Leith Hill
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Leith Hill Surrey May 2008

It was an auspicious start to my first bike ride as ride leader. I was running 20 minutes late from my home in Southall, the result of a rear wheel puncture which I discovered just as I was getting ready to leave.

Hurriedly replacing the tube I pedalled furiously to Ealing Town Hall and arrived 10 minutes late. As I pulled up I was greeted with a relieved look from Paul who had feared that he had missed the start and been left behind.

Accompanying him was Stefan and a third rider I was not familiar with.

With the sweat still dripping off my face we bolted along the road towards our next rendezvous for 10am at Walton Bridge car park. I remembered my ride leader training to keep speeds at no more than 10mph. But I quickly decided to abandon it as a luxury in the light of the extenuating
circumstances of my own lateness. After all, I didn't plan to be late again. We arrived there at 9.25am. This was a secure 5 minutes ahead of my planned arrival time which would allow for an additional 30 minutes delay time. This was a good run and a new record for me.

Faced with a half hour wait and not a single cyclist from our group in sight I decided that it was finally time to apply some common courtesy and greet the third rider who introduced himself as Max. He was riding a road bike and I wondered how he would cope with the off road sections. Paul remarked that according to a circulated email there had been "great interest in this ride". So we all relaxed while we waited for some familiar cycling figures to ride or drive into view. Shortly after 10am Steve showed up on a dual suspension mountain bike. Buoyed by this new arrival the five of us embarked on our ride to climb Leith Hill.

Our route took us along the Wey Navigation which I was pleased to discover as being reasonably dry given the rainfall earlier that week. We rode at a more leisurely pace as we took in the sights of an Elizabethan summer house. The mad panic of the morning now a forgotten memory. We departed the Wey Navigation at the village of Ripley whereupon the unrelenting climb
towards the North Downs began.

We stopped briefly at a newsagent near Horsley for supplies. Stefan had forgotten to bring any water and I suggested that he take this opportunity to purchase a bottle. I decided to top up with extra water but in my haste to leave home I had forgotten to bring any money. With my cap in hand Paul and Max kindly obliged to loan me some money.

The climb began to get steeper. I found it harder to keep up with everyone. Stefan on his single speed bike overtook me. It wasn't long before I started lagging behind everyone and soon lost sight of them all on this long onerous stretch of hard labour. It was at this point that I decided that it was fine to get off the bike and push, especially as there were no witnesses. However, I soon caught up with Max who had suffered a rear wheel puncture and the further misfortune of having picked up the wrong puncture kit from home which was devoid of any patches. But I gave him one of my spare patches and after a short delay we were soon on our way again.

We all passed over top of the climb and free wheeled onto the A25 and then into Gomshall. We worked our way towards the village of Friday Street by which time the fast riding during the earlier part of the day was starting to take it's toll on me and again I started to fall behind everyone else. I caught up with Max at Friday Street but the others were missing. It appeared that they had all rode past the village and up another hill. I considered my options. I could do the decent thing and go and look for them or simply apply the old adage of "every man for himself" and go into the local Inn for refreshments. As I dithered and contemplated my next move the rest of the group coasted smoothly into view. Paul said that they wanted to climb an extra hill. A likely story I thought to myself.

We settled down to a much needed lunch at the Stephen Langton Inn which was busy. We did well to find a table and talked about whether we should proceed to Leith Hill or call it day and return homeward bound. However, the prospect of a humiliating return without climbing the hill spurned us to carry on. So onwards and upwards being our motto we decided to continue. By now it was 3pm and Max's bike started to develop gear trouble. Being an accomplished mechanic he managed to correct the fault and we took the path towards Leith Hill.

We soon ran into trouble as the uphill path was treacherous with protruding tree roots and a quagmire of mud making cycling extremely difficult. We all pushed our bikes up and occasionally riding them when conditions permitted. The final push to the top of Leith Hill was strewn with rocks, and boggy patches of ground. We persevered and continued riding up the hill and as I looked back I was surprised to discover that Max was right behind me. The rough terrain was not slowing him down despite his narrow road tyres. Soon the trees thinned out and we entered a large clearing. And before us stood Leith Hill tower.

After exploring and resting awhile at the tower we embarked on our return journey. This was much easier as it was largely downhill. The only uphill section was a 18% gradient which most of us walked. But I did note that Steve cycled up it. Once over the top we coasted downhill. It really showed the amount of climbing we had been doing. We all parted company. Steve first at Walton Bridge car park. Then myself from the remaining three when we reached the A4.

All in all, a successful ride. It was hard struggle at times but we had triumphed. Commendations apply to all for not complaining about the hills, the long periods of cycling with few breaks and of course the late start which precipitated the speedy ride to Walton Bridge car park. The atmosphere was jovial and positive all the time. Thanks to all for turning up and making this a successful event. Now that I know how tough these four guys are I would take them on any ride.

Thanks to Gursh for leading.

Miles: 71