OUTWOOD 18/03/07

Today was our first ever joint ride with the Anerley Bicycle Club.
These days they start their rides in South Croydon (rather than
Crystal Palace as their name suggests) and often tend to cycle for up
to 50 miles, so the only way we could feasibly join up without
altering the PHC formula was to catch a train to give us a headstart.
Unfortunately, that meant meeting an hour early at 8:30am so it was
just 3 of us on the train to Oxted.

Originally, we had planned to alight at Hurst Green but the cyclists'
Sunday nightmare - the replacement bus service - put paid to that.
Fortunately, Oxted is only 2 miles shy of Hurst Green.

The roads around here are rural lanes but they're wide with 40 or
50mph speed limits. That means cars can pass reasonably easy leaving
you to concentrate on the scenery. There's very little traffic as most
of it use the fast A22. We criss-crossed our way down towards to huge
Mormon Temple and then into the nursery at Newchapel that hides
Gullivers, a greasy spoon cafe in a wooden shack.

The Anerley riders turned up just after 11am. 9 of them plus a PHC
regular going for the extra miles. They ride very slightly quicker
than we do but they still wait at the top of hills so it was
reasonably easy to keep the pace going. It's great to join with other
clubs as you get all kinds of tips on new cafes to stop at and places
of interest. We'll be trying a few of these in the near future.

Another source of knowledge is the Anerley's resident windmill expert.
Subsequently, we got an interesting and informative talk when we
pulled up outside the Outwood postmill. It's open in the summer so
well worth a visit.

Lunch was at the Dog and Duck. I recognised it from the London to
Brighton charity ride route. Not too many Mothering Day diners so no
problem with ordering food although a limited choice for veggies. We'd
feared they'd be overcrowded and so most had brought sandwiches or
stocked up at the cafe. The weather was nice enough to sit outside.

The return along the Prince of Wales road is a steady climb, one of
which brings you disconcertingly to eye-level with the M25 motorway
before the road dives down underneath the bridge. We decided not to
bother going back to Oxted and opted to cut the miles and continue
straight on to Merstham station. We passed the Inn On The Pond pub on
NCN21 and the Mercers Country Park, fighting a strong headwind and
braving a 3 minute hailstorm before we arrived at the station, just in
time for a train back to Croydon.

22 miles. Out for 6hrs (plus train travel)
Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=781495
Photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157600007444910
or http://tinyurl.com/2hdqcz

Anerley BC: http://www.anerleybc.org

===

Robert has kindly scanned his pix from last month's Eltham Palace
ride. See them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157600007387782
or
http://tinyurl.com/2yepc2

===

For the first time ever, there is no PHC ride next weekend. That's
because no one has volunteered to lead one and I'm away on business.
If you want the rides to continue to be weekly, why not volunteer to
become a leader? We can offer informal training.

Next ride will be April 1st, a return to the area we visited today but
with at least 5 miles of traffic-free cycling through the South Park
area. Details on the website.

Cheers
Mark
07711 688189