Box Hill Café

Good weather saw a good turnout this week. Richard led Norman, John V, John C, Pat, Frank, Mick, Jeet and myself (Bob) away from Three Bridges Station, along Hazelwick Road, North Road and Woolborough Road to emerge into a quieter than usual Industrial Estate – it’s always quiet on a Sunday but it was especially noiseless without the drone of planes from the airport and the absence of any airport servicing traffic as there were no flights to service. Looking up, the blue sky was just that – a blue sky! There were no annoying con-trails criss-crossing the atmosphere and the usual whiff of aviation exhaust fumes was pleasantly absent. We indulged in a normally voiced conversation as we rode through the airport and could actually hear our own thoughts as well as each other.
Just after passing the North Terminal I received a phone call from Pete S to say that he’d arrived late at the start and would catch us up. I gave him some idea of the route we would be taking and we continued riding – on through Povey Cross, then up Horse Hill and on to Ironsbottom. Heading west along the long straight of Dean Oak Lane, I was half expecting Pete (and Marian – they were on their tandem) to swim into view behind us, but despite hanging around for a few minutes at the end of the lane, we didn’t see them. At this point, Mick decided to head home to Horsham as he was suffering from a slightly upset stomach.
Passing through Leigh we then headed west before turning north and emerging on the A25 just east of Dorking. Turning right we only had a hundred yards of main road before turning left onto Pixham Lane. At the end of the lane we encountered the A24 but could use a cyclepath alongside it. After a mile we started on the climb of Box Hill – at first on the Old London Road, but then a right turn took us onto the much smaller (and steeper) Zig Zag Road. Yes, that’s the REAL name of the road. Along with loads of other cyclists, the odd motorcyclist and almost no cars, we settled into the long grind. As it was the first time I’d tackled this hill, I had no idea of how long it would be, nor how to judge where I was on it. I had a fairly good pace going but fancied my heart was racing so throttled back a bit (that’s the excuse I used when Richard swept past me – “I’m fifty-four you know!” I panted as he passed). Regaining my breath I was enjoying the hill again when we turned a wooded corner and …….. that was it! B*gger! I could have kept the earlier pace going. At the top of the hill was the welcome sight of a National Trust café. Most of the clientele seemed to be cyclists and we joined several in the queue to buy some tea and cake. At the bottom of the hill we’d passed another café which was absolutely packed with motorcyclists and it was there that Pete and Marian had just pulled up as I phoned to find out how long before we’d see them. Forgoing a break at the bottom of the hill, they jumped back on the tandem and took what seemed like just a few minutes (certainly less than half a cakes worth) to get up the hill, so we were finally one big group.
Once everyone had finished their refreshments and completed their ablutions, we hit the road again. Heading east along the top of the hill we passed through the village of Box Hill and pressed our noses against the glass of a bling racing bike shop. After an easy downhill we turned left onto Headley Common Road and were overtaken by a group of roadies. However, immediately afterwards, the road went steeply downhill and into a series of bends so I took the opportunity to overtake them back – I blasted down the hill passing half of them and barely managed to stay on my side of the road through the bends but I was expecting to get picked off again as the road started going back up – to my surprise (and that of their lead rider) I managed to get all the way to the front (although I couldn’t disguise the depth of my breathing!!). As we crested the next hill I couldn’t see any of our group behind me so I decided to stop and wait for them to catch up.
After more than 5 minutes I realised something was up – either I’d missed a turning or there’d been an accident, so I headed back down the hill I’d just powered up. DOH! I had missed a turning, so off I shot down a delightful lane called Lodge Bottom Road I was really motoring along at about 25 mph yet managed to confirm the presence of a tandem in front of me by asking a cyclist heading in the opposite direction. Soon enough I reached the end of the lane but there was no sign of my fellows and I was unsure which way to go. Fortunately there was another rider to ask and she pointed me in the right direction. Over a small crest and then I was blasting past the end of Zig Zag Road and on towards the biker café. There, at the side of the A24, I met the rest of our group and we continued to head south. We used Pixham Lane again then turned left onto the A25 for a mile and a half before turning right at Brockham. Now we generally headed towards the sun and, as we approached Parkgate, Norman asked what we were going to do for lunch. Most people wanted to head on home but Norman and I decided the Surrey Oaks beckoned, so we said goodbye to everyone else and settled down in the pub garden.
A couple of pints and a bagette later and we too were on our way home. We used Partridge Lane to get to Rusper and then Norman headed for Horsham and I headed back to Crawley via Ifield. For a change, rather than use the underpass into west Green, I decided to use Overdene Drive and cut through Gossops Green. As I did so, I met an old friend and workmate and stopped for a chat. Having decided that the company we now work for isn’t anywhere near as nice as the company we started working for some thirty odd years ago, we both continued on our ways and, having ridden through Goffs Park and Southgate, I was home some ten minutes later having covered about 40 miles in total.
Unfortunately I’m unavailable for the next two weekends but we have a couple of good rides coming up. This Sunday (25th April), Pete S is leading a 40 mile round trip from Three Bridges station at 09:30 with a lunch stop at The Sloop – it’s bound to include some delightful lanes and picturesque countryside. Then, on Sunday 2nd May, Barbara will lead an easy Introductory ride of no more than 2 hours duration starting from Horsham Pavilion in the Park at 10:00hrs. The weather’s getting nicer day-by-day, so go on, get out there and enjoy the riding!