I arrived at the Pavilions in the Park a good ten minutes early (for a change) and hung around outside the front doors as I could see that there was no-one waiting in the cafe. A few minutes later I spotted the familiar figure of Anton rolling up from the car park. It's been quite a while since I've had the pleasure of riding with Anton, so this got my day off to a good start.
As no other riders had arrived, we set off out along Hurst Road and then through the town centre and out on the Worthing road. We took the difficult right turn at The Boars Head and shortly after could relax as we travelled down Two Mile Ash Road to The Bax Castle and then on to Barns Green. We used Valewood Lane and New Road but, for a change, I took us onto Wooddale Lane and entered Billingshurst on the A272. We used the bridge to cross the A29 and then rejoined the A272 before pulling up at the Old Mill Cafe in Wisborough Green for elevenses.
There were a few people sat outside there, including a couple of cyclists and conversation naturally turned to The Olympics cycling and the hard job the GB team had in the mens road race.
Having this break was a good idea, for the next part of the route involved the climb up Bedham Hill. As the climb started to bite, I mentioned the abandoned church at the top of the hill and Anton said he would like to see it. Shortly before the summit we took a small road on the right which climbed further paused then climbed again. Then a diagonal bridleway on the right told me we'd reached our destination and we pulled up outside this spooky location. We explored the ruins and took a few photos:
According to a stone tablet inside the church, it was built in 1880.
We retraced our steps back to the junction, turned right and continued the climb. Then we had the pleasure of a downhill run about a mile or so long and into the village of Fittleworth. We continued south, past the Church and The Swan Inn and up Tripp Hill.The lanes were quiet and we continued on down to West Burton. Here we turned east and headed for Bury then Houghton and down the hill, over the Causeway to pull up at the cafe on the east bank of the river Arun at Amberley.
The weather so far had been changeable but dry with a westerly wind. As we sat outside, by the river, some big grey clouds began to dominate the sky and a few big raindrops pockmarked the river. We knew exactly what to do - Anton unravelled his waterproof jacket, straightened it out, put it on and carefully did up the zip and cuffs. Yup, you guessed it: as soon as he had finished the whole procedure the rain stopped!
We enjoyed our lunch and then resumed the ride. We took the shortest route back to Horsham via Amberley, Wiggonholt, West Chiltington and Barns Green. We practised our freewheeling skills on Woods Hill and I have to say that Anton was much better and quicker than me - he rolled all the way to the junction but had to stop there due to traffic. I only managed to get as far as the farm entrance about a quarter of a mile before the junction.
Back at Horsham Park we parted company and I headed back to Crawley via Colgate, Pease Pottage and Tilgate Park.
Next weeks ride on Sunday 5th August will be the next DA Event. This one is a really easy one, just turn up on the green at Wisborough Green to join the other West Sussex CTC section riders for a picnic. John C will be leading our ride from Horsham Park Pavilions at 10:00hrs and I would describe the ride as being Easy and less than 40 miles. Please join this event as I think we're currently leading in the DA Section trophy competition and this could help cement our position - we get 5 points for everyone that turns up at the picnic. Don't forget to bring your own packed lunch (but don't worry if you forget - there are two pubs, a cafe and a convenience store in the village!!).
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