Wheelers Rides
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Box (and lots of other) Hill(s) Ride
6 December 2009
The first half of the week was cold enough to leave ice on the Kent lanes (as I discovered when out for a ride on Tuesday and found my wheels going in different directions), then it warmed up but poured with rain in the second half, so we weren't expecting a big turn-out for this ride.
Departure time on Sunday morning was wet again, and the total turn-out at London Bridge was four - but Metcheck seemed to think that things would get better, and so we took a train to Hayes, armed with full waterproofs, an opportunity for me to test my newly-fitted mudguards and some hopefully-not-misplaced optimism.
And the positive thinking seemed to work. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped, and the first signs of blue sky were visible. From Hayes you are into countryside in a couple of minutes, and we followed some fine Kentish, then Surreyish, lanes via Keston, Woldingham (along the school road, which is in my top five roads of the South East, and by this time the sun was shining on a perfect winter's day), followed by a short off-road section just north of Godstone and the (noisy) M25. From here we encountered the steepest ascent of the ride up to "Gravelly Hill" (there is a clue in the name!), then along to Merstham where we stopped for refreshments at Fanny's Farm shop. It's only about 20 miles from Hayes to Fanny's, but approximately none of it was on the level, so we felt we had earned our lunch (NB the savoury tea is strongly recommended).
Then we were on the home straight - very straight in fact, along the B2032, from where we turned off towards Box Hill village and strangely arrived at the top of Box Hill without really seeming to have climbed up very much. But looking to the South, there's a fine view as far as the South Downs, and we realised that out of all those hills we must have done more up than down. The National Trust offers a fine range of cakes at the refreshment kiosk, so we had a second course to our lunch, before riding down the zigzags (hairpin bends in Surrey? - indeed, and these aren't the only ones...) to Dorking, where we were just in time for a train back to Waterloo.
All in all, an excellent ride, which we'll do again when the days lengthen, but probably extend it along the Surrey Cycleway to Guildford, which offers an extra 15 very hilly miles with more hairpins (and two more refreshment opportunities!)
Distance: 32 miles
Climb: approx 2100 ft
Route: www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=6821
Dave
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