Norbury Wood 02/04/06

When I planned this ride I just assumed it would be sunny. I think I forgot
about April showers! So, after a night of heavy rain and with no Plan B, I
was a bit stumped as to what to do with the route to keep out of the mud.

5 of us got off a train packed with mountain bikers at Box Hill and
Westhumble and set off uphill along Crabtree Lane towards the tarmac path
through Norbury Wood. It's a steep climb so some walked. I thought we'd be
ok in the wood but of course the rain washes the mud all over the tarmac. It
wasn't too bad though. We did a loop past the big sculptures and then headed
across the open space toward the busy Bocketts Farm, a tourist farm with a
tea room in a converted barn. It was here that I decided to abandon the
original route and try to stay on tarmac as much as possible.

On the way, we'd caught a glimpse of the Admiral's Track byway and saw that
it had been churned up by dirtbikes. Instead, we used the main road to Great
Bookham and turned off to Polesdon Lacey, a fine Edwardian house run by the
National Trust. There are tarmac tracks that skirt the grounds of the house
and a long stone bridleway back to Ranmore Common Road which is part of the
Surrey Cycleway. We stayed on the Surrey Cycleway as it turned left onto
White Down Lane, a steady climb through the wooded Downs and then down
steeply towards the A25.

We saw a couple of clean-looking mountain bikers coming out of the track
near Park Farm and decided to take a chance on it not being too muddy. It
wasn't too bad and took us down to Westcott where we piled into an empty
Cricketers pub and sat out a couple of showers over late lunch. It's mostly
Thai food but they also do a Sunday Roast. Good pub.

Changing the route meant we'd done more than the advertised mileage already
so to preserve the morale of those expecting an easy ride we decided to use
the stony Pilgrims Way track that climbs steadily from Landbarn Farm up to
Dorking West, offering great views of Dorking and the Old Bury Hill House.
Unfortunately, it terminates in a wood that was ridiculously muddy.

To complete the route, we used the off-carriageway cycle tracks from Dorking
back to Box Hill and Westhumble where we missed a train by about 30 seconds.
Then the heavens opened. We'd been lucky to miss most of the showers all day
and we were glad to be sheltered from this one with its short burst of
hailstones.

19 miles against the advertised 10, out for 7 hours.

See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72057594096921820/
Or
http://tinyurl.co.uk/az80

===

Next week is more of a morning ride as we're ending up at Streatham Common
for the Kite Festival. We'll head off around the Crystal Palace area. It's
hilly but we can wait for any wishing to walk. 09:45 at the library. Details
on the website.

As today was another family-friendly ride with no kids, it would be great if
we can rally up a few families for the Easter Saturday ride on 15th April.
Maybe you have friends who normally go to church on Sundays who might want
to come on a Saturday ride or perhaps you've got friends with kids who'd
enjoy a day out on their bikes. We have some brand new bikes at Commonside
that the bikeless can borrow if necessary. I think we've survived the winter
quite well but it would be good to get the numbers up and more new faces as
the weather gets better.

Stay tuned for details of Croydon Bike Week which we are organising. Lots of
rides planned. June 17 - 25.

Two more charity rides for the list:

The Nehemiah Project have a 50 miler from Guildford to Streatham on June
11th. You'll need to raise a tenner a mile though! Transport available from
Streatham. http://www.tnp.org.uk/events.html

The Children's Trust's Wheels Of Steel has 4 rides from 8 miles to 40 miles,
starting from Tadworth Courth near Epsom Downs taking place on 21st May.
Kids are actively encouraged to ride this one.
http://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/supportus/events/cycling.asp

Anyone see Fanny's Farm on the Countryside programme on ITV? She has no
electricity apparently!

And don't forget you'll get 30% off winter clothing at De Ver Cycles if you
mention PHC...

Cheers

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk
Next Love Yr Bike - Croydon Arena, 24th June
07711 688189