Mid week rides

Mid week rides are great in the summer months. I rarely get home much before 7.30pm most days given I work in London and commute from my home in Surrey. I don’t always have the inclination to jump straight on the bike and head out but last night I decided to and was pleased I did.

It was a glorious evening, the sun was beginning to set so I thought I’d head for the Downs and try and get some photos. I headed out through Clandon before climbing up Staple Lane where I stopped to take some pictures.

I then had a great descent through Green Dene which was completely empty so was free to let fly all the way down. As I turned into East Horsley I thought I’d give it a bit of a push and see if I could get near my PB for that road. It’s 3.9 miles in length and it drops at an average gradient of about 1-1.5% the whole way. I was pushed hard at the top and managed to keep my speed above 20mph for almost all the way – it dropped to 19 at one point around the Ockham turnings where it flattens out a bit – to be honest I was getting tired at that point! I missed the PB by about 10 seconds but was pleasantly exhilerated by the effort and my legs felt good.

I stopped again on the south side of Ripley to take a couple of sunset photos before heading home. It was only an hour (roughly) but I felt so good afterwards and must remember to make the effort ore often whilst we’ve got the long summer evenings.