It Will Not Snow

It Will Not Snow
The planned start time for this ride was 09:30am, but with the forecast for an icy start, I decided to delay things until 10:00am. This gave me some extra time, and since the A281 at Cowfold was closed (I assume due to ice from the Ice Warning sign), I followed some of my intended route back to Horsham and noted the sections with ice we’ll have to get past.

I will admit that I was in the car and not cycling, since my shoulder, even after an operation, is still not right after my Dec 2008 encounter with ice.

Arriving at HPP well before the original 09:30am start time, I quickly got my bike ready before going to wait in the café with a cuppa and pastry. Mick was already waiting, having cycled the short distance from his home. However, with the frost still evident and me not really selling the ride, with comments about patches of ice we’ll have to get past, I think I put him off. (Mick is someone else to have come off worse when his bike encountered a patch of ice a few years ago).

Shortly afterwards John V arrived, having cycled over from Crawley, but was undecided whether to continue the ride, or make his way back. The possibility of snow later in the afternoon was one of the reasons, since the lunchtime stop was some way from Crawley, the other being that he was already frozen.

While waiting and discussing options Bob, who had also cycled from Crawley, arrived. He mentioned that he’d had to get round at least one significant section of ice, hence the delay (I believe for Bob he was in fact early – but only for the revised start time).

So we sat in the warmth of the café, we discussed alterations to the route, and we discussed other cycling topics. But generally we were in no particular rush to go anywhere. So around 10:15 I decided that I’d call the ride off, and we all went our separate ways. The temperature gauge in my car read on leaving -2.0oC, and travelling home by the back roads we normally use there was a lot of ice to contend with.

So a point to Mick, John V and Bob in the Mick Horley competition. ZERO for me since I’d driven.

The reason that this ride had the note “It Will Not Snow” is because last year while eating our lunch at the LimeBurners it started snowing and we had to make a quick dash back.

The proposed route (which I’ll use next year but later in the year) is below (distance in Kms because my computer is set to Kms for Audax rides):

Kms Directions
0.00 0.00 Start HPP, HORSHAM
0.14 0.14 R @T (Hurst Rd)
0.30 0.16 2nd @ RAB (North St > Park St)
0.85 0.54 L @ Lt (Parkway)
0.99 0.14 L @ Lt (East St > Queens St > Brighton Rd) $ Brighton
2.11 1.12 9th R (Kerves Ln > Hards Hill > Kerves Ln) (Note HILL approaching – sorry)
4.43 2.32 R @ T (Colstaple Ln > Southwater St) $ SOUTHWATER
6.64 2.21 L @ T (Worthing Rd) SOUTHWATER
6.74 0.10 2nd RAB
7.12 0.38 2nd RAB
7.74 0.62 SO T/Lts
8.42 0.67 4th R on L bend pass Bus parking on L (Shipley Rd)
11.30 2.88 L @ T (A272) imm R (Pound Ln) $ Shipley
12.94 1.65 Keep L @ Grass T (Swallows Ln) $ DIAL POST
15.02 2.08 R @ T (Worthing Rd) DIAL POST $ Worthing
15.78 0.75 Stagg X SO A24 (Grinders Ln) $ ASHURST
19.92 4.14 Keep R @ Grass T (School Ln) x$ Partridge Green
20.82 0.90 R @ T (B2135) ASHURST $ Steyning
22.00 1.18 1st R (Spithandle Ln) Just before big white house
26.19 4.19 R @ T (Hole St)
28.08 1.89 Under A24 > London Rd ASHINGTON
28.22 0.14 2ND MRAB
29.15 0.93 2nd @ RAB (Billinghurst Rd B2133) $ Billinghurst
33.02 3.87 L @ T imm R (Harbolets Rd B2133) $ ADVERSANE
35.66 2.64 Becomes Adversane Ln
38.56 2.90 Stagg X SO A24 (Lordings Rd B2133) ADVERSANE $ Guildford
41.06 2.50 LUNCH LIMEBURNERS ARMS, NEWBRIDGE
41.06 0.00 LUNCH LIMEBURNERS ARMS, NEWBRIDGE
R from Limeburners
41.15 0.10 L @ T (A272) $ Petworth followed by imm R (Rowner Rd)
43.49 2.34 Becomes Okehurst Rd (Don’t turn R)
46.91 3.42 R @ T (opp BLUE SHIP PH) $ THE HAVEN
47.36 0.45 R @ T (Haven Rd) HAVEN $ Five Oaks
49.50 2.14 L @ T $ London A29
50.21 0.70 1st R (Hayes Ln)
52.43 2.22 1st MRAB
52.74 0.30 R @ T (Lyons Rd) SLINFOLD $ BROADBRIDGE HEATH
54.80 2.06 L @ T (A264 Five Oaks Rd) $ BROADBRIDGE HEATH
55.57 0.77 2nd RAB (Billinghurst Rd) $ BROADBRIDGE HEATH
56.19 0.62 L (Warnham Rd) $ Warnham
57.17 0.98 2nd R (Robin Hood Ln)
58.14 0.98 1st R $ CP Horsham. (Go over the golf course, following CP signs. Take Care)
58.88 0.74 R @ T and imm L (Spencer Pl)
59.10 0.22 Becomes Kempshot Rd
59.38 0.27 L @ T (Trafalgar Rd)
59.62 0.24 R @ T followed by imm R @ T (N Parade)
59.89 0.27 Keep L SO @ T/Lts $ Hurst Rd (on road)
60.00 0.11 L @ T/Lts (Hurst Rd) $ Hurst Rd (on road)
60.80 0.80 Finish HPP, HORSHAM

Next week’s ride is 40miles Medium to the Red Lion, Turners Hill lead by Pete S. Depart TBR at 10:00am