Phew what a day !
11 am Sunday last saw 24 or so peeps with bikes eager to work up an appetite for the dinner to come, thankfully Jacquie and Steve were on hand to lessen the load.
Bruce had an early morning ride of 80 miles scheduled, I believe Rupert joined him for that.
Jacquie reports,
14 of us set off for a steady paced ride of between 35 and 40 miles, destination Tulleys Farm - the long way. As the nominated leader, I only knew one or two ways to get to Tulleys, Mark Vincent quickly stepped in to take the lead and came up with a very interesting way to get there which involved going through the lanes of Smallfield a number of times. One downside to the quiet country lanes was a puncture but we were probably lucky to have only one after the weather we have had. A fairly quick coffee stop meant we were back at the Drome just after 2 to then enjoy the club Christmas lunch.
And Steve goes on,
As you know I arrived dead on 11 and was co-opted into a G5 ride with 3 hardy souls joining me in still sunny weather.
We aimed for Penshurst, via Edenbridge and Chiddingstone with Maurice and Stuart D tapping out a G6 pace but with myself and Stuart B sharing the front.! A few lumps and surface water obstacles after 22 miles saw us at the quaint tea rooms at Chiddingstone. A sturdy lump of cake later we set off but not before a fashion check from a vociferous Scottish lady who apparently hated our ugly overshoes…but they were a necessity believe me!
Returning via the Causeway and neatly planning the turn to Yorks Hill we charged down at a pace back via Haxted and Lingfield and Smallfield to the Drome for 2.15, 45 miles at 18.4 .
My group consisted of ten although after a mile or two Ian decided that after his 25 miler with the indefatigable Mark Vincent he'd had enough and turned for home, our route through Blindley Heath, where Mat punctured, Hurst Green and Edenbridge, a touch of wheels in Edenbridge town centre brought Steph crashing down, it sounded Much worse than it actually was and she was quickly back on her pedals with a bruised wrist as a momento.
The tea room we had aimed for appeared to have shut down so we pressed on to Lingfield where the new cafe ( where to meet) welcomed us, the proprietess rushing round to push tables together.It was agreed this is an excellent tea stop and strongly recommended for future rides ( Lyne was VERY enthusiastic) A swift direct blast back to the 'drome was needed as by now we were running a little late.
PS. Welcome to the bright side Gillian.
The scene in the 'Drome cafe was most heartening, the place was buzzing with club members, the props had done a great job of laying out the tables, the meal was one hundred percent acceptable.
At the end of the lunch Adrian got on his feet to make his now, customary speech, thanking all and sundry for their attendance and wishing the club well for next year. He concluded with the Good Fellowship trophy award, this year there were 12 nominees with four people in joint third, I was in second place (boo Hoo) but the very well deserved honour went to Steve Taylor in recognition of his sterling contribution to the running of the club,
I took a few happy snaps a link to which is below. They can be downloaded by moving your cursor to the top of the frame.