Ride It Off

Fresh(?) from the excesses of Saturdays Club Christmas Dinner, a ten o’clock start from Three Bridges Station for a twenty-two mile offroad jaunt along the Worth Way/Forest Way didn’t seem too onerous. I’d already swapped my slicks for knobblies and the weather was cold but dry so I dressed up warm and left my waterproofs at home. After all, I could always sprint back home if any rain came along.

John C was the leader and the other attendees were Pete S, Mick, John H, John V, Norman and me, Bob.

Being honest law-abiding citizens we walked our bikes along the footpath under the railway bridge before remounting to ride up Billinton Drive. The first part of Worth Way had a thin film of soggy mud which was spraying up from our tyres but was good and firm underneath. Just after crossing the M23 (on a bridge!) we met one of our club members, Pat. We didn’t recognise her at first – she was in “civvies” as she was out for a walk. Frank wasn’t with her as he was laid low with flu – get well soon Frank. I stopped for a chat and then had to sprint a bit to catch up with the others. It was great fun zipping along the track and I was full of the joys of spring (or should we call it “fat-tyre frenzy”?) as I carved some lines and nearly wiped out three other cyclists as I nailed a blind bend! As ever, on the stretch alongside (the former) Rowfant Station I was bemoaning the fact that the track has been 'improved'. It used to be a superb bit of singletrack: fast and flowing with loads of tree roots, mud and a narrow bridge with no railings, great for improving your bike handling skills. Just afterwards the track does a right and left as it cuts across the line of the railway but as usual I took the ‘fun’ route which climbs through the bushes and across the end of the embankment to cut off the double bend (it’s only 10 metres long but involves a muddy climb and descent on a narrow track). The next stretch is dead straight and is where I usually take the opportunity for a drink. The embankment gets higher and higher and crosses Rowfant Lane about 50 feet above the road surface. Shortly after, the path goes into a cutting but just beforehand there’s a sloping path on the left which leads up to the Turners Hill Road. Mick left us at this point as he’d ridden all the way from Horsham and wanted to ensure he returned before it got too dark (also, being on a handbuilt touring bike with road tyres he was having to concentrate to stay upright, whereas I was just chucking my mountain bike around with gay abandon). Only two weeks into the competition for next years Mick Horley trophy, Mick has built up a good lead with double the points of his nearest competitor. The rest of us will have to pull our collective fingers out!!

As we went up the slope to Crawley Down, I realised that John H on his recumbent must be having a fairly hard time of it. With his small wheels and relatively grip free tyres he found it quite hard manoeuvering through the fence at the top. The mile of tarmac through the houses let the mud flick off our tyres and drop off our frames before hitting the next stretch of track. As we passed the pond I was surprised to see a number off dayglo jacketed people doing some maintenance work. John V infomed me that they were doing their Community Service but they looked more like volunteers to me. Before long we arrived on the outskirts of East Grinstead and the viaduct now owned by the Bluebell Railway was visible to the right. It’ll be great seeing steam engines going over it again soon. Way up in the air above all those houses.

We took the fast route though East Grinstead and used Beeching Way – named after the man appointed by the pro-roads Transport Minister (well he did own the road construction company that got the contracts for most of Britains early motorways). The path continues as the Forest Way and is downhill for a good couple of miles – I was zipping along there at speeds of 25 to 30 mph (in the bits where there were no other users) but pulled up at Brambletye Lane to take a quick diversion down to the ruins of the Manor house with Norman and John C.

Meeting back up with the others at the road crossing, we entered Forest Row through the back door only to find that the café by the tip was closed. So, we headed to the High Street but both those cafes were closed as well! There was one last café we knew of, on the Hartfield Road, and fortunately it was open. As we pulled up it started to rain but no matter, we were in the warm and our bikes could do with a wash.

After we’d finished our refreshments (bacon buttie and a mug of tea for me) it had stopped raining but was noticeably colder and darker. We left Forest Row the way we’d arrived and were soon nice and warm as we got a good spinning rhythm going on the long climb back to East Grinstead. This time we eschewed Beeching Way and used the High Street which meant I could practice climbing the steps up and over the railway by the station. The rest of the journey back was uneventful with John H leaving us at Keepers Cottage and Pete, John C and John V leaving us in Worth. Norman and I carried on until I turned off for Furnace Green leaving Norman to ride back to Horsham by himself – my navigational instructions to him were: “You see that bright bit of sky over there? Well keep heading in that direction!” Hopefully that got him through Crawley and onwards successfully…..

The ride for Sunday 20th December will be a Morning Ride starting from Horsham Park Pavilion at 10:00hrs and led by me (Bob). It’ll be a fairly short (2 hours/20 miles ish) loop to the south of Horsham which I may make even shorter depending on the weather. I suspect a warm pub may be calling afterwards – although my original intention of a finish at the Dragon in Colgate has been thwarted due to its closure!