Box Hill ride from Twickenham

I'd arranged to meet up with Ellen from my LEJOG trip yesterday (Sunday) to cycle this famous ride on our newish road bikes. After a bacon sandwich and coffee at her house in Twickenham we set off at around 10.15 am in fine sunny weather and quite mild too. Ellen was in shorts, but I wasn't so brave and had long trousers and 2 pairs of socks on just in case. The ride inside the M25 was of course pretty urban and quite busy, but once we got to Cobham we got into some nice country and some minor roads. There were lots of other cyclists on the road, and quite a few 4x4s out for the day. We gradually climbed one hill then down to N of Dorking before doing the hill itself. Box Hill was quite an easy climb - just a long zig-zag up. We were planning on having some lunch at the cafe, but as there was a huge queue we managed with a hard boiled egg and mini Mars bar each. We had a bit of a break, but set off again before we got cold and stopped off at a van serving coffee and burgers (or tea and cake in my case) part way down the hill. Our route back was via Epsom, Surbiton and Kingston then along the busy Thames path. I don't really like cycling in cities much especially on a road bike. I'm ok with cycling in Aylesbury on a hybrid, but battling with unpredictable drivers in towns is not much fun. So in general I think I'll stick to my rural rides. I had thought of doing the London Revolution ride this year, but am meeting up with my brother for a ride in Exmoor the weekend before so will give it a miss.

Total distance 53 miles at a liesurely 11.5 mph. Route here from Ellen's Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/course/679834#.T0e67Cj3nBs.email

Back in the saddle after the freeze

I haven't cycled for the last 2 weeks because of the icy weather, but yesterday the temperatures were just above freezing (3C) and the roads seemed ok. So I did a 15 mile circuit on my hybrid, which I thought would handle any black ice better. I also wanted to check that 3 pairs of socks (silk, then wool, then cotton) plus my neoprene overshoes kept my feet warm enough, which they did. I needed my Endura scullcap under my helmet too to stop my ears from falling off.

I was planning on meeting up with LEJOG friends to do Box Hill in Surrey yesterday, but we've postponed that for 2 weeks. I plan to return to cycling to work tomorrow too, and will continue to commute by bike twice a week or more, as usual.

Hungarian Holiday Plans

Nicky and I are booked on a 5 day leisurely bike ride in Hungary this summer to the east of Budapest around Lake Tiszla, a nature reserve and some spa resorts. We plan to spend another week at Lake Balaton too. It should be fun.

Further details here
http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays/hungarian-spa-tour