To Botley Hill...

Yours truly at the junction of The Ridge and the 269, April 20th 2013.

A beautiful day of shimmering early morning mists and a light, withering frost contrasted with blue skies and sunshine. The good weather, it seems, is here at last and I'm powering my way towards the Green when I hear my phone vibrating in my left breast pocket. It's earlier than usual as Andy and I have agreed to meet at 7am and not our usual 7.30am. But the call is from Andy. He can't open his garage door and is running late. Not a problem, I told him, as I approached Hamsey. Moments later he calls again: it's not going to work. Sadly, I won't be cycling tomorrow so we'll be meeting again next weekend.

I decided to push on towards Botley Hill and once past Knight's Garden Centre, where the daffodils were in full bloom, I settled into a very pleasant ride. When there were no cars on the road, the only sound was the birds, which made it even better. Here and there I spotted clumps of daffodils on the banks and there were rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. The blossoms were out too.

The Kona at The Ridge around 0745hrs, 20 April 2013.

I reached Botley, turned at the roundabout and then stopped at The Ridge to take the photographs accompanying this post. It was then simply a case of riding home. The weather was fantastic as I made my way back along the 269 and into Warlingham, past the Green and on towards Sanderstead. I'd left Botley around 7.46am and it was 8.20am by the church clock when I reached the Gruffy and sailed down Church Way.

If the weather holds out for tomorrow it'll be a good ride for Andy if he decides to go it alone.