Pt.sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttt..

Riding back from Godstone is tough for yours truly. After bidding farewell to Andy at the top of Slines Oak Road, there's an initial downhill run followed by a minor hill and then a major one: the ride from the junction with Halliloo Lane or Halliloo Road to the Warlingham end of the B269. Still, for some reason, I had the energy and the determination yesterday to climb the hills, even the big one after leaving the farm shop caff. It must have been that almond croissant.

Anyway, I was doing fine, I even managed to cycle the length of the Limpsfield Road, into Sanderstead High Street, around the pond and down Church Lane towards home. But then I noticed it. Doing my traditional 'no hands' trick half way down Church Lane, I noticed a wobble, but ignored it – although I did place my hands back on the handlebars. Then it happened again so I stopped and noted that the rear tyre (which I'd pumped up hard for last week's Black Horse Ride) was soft. I carried on and got the bike home safely, leaving it padlocked in the garage as usual. Later, the tyre was (and still is now) completely flat. Whether I got the puncture on the road near Sanderstead or whether it was one of those sleeping punctures, ie punctures that occur earlier but are prompted to 'come out' later, I'll never know. It means I'll have to pay a visit to a bike shop and buy some leeches and, of course, it's a good excuse to clean the bike as I'll have to take the rear wheel off.

Michael Dembinski's Cannondale Caffeine - my Kona looks very similar.

Mind you, not as bad as this guy from Poland, click here for more.

The shot on the right is of Michael Dembinski's Cannondale Caffeine and shows his third puncture in one day.

Michael, born in the UK in 1957, lived here for 40 years before moving to Poland from where he blogs about the country.

If you want some insight on Poland, check out his blog.

Two years ago

Flowers Farm Teashop, Godstone...

We've been promising ourselves a trip to the teashop at Flowers Farm for some time, but the thought of the hill on the return trip has always put us off. Either that or time has prevented us from visiting the place. But not today! Andy texted me yesterday while I was on a train travelling home from work and suggested we headed out there, I sent him a message back saying 'yes' and this morning, off we went.

We headed up towards Slines Oak Road in Woldingham and then slung a right, whizzed down the hill and cut across a dirty and muddy-puddled track that linked us with Butlers Dene Road. It was a straight road from there, through the golf course, another right turn and then down Gangers Hill towards the A25. Easy! All down hill and quite fast.

Inside the Flowers Farm Café, Saturday 19th May 2012.

As you ride down Flowers Lane and join up with the A25 you can see the farm shop on your right. We thought for a minute or so that the caff wouldn't be open but it was and it was amazing. There was a woodburning stove, a bit of railway memorabilia, a great view of the fields surrounding the farm and a lot on offer in the cake department: teacakes, carrot cake, a lemon sponge cake, almond croissants, not forgetting the usual caff fayre - I was tempted to indulge myself with a scrambled egg on toast but, like Andy, opted for tea and an almond croissant.

It was great to discover that the tea offer involved what is known as a bottomless cup; in other words, you get free refills. Andy and I took advantage of that and had another cup, and Andy had a teacake too. We could have sat there all day but, as usual, there were things to do, so off we went back up Flowers Lane and one of the steepest hills of our rides. We rode past Marden Woods and up towards the Woldingham Golf Club, parting company at the top of Slines Oak Road.

I can't go cycling tomorrow and Andy will be in the Lake District next week so we're not cycling for a couple of weeks.

The weather was good today, nice and warm, but it's looking a bit cloudy out there now, although I don't think we're expecting rain.

What's happening in the news: well, the Olympic flame arrived in the UK yesterday, the Euro crisis continues and Facebook has been floated on Nasdaq, making its founder Mark Zuckerberg and multi-billionaire. Perhaps I'll put NoVisibleLycra on Nasdaq, I could do with a curry and a pint.