May 16th: 90 Miles and a lot of wheel hugging

This weekend, on the Saturday May 16, whilst a few of the pelotoners were doing the Etap Caledonia, M and I rode down to Bury Hill.

The weather forecast was foul but we decided to go anyway. On the way down we were following the SWRC 100 course (the painted arrows are still on the roads so it is easy enough to follow the route) popping out on the A29 at Adversane. The headwind was horrible and after about 38 miles I had to duck behind M to shelter from the wind. He just pumped on.

As we approached Bury Hill there is a downhill before the step uphill, the wind was so strong at this point we had to pedal downhill! We stopped briefly at the café at the top of the hill (under new management, a bit more attractive now) then headed back up the A29 to London.

With a tailwind M took the pace up and we were storming along. After 8 miles we reached the café at Toat and stopped for a snack (baked beans and egg on toast for me, cake for M). The flag outside the café was stiff showing a strong wind heading north.

Whilst in the café a cyclist called Richard Newey turned up and we got talking. He was training for the Race Across America (http://www.richardnewey.co.uk/). A 300 mile race from the West Coast to the East with a time limit of 12 days. He told us how he had done the race in a team and was now doing it solo (in a weeks time). M has always wanted to do this race but I think Richard’s stories put him off a bit.

We then set off again and M was laying down a cracking pace with me hugging his wheel desperately. When we got to the Surrey Hills and the road up to Coldharbour I was suffering in my 34 X 28 gear. M was waiting for me at the top of each incline. After that it was down into Dorking then up Box Hill at 6 mph then along to the A217. As soon as we hit the fast tarmac on the A217 M was off like a rocket. We were keeping up 31 mph as we went through the Banstead crossroads and if rarely dropped below 30 mph all the way to Cheam. He was really enjoying the tailwind.

A good 90 miles banked and sore legs for a few days even though I was wheel hugging / sucking for 60 of the miles.

Here is a piece of useless information: What is a Dorking and why do they have a 12 foot giant silver steel cockerel of the roundabout in Dorking? Well, it seems a Dorking is a 5 toed chicken the meat of which was favoured by Queen Victoria. Also, the town of Dorking had the longest poultry market in the country. Now you know.