A few thoughts on the ride...

Riding the bike is becoming a little addictive. Today, I normally ride work but on this occasion I had a day off and if the truth be known, the best thing I could have done would have been to go out on an early morning ride, to Oxted. I should have jumped on the bike, hit the road and had a mug of tea in the Starbucks in the High Street, just me and Philip Roth's American Pastoral, which I am currently reading. But I didn't. I lolled around being lazy and it's all because I'm wound up with work and no holidays. I allow myself to get wound up, there's not enough down time. I have a lot of trouble unwinding, it takes a few days and when you're just taking the odd day off it simply doesn't work, unless I'd bitten the bullet and taken the bike out. That would have been the solution. The exercise would have done me good, not just physically but mentally too and I should know it because for the past few weeks I've been riding four times a week in the morning and in the evening and while the return ride certainly takes it out of me, that's half the point. I get home, I eat dinner, I then relax and fall asleep and it's that nice kind of tired you tend to get after exercise. Or is it exhaustion? Sometimes it feels that way. I'm often told that I'm overdoing it, or rather that I'm overdoing 'things' meaning I'm overdoing the cycling, but I don't think so. The cycling makes me feel good inside and the ride home is far better than taking the train, sitting there next to a lot of stressed people heading home from their respective workplaces. I'd much rather be out in the sticks, miles from the nearest railway station and on my own, just me and the bike against the world. Riding gives me the chance to think things through, sometimes I think through the wrong stuff and it gets fretful, but all I need really is the challenge of a major hill, like White Hill Lane, and then I find that I'm concentrating my mental faculties on just getting to the top of the hill. I feel great when I get there. On the return route there are plenty of hills and completing each one feels good. Not that there isn't something daunting about the ride home. I start to think about those hills long before I get on the bike. I think about them a little more as I ride towards them, through the Merstham council estate and out towards Warwick Wold Road where they start. In fact, it's probably best not to think too much about them and just pedal onwards, remembering that every yard, every inch even, takes me closer to home. The ride home is an ordeal, but only because of those hills, but the ordeal is part of the fun, part of the enjoyment, part of the challenge, although I never think as much at the time. After a day at work it's tiresome, but not overly so, it's good to be doing it rather than waiting on a hot platform for a train. That said, I've started (as I say in the previous post) riding in and then taking the bus home. I did this on those really hot days a few weeks back when it was inadvisable to ride home in such heat, especially attempting the hills. So I jumped on the 405. When the kids have all reached home safely, say around 5.30pm or a little later, the bus is empty and with a cool breeze coming in through the open windows, and a good book, it's a pleasant way to wile away around 40 minutes. Taking the bus home means taking the train the next day and then riding home, but it's one of those 'change is as good as a rest' things, sometimes it's nice to break it up and not make the whole thing a pain. I don't want to find myself not doing this because I get tired of it so to mix it up a bit is good, I still ride three times per week, I just split up one of the rides.

Riding a bike is quite an amazing thing and yet it's something nobody really thinks too deeply about. Riding a bike is riding a bike and that's it, you might think, but just the different route, the quieter route to wherever it is you're going is like finding a new world in which to exist, a world that might not be too far from the one you know and love but a new world nonetheless, a route you wouldn't otherwise take, houses you wouldn't normally see, wildlife you wouldn't have seen. A couple of rides back I followed a small brown mouse as he waddled his way along in a dirt track that ran parallel with the road, it was quite a funny sight if I'm honest and eventually he disappeared in the undergrowth, but it was good to see him. In fact, on the same stretch of road I saw a lonely goat herd in a hillside, which, as I said in the previous post, reminded me of the song from The Sound of Music. These are all things that don't happen on the train or the bus or the car, but they're all life-enriching, albeit on a small scale. I love that idea of new worlds, but that's what it is, new worlds, different routes, roads not normally travelled, houses not usually seen, it's great the way the bike cuts through this new territory and gives its passenger a different perspective on life. Suddenly there are different views, no longer the back gardens of houses close to the railway tracks, or that boring windscreen view you get whilst sitting in the passenger seat of a car looking at the rear of a bus or another car. My route at this present time is virtually car-free, there's nobody around in the morning and by leaving the office around a quarter to six in the evening, the sun still shining brightly, by the time I reach the sticks the cars have gone (almost). It's important to remember that there's always going to be a car coming out of nowhere so I never get too complacent, but by and large the ride in and out is quiet and I like that. 

Sometimes things happen out of the blue and I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but the other week, near the Whyteleafe Tavern, I stopped to fix the chain back on the bike only to discover that the rear wheel had come loose. It was a new rear wheel and I reckon I simply hadn't tightened it enough. I managed to cover both hands in thick dirt from the chain but eventually I managed to put everything back together and head off towards the last hill of the ride, Tithepit Shaw Lane. I tend to bring water with me and I have a couple of cups of it before tackling the hills. I don't know, but I reckon it helps in some way, unless its psychological. Something else weird - and very dangerous - occurred as I made a left turn into Park Avenue off of Stanstead Road. Over the past couple of trips I'd been slowing down a little to take the sharp and blind turn and being as there were no cars around (and to gain greater visibility of what was around the corner) I'd edge out into the middle of the road and then into Park Avenue without the need to brake or slow right down. Fine, you might think, but it's important to realise that hazards materialise out of the blue. On one occasion as I lined things up for a smooth left turn without needing to use the brakes, a woman in a motorised wheelchair on the wrong side of the road and right at the end of it (she could have been hit by a car turning into the road and wouldn't have been able to avoid it) appeared out of nowhere. What she was doing on the wrong side of the road and about to turn right on to the main road I don't know, but there was no problem, I managed to avoid her because I wasn't travelling that fast and it wasn't even a case of having to avoid her, more that I saw her (thanks to moving into the middle of the road) and took minor evasive action, which meant drifting to the right slightly and then back left and following the road down and round to the old church on the corner of Manor Avenue. Park Road sort of becomes Manor Avenue, the road bends right, it's a nice piece of road, pleasant houses, and only a short distance from the start of Whyteleafe hill except that this time, unlike on the outward journey, I'm riding downhill, which is fast and again there's a strong need to keep my wits about me as the road is full of sleeping policemen, the sort that cars can drive over, and a few left turns from where cars can emerge.

Chilling...

As the ride nears its end I feel elated. Elated that I've tackled the big hills and that all that remains is Sanderstead High Street and another downhill, this time Church Way, the first, or rather the second, climb on the outward journey. The sleeping policemen on Church Way stretch from one side of the road to the other so I tend to stand up as I ride over them. Cycling down Church Way is quite fast and again you have to watch yourself as there's a blind corner where parked cars conceal cars that might be coming up the road and then there's a left turn, Briton Hill Road, where cars suddenly appear. So the hazards never stop, they're always there, right to the end. I love Ellenbridge on the return as I can pedal hard and get up a fair speed before having to slow for the right turn that eventually takes me home. And the first thing I do when I get home? I make myself a couple of slices of toast and honey (it's my new thing, two slices for breakfast and two when I get back from the ride).

As I didn't ride today I'll be riding tomorrow, to Oxted, where I'll probably stop for tea. I'm planning on taking Philip Roth with me and will likely spend half an hour reading before riding home and tackling Titsey Hill. Believe me, it's nothing. It's long, yes, but it's not a problem ride. I'd rather ride up Titsey than White Hill Lane any day. Until then, I wish you all a good night.

Normalising the ride to work

I used to say that riding to work was a faff and that's why I didn't do it, but the truth of the matter is this: it's not a faff. In fact, it's quite simple. I fold a shirt, find a towel and a pair of trousers, throw in a tee-shirt for the return ride, put my glasses and phone charger in a smaller section of the rucksack and that's it. After that it's just a case of putting on cycling shorts and another tee-shirt, plus socks and trainers and then heading out into the garage to fetch the bike. That's the only moment of trepidation. I check the rear tyre to see if it's flat or soft and if it's not, then off I go, set Strava and ride off.

Sometimes I ride in and bus it back

I ride up Ellenbridge and on to Elmfield, then Morley, then Church Way, roads I know well and then ride a little of the Limpsfield Road having crossed the churchyard. Now it gets a little busy although right now, with the kids off school, the roads are empty, which is great. I turn right on to Wentworth, follow the road down to Warlingham School, hang a right, bear left and head towards the first real hazard of the ride (although, in fairness, when you're on the road, the whole thing is one big hazard that shouldn't be underestimated).

The first big hazard, then, is Tithepit Shaw Lane, it's a winding downhill road (on the outward journey) and it's important to keep a weather eye on the traffic, namely impatient people driving to work. It also puts a little wear and tear on the brakes. Another hazardous part of the journey is the Whyteleafe roundabout, which is next up: plenty of traffic on the A22 so invariably I stop, wait for a clear path and then bomb across, hoping that the railway level crossing on the other side won't be bleeping as that can mean a fairly long wait for a train to pass, but even if it is bleeping, it's not really a problem. Some say that Whyteleafe Hill - which follows straight after the level crossing, is a bit of a pig and in some respects they're right, it is a pig, but mainly because it's long, not because it's steep. It's a steady incline and to be honest I take it in my stride. Half way along (at the end of the 'hilly bit', if you can call it that) there's a mini roundabout and from there it's fairly plain sailing into Caterham. I take my time as there's some nice houses along that stretch and it's nice to see them in all their morning finery. There's also some interesting side roads on either side that I'd like to explore one of these days. For some reason it takes me back to when I used to do a milk round in the south Wallington area.

The Whyteleafe railway crossing

It's a short ride past Queen's Park (on my right) to a little short cut, I think it's Manor Avenue, a quiet road which leads to Park Avenue and joins the Stanstead Road which takes me all the way to White Hill Lane via Chaldon. White Hill Lane, in many ways, represents the halfway point in a sense, but it's dangerous, a 10% drop that curves left and right and isn't ideal if you have a car behind you, even if I do deliberately hog the middle of the road to keep the motorist at bay. The problem is speed, which picks up, and then there's a right turn that I need to take, so I slow, take one hand off the bars for a split second to indicate I'm turning left and soon I find myself on Springbottom Lane, a long road with huge houses, some sporting swimming pools on the left and right. There's even a steep hillside with goats grazing and I think of the lonely goatherd in the song from The Sound of Music, not a film I'd put down as a favourite, more a childhood memory of going to the cinema and seeing Miss Candy with her red light and choc ices.

At the end of Springbottom a T junction and I turn left and then keep going, down another steep (and fast) hill and over the motorway, it's either the M23 or the M25 but I find it an invigorating moment of the ride, suddenly riding, at speed, over a busy motorway and then calming down a little as I reach the end of Warwick Wold Road and turn right, heading through the council estate of Merstham. This part of the ride is fairly chilled as, indeed, is the rest of the journey. I pass a curry restaurant, a Co-op and then, after another mini roundabout I ride under a railway bridge close to Merstham railway station and turn left, where the road is a little uneven as it takes me through a row of shops towards another mini roundabout where I turn right and head towards another railway bridge, or possibly two, I can't remember. By now, of course, I'm almost there. A left turn under the railway bridge, then a right on to what I think is Frenchies Road, I might be wrong about that, but either way I pass the Jolly Brickmakers and head on down into Redhill. At this stage there are various options: ride down Lynwood Road or head up towards the A23 and either cross it or turn left on to it and ride towards the town centre. As soon as I engage with traffic the need to be alert is crucial, trying to second guess the intentions of other road users, but soon I arrive in Clarendon Road, I press the security code, a door opens and I arrive in the office car park, time for a shower and a day's work and then, as the day wears on, I start to consider the ride home, which, it has to be said, is a pig. Why? It's all uphill and all those steep downhills become steep uphills, a real work-out that's for sure, but ultimately it's a 24-mile ride, roughly 12 miles each way and, of late, certainly on the inward ride, I've managed to shave six minutes off my time. It used to take me around one hour and sixteen minutes, now it's around an hour and ten.

The motorway on a return ride...

I tend to ride three times a week and sometimes I split it, I might ride in and take the bus back and then the following day I ride home, having bought a single ticket on the train, which is only £4.80 compared to £9.40 for a return trip. This week I rode there and back on Monday, I rode in Wednesday and left the bike at the office, taking the bus home (it costs me nothing) and then yesterday (Thursday) I rode it back. Now it's Friday, I've got the day off so I can either ride nowhere today, but only if I ride to Oxted or Westerham tomorrow morning. The aim is four rides a week, so Sunday with Andy plus three rides before Saturday. So far I've done two rides, ie two complete rides (there and back). I'd be happy with another one today, but as I say, if I don't go today I must go tomorrow so as not to break the cycle, so to speak.

The other side of this, of course, is fitness. I've lost around 7lbs, or let's say 6lbs, and I'm kind of watching what I eat. I've got to be slightly careful, because there's also that thing about regular cycling and not needing to keep to a diet. I've bought into that a little bit along the lines of eating cake and biscuits, but it only works if the riding is kept up and even then it's a false economy; but on the other side I've not been eating in between meals (most of the time) and I've been having light meals. The danger is when the cycling slopes off a bit, which I'm sure it will do when the weather closes in, but all I really need to do (to maintain current cycling levels) is to ride on the weekends and then twice during the week. So Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday should do it.

The bike at work, probably prior to the ride home

You see much more of the world around you when you're on a bicycle. If you're travelling fast in a train, while you get to see the countryside and the fields at a distance, it's all over in a flash. In a car it's even worse, but on a bike you spot things you might have passed by, like the old church in Caterham built in something like 1039AD, there it is on the side of the road as I turn into Manor Road, see photo below.

The old church in Caterham

The above shot is taken while on Manor Avenue, which leads down to Park Avenue. I just saw it and thought it looked like a nice spot. That's the thing about cycling, you see lots of nice spots where you can imagine yourself chilling with a cup of tea or just lolling around doing nothing, what's not to like?