that all the locals had piled in before us and used up virtually all of the outdoor seating. There was a worry that the cakes might be running out but the church ladies had excelled themselves with a never-ending supply of wonderful homemade fayre, to the extent that it seemed bad manners to pick just one variety, although the suggestion by one church volunteer that I go for "thirds", was a step too far.

A slight retracing of steps saw us tackle the wretched High Hill Road bridleway but if you know what's coming, it isn't too bad. Plus it leads to Featherbed Lane and two miles of gentle downhill, leaving only Gravel Hill to be tackled on the cycle path before the ride started splintering. Those who made it back to Carshalton had 33 miles on the clock.

For more like this, visit www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk

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items are from between 21 Jun 2009 & 10 Aug 2009.