18 of us met at Reigate Hill Car Park including the outgoing and incoming MTB Secretaries. I described the ride as being a bit like a Christmas pudding in that it was all quite nice and that there would be the odd bit of dried fruit for added interest. As with all good Christmas puddings, you could come across a hidden threepenny bit (silver if you’re very lucky) which would be a Very Good Thing but could be bad for your fillings if you came across it unawares.
I chose a mud avoiding route which turned out to be mostly unnecessary since the trails are still amazingly dry. Along past the golf course and through Walton to Headley then across towards Box Hill for an early tea and cake stop at Destination Bike. We then doubled back towards the Smith and Western where I issued a dire warning about the slope, the speed, the chalky gullies, the leaves, the fallen trees, the roots etc. before hurtling down in pursuit of Jim on his fat bike. Arrived at the bottom with an ear splitting grin totally unaware of the drama unfolding behind.
Colin, relieved of the burden of responsibility having stepped down as MTB secretary, was maybe a little too relaxed and slid out on one of the aforementioned chalky gullies causing Duncan and maybe a few more to take drastic avoiding action including an over the bars bailout.
Meanwhile Colin got up, checked his collar bone, reinstalled his chain, muttered something about threepenny bits, and carried on. Everyone got to the bottom in one piece apart from a few scratches.
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, through Brockham, Wonham Lane, Reigate Heath and up the hill back to the car park.