Saturday 20 February 2021

The South Wind doth blow and we shall have...

.......standstill on Farthing Downs! 

Ken and I decided that the warmer weather and longer afternoon sun meant we could venture further this afternoon.  So Caterham-on the Hill was our destination. Cycling up through Wallington,  saying 'hi' to Ray, then to Sharon on her way to Beddington Park  we can now do this route blindfold (almost).  But I wasn't finding this easy , I just wasn't moving at a comfortable speed. Not sure if it was the bike or my legs I wondered if Ken might be put off the ride when we felt raindrops. But no, on we cycled to the bottom of Farthing Downs where Ken overtook me on his electric bike.  The problem was the wind and here on Ditches Lane it was determined that I would make my way very slowly.  Recovering at the top , then struggling to get back on the bike we continued passed Chaldon Church and turned left up Doctors Lane. At least when the road was sheltered it wasn't quite the struggle. 

We were now turning left on Rook Lane towards Caterham-on-the-Hill and Ken pointed out the road to a view point - for another week.  We needed coffee and cake! We were doing alright on the switchback when we came to traffic lights at the bottom of the hill! Very frustrating but it wasn't long before we crossed the mini roundabout and found Coffee and Creams for our well earnt break.

 
  Not too much lace on show!

Sitting having our refreshments we realised it was actually quite cold so we didn't delay and took the very pleasant route back to  Old Coulsdon, mostly downhill via Tollers Lane but with potholes galore. Now back on familiar territory we made our way back to Wallington, very pleased that we'd succeeded against the wind.

Thanks Ken, I was close to turning round at the top of Farthing Down. 


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