Heavy winds on Saturday and rain made a planned trip to Westerham a complete no-no. There had been severe weather all over the place, especially up north and in Scotland, but I was under the impression that it wouldn't really affect things down south. How wrong was I? First, it rained heavily overnight and when I woke up it was grey and nasty, but not cold. Andy and I met at the green as usual and decided to go to Westerham, the fast way. But as we rode along the 269 the gloom eventually morphed into rainy gloom and as we made the turn on to Clarks Lane we decided to stop at the Tatsfield bus stop, based on the knowledge that there was no cover in Westerham and we would have been soaked by the time we got there. We sat looking out at the gloom and slowly drying off. It wasn't cold so it didn't really matter.
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Heading down Church Way towards home
on Sunday morning.. |
I rode back along the 269, but decided to hit the off-road path after a gust of wind nearly knocked me off the bike. As I approached Sline's Oak Road there was a car crash and the driver who caused it drove off. He left the scene of an accident and never returned, a crime if ever there was one. A man driving a white Berlingo van had slowed down to turn left into Sline's Oak Road and suddenly I heard the screech of brakes. A Ford Ka or a Ford Fiesta, silver grey, was travelling too fast and tried to slow down but hit the rear of the van, sending it spinning to a stop close to a small pond. For a minute I thought the driver of the Ford was pulling up and making ready to exchange telephone numbers with the guy in the van, but no, he sped off and never returned. Further along the road there's a mini roundabout and I said to the man in the van, who was unhurt, that the guy in the Ford was probably turning round. But my faith in human nature was misplaced. "He probably isn't insured," said the more clued-up van driver, a furniture maker from North Devon who was on his way home. I gave him my telephone number and then headed towards Sanderstead, but I checked the Sainsbury's car park in case the Ford, which had extensive damage at the front, was parked up or abandoned there. All I needed was a licence plate.
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| Sunday morning on the 269 - not a lot of cars |
I relayed the story to Andy on Sunday morning as we rode towards the Tatsfield Churchyard, the long way. The weather had improved considerably, the wind had lessened and the skies weren't grey anymore, but it could have been a little warmer. We sat on our favourite bench and drank our tea, chatting about this and that and then it was time to head home. We rode up the hill towards Botley, Andy parted at the Ridge and I rode the 269, this time remaining on the tarmac and not taking the off-road track.
Two good rides this weekend and hopefully two more next weekend, we'll see.
