Oh what a ride!
Seven of us started out on the ToSH. or should I now call it the ToSoFF.
Jonathon, Jim, Matt, Andrew, Hal, John I think and me George.
The roads were a bit damp but the day was great with clear skies and sunshine although a bit nippy.
Jim peeled off at Dorking to watch the Ball buster over at Box hill, we’d be passing there but not for 4 or 5 hours, six of us remaining.
Top of Leith hill first casualty, Matt with a puncture, he soon put in another tube only to find out that he hadn’t got round to repairing that one either so it didn’t inflate, there I was blaming Jonathon’s impressive chainsaw action pump! We got cold waiting, agreed to rendezvous just up the road where the loop reconnected at the top of Leith, after the loop no sign of Matt? Five of us remaining.
The road conditions were good but the corners could be littered with debris from the rain.
Climbing White down hill it seemed to be a lot easier from previous attempts, I don’t know why, maybe it’s the new bike. Andrew was climbing strongly on his old knackered bike.
Jonathon punctured near the top.
Descending the ridge down into Staple lane Andrews (frame snapped) the right chain stay had completely sheared and was rubbing on the wheel, also the left stay was cracked right through oopps.
We wished we had Marco with us for help with an ingenious bodge up solution. We chaperoned him slowly to the closed railway station (Horsey) for an early ride home. Four of us remaining.
Lunch stop at Newlands corner and time was already flying by, we left there at quarter to 2 and decided that the full ToSH was not an option if we wanted to get back in daylight.
Up the steep Shere climb which we weren’t expecting to be so steep around the blind corner.
Speeding down Ranmoor we couldn’t help but stop to help a young lady who had mashed up her rear mech. Addiscombe Club mechanics soon had her back on the bike, turned out she was a competitor from the ballbuster going home.
Boxhill was a breeze and after some high speed group work made it back to Croydon at 4 just as it was getting dark.
This ToSH is now named the ToSoFF (Tour of Surrey & one F*&$$* Frame)
Cheers George