December 28th 2009 – the Tatsfield Bus Stop

Andy and I chewing the fat at the bus stop. If you're wondering
what Andy is saying to me, it's "How do you know when its
clicked?" He means the camera's self-timer, of course, and it
clicked just as he turned to speak to me!

Our bikes wedged in the snow.

Freezing cold weather, the car windscreen covered in ice acted as a barometer for me when I peered out of the window around 6am. I sent a text to Andy saying lets meet at 0830hrs rather than 0730hrs as originally planned. He agreed.

The plan was to cycle to Westerham after we agreed to shelve plans to cycle to Boxhill because it was just too far and we all had various commitments. Jon cycled to Woodmansterne Green and we, that is myself and Andy, headed off from Warlingham Green to Westerham, the slow way, but decided to go as far as the bus stop at the top of the road leading to Tatsfield.

After a while we forgot the cold weather and concentrated on the cycling. It was a great day even if it was a little nippy. We reached the bus stop and drank plenty of hot tea and then headed back home. Andy and I parted company at Botley Hill and I soon discovered that the fast way home along the B269 might be a problem: the road was closed. But closed roads never bother cyclists and I passed the 'Road Closed' sign without a care in the world. I figured it must be something to do with ice and on the road and motorists rather than humble cyclists. There was no explanation for the closure and no signs of any accidents along the way either. What was good was having the road free of traffic all the way to Knight's Garden Centre virtually. The B269 can be quite treacherous for cyclists as motorists normally go mad when they see a 'national speed limit applies' sign. The closed road, therefore, was a Godsend.

I met a cyclist training for an attempt at the John O'Groats to the Land's End trip. He was on a Pearson-framed racing bike and had plenty of visible Lycra, but seemed like a really nice bloke. He was on his way towards East Sheen from Westerham. His plan is to cycle 110 miles per day to complete the mammoth cycle. I for one wish him well.

Thought for the day: Sketch-based comedy is a load of rubbish. Little Britain, Catherine Tate, Armstrong and Miller, all they do is come up with a few templates and then repeat them week after week after week. So, take Tate's 'Am I bothered?" sketch or the Armstrong and Miller one about a priceless artefact being broken by a butter-fingered television presenter – they're all the same, just with different scenarios every week. In short, what a load of old tosh! It involves coming up with, say, 10 different end-of-sketch catchphrases and then simply changing the scenario each week – a piece of piss!