Through the fog to the Tatsfield Bus Stop...

It was one of those mornings, nothing seemed to be going right. The end result was unnecessary faffing about and lateness. By the time I was on the way to meet Andy it was 0722hrs, but at least the bike was roadworthy. I had a rear light and, wait for it, TWO front lights, one fixed to the front fork. And I would certainly need all three lights later on.

As we made our way along the 269 the mist turned to thick fog the closer we got to Botley Hill. It was so bad we used the off-road path, although there was a half-mile stretch from Botley to the bus stop where we had to use the road. We've experienced thick fog before, it was nothing new, but it was bad and visibility was poor. As we sat at the bus stop, cars disappeared, within a few seconds, into the murk, and cyclists were invisible, virtually, even with lights on their bikes.

Thick fog at the Tatsfield Bus Stop...

The lunacy of the Lycra monkey was there for all to see. A group of them came along in their brightly coloured shoes and faux sponsored clothing, travelling at a fair pace as they approached the T-junction with Approach Road where a car prepared to turn right. The monkeys clocked the car's intentions and started to emit all manner of strange noises – noises that resembled a flock of seagulls with sore throats. What struck me, however, was that the monkeys had no intention of slowing down. Instead they raised their voices, as if the guy in the car could hear them. Fortunately, he did see them otherwise Andy and I would be scraping them off the tarmac, wheeling their mangled bikes off the road and having a few conversations with the emergency services. The key point here was that the monkeys had no intention of slowing down, they were prepared to raise their voices, but they weren't going to slow down, a bit like those who practise the front crawl in public swimming pools: they think they can just plough on regardless without a thought for those who travel at a slower pace, but I'll end my rant there.

The bus stop's seating was damp, which is rare, so I remained standing. Andy sat on his gloves. Yesterday afternoon I made a cherry and coconut cake and saved two bits for the ride – it made a pleasant change from the Belvita biscuits.

Many monkeys passed by, some with lights, some without; and we looked out on the fog and the wonky Give Way sign as we considered our ride home. We'd have to take the road to Botley Hill and from there it would be off-road all the way to Chelsham Sainsbury's, where there would be no fog, just a light mist.

It was a good ride and when we reached the green we wished each other a Merry Christmas and parted company. Our traditional Boxing Day ride won't happen this year – or rather it will, but Andy won't be going until next Saturday (30th December).

Boxing Day rides archive...

• On Boxing Day last year, we tackled White Lane, click here for more.

• There was no Boxing Day ride in 2015, but we went out on the 27th to, yes, you've guessed it, the Tatsfield Bus Stop!

• In 2014 we rode to Tatsfield Village and enjoyed tea and Christmas cake, details here.

• We haven't rode to Woodmansterne Green on Boxing Day since 2013!!!