Like Sunflowers turned up to the sky the Saturday off road riders posed for their photograph, behind them bearing mops, brooms and long faces are the staff at the
Godstone tea stop mopping the accumulated muck of 11 miles of riding that had been collected on the way and then trailed through the garden centre.
They had brought soil samples from Coulsdon,Brewer St and Bletchingly to Godstone for anyone who cared to examine them.
The ride had started with two people changing pads prior to starting, a broken chain in the first 1/2 mile and the first puncture shortly after that, so progress was slooow.
The return trip via Marden Park and the mysterious and much talked about " Secret Valley" was further delayed by the odd puncture and the puzzling ability of Grace who is able to fit a tyre that is actually larger than the rim, however much to my shame we had to leave her to the mercy of Network Rail as no air was going into the tube and as she was only a short distance from the station ,I simply gave up and lost the will to live ( although Matt Swan did give assistance as he returned home )
My deepest thanks go to John Twitchen and others who marked turns and back marked and Sally who undertook to lead the group on the last couple of miles whilst I attempted to give first aid to Grace's flat tyre.
Distance in all was about 20 miles with a breathtaking average speed of about 5.714285714 ( roadies take note , it's not speed that counts, it's quality )
Frank