The Blu Moon Café at Beare Green was the focal point on which the C&M converged on a chill but sunny Sabbath morn, to face the first real challenge of the day - how to resist the temptation of a not so isotonic greasy breakfast.
The second challenge was mounting up for stage two to Shere. Leader Keith showed the way by puncturing within the first five minutes. Then off apace via Capel towards Forest Green. Here a sneering motorist feigned the good samaritan by telling Keith that one of our number had fallen by the wayside. Fortunately not so.
Then we followed familiar lanes in a reverse and mostly sharply rising direction! Thus up to Hurtwood, down to Peaslake, up to Burrows Cross and down to Shere. At the planned hostelry, however, no food at the inn. At the second, food but no room. Plenty of space nonetheless in the garden for those with sandwiches and thermal underwear in their toolkit. John and Ed had perhaps wisely taken a more leisurely detour to the Abinger Tearooms.
After lunch, it was the single chevron climb up Coombe Lane to get the circulation going again before down again to the A246 and Effingham, with riders peeling off to left and right to make their own ways home. By Leatherhead just three were left to head into the setting sun, or in one case into Lidls for a possible last minute bargain.
A modest 43 miles under the belt, many of which, however, were in defiance of the laws of gravity, well known and so much loved by cyclists.
Jeff
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