Stag Inn Ride
17th July 2005
The day dawned bright and the forecast was for yet another hot one. So - take the waterproofs or not - NO! - caution to the wind. So its sun and shirt sleeves up to Warr’s. This is England? - Yes, this is summer? - Yes, so where’s the catch? No catch - this is real and 24 bikes lined up at Warr’s to prove it, a C&F ride out with shirts and shorts.
Usual route out of town to the south west - Putney Bridge, up the hill to Tibbets Corner and onto the A3 Kingston by-pass. Imagine my dismay when stopped at Roehampton lights with only six bikes in the mirrors and one of them comes up to tell me a bunch of bikes headed off to Wimbledon! Oh well, down Roehampton Vale and pull into the lay-by near the petrol station to see if the ride has actually disintegrated within 4 miles (surely a record!). No sweat, a swarm of headlights coming down the hill shepherded by the inimitable last man Michael.
Over the North Downs in a ‘tunnel of trees’ with cover so dense the GPS lost satellite reception, dark patches, tight bends and plenty of gravel on the road to keep the riders alert.
Three bikes joined en route so 27 bikes arrived at the Stag Inn. We actually arrived with more bikes than when we started with - despite the Tibbets corner incident! Many thanks to Hamish and his staff at the Stag - a perfect destination for a quick summer ride.
Was it hotter than St. Trop? Not quite - but it certainly felt like it - more days like this please!