gkmac
May 11th 06, 04:57 PM
After becoming more or less fit enough to go round the 3.5 mile fireroad
circuit of Norbury Park twice, time off work meant time to try out
something new.
My starting point was a car park on Mill Lane, somewhere between
Leatherhead town and Headley village. My OS map, Surrey Street Atlas
and Google Maps all have different ideas on whether the car park was on
the left or the right side of the road. Turned out there were car parks
on both sides, opposite one another. The north one is an open air
affair with six cars there, but my choice is the south one covered in
trees and nobody there, a lovely privacy feeling. Two bridleways fork
away from my parking space.
As I get ready, a silver estate car pulls in and parks on the other
side. The occupant is alone and sits in the boot and changes his shoes,
before locking his car and walking on the left fork. I mount and set
off on the right fork.
The track is easy. It's a hot sunny day with the tree cover letting
through a pleasant amount of light, then the trees on the right thin
out rather quickly to reveal a busy golf course. The illusion of
privacy is destroyed, as is the apparent easiness of the route. Horse
hoof prints were apparent here and there, but the track quickly narrows
and green stalks stick out from the left, right, and above me. A horse
couldn't get through this, surely.
As the golfers play on the track widens considerably. Unfortunately
there's no extra room for wobbling as most of the track is churned up
with thick mud. I stay to the left despite the gully trying to bring me
down and dirty, but a thin tree branch in the way stops me. A few
footsteps on and I'm back on rolling. By now there were no more trees
on the right, just a rusted metal fence leaning over in places. A lot
of sunlight is let in, and I'm in clear view of the distant golfers if
they decided to look this way.
More churned mud sits on the sides of the path which is no problem,
then it disappears back to concrete and narrows again. A little curve
to the right, I'm in the open air and I reach a crossroads, a fifth
route blocked by a gate with cows standing right inside it. I get the
map out and confirm that I've reached the long trackway of many names.
The roman road. Stane Street. The Thames Down Link...
Ahead of me a group of four people are sitting having a snack. They
never notice me, even as my wheel cracks it's way along this smooth
gravel track. Within seconds I'm under the cover of trees again,
another rusted metal fence separating me from the other side of the
golf course. A bunch of golf players are within feet of the fence, too
busy lining up for their next shot to notice me. The gravel stones are
getting a little bigger, big enough to up the attention and get a
little grip on that saddle handle. Suddenly there is a downhill which
gets surprisingly technical with tree roots here and there. I make the
downhill, and voluntarily dismount for the first road crossing over
Mill Lane.
After passing an amusing "no vehicles" sign the track continues uphill.
I attempt to power up it, but the loose stones and roots resist the
wheel enough for my weakness for take over me and start walking,
pushing my muni in front of me. The tree cover is thickening and the
lumpy mud is increasing, this uphill walking shows no sign of ending
until I see light ahead and it levels out. The cause of the light is
the second road crossing, this time a quiet residential road.
I mount under cover of trees again and attempt to ride on avoiding the
muddy patches, but then another uphill and I "choose" to walk it again.
My choice is influenced by some of the thickest, lumpiest mud churn
I've ever seen. Ridges of brown over 3 inches high that not even a
bicycle could get though. A short section of wooden fence on the left
signals the end of the uphill, I believe there isn't any more mud churn
at this point and I remount. The tree cover opens out around the next
bend, an apparent fork. Which way? The right fork is wide but more
impassable mud, so I choose the left narrow one which has a set of mean
tree roots. My determination to get through them is no match for their
determination to UPD me. As I walk on looking for my next mount point
the two forks meet up again.
Yet another mudbath with a puddle in the middle with a little diversion
fork is immediately next, but the diversion is too blocked with
dangling green branches so I walk around and remount afterwards. The
trees left and right give me a speed sensation and made me so glad I
got the chance to get back on and ride. Gaps in the trees indicate a
potential crossroads into the adjacent fields. 10 seconds before I get
there, some kind of light brown quadruped leaps from the left into
view. Is it a dog? Is it a horse? No. It's a deer, stopped and staring
at me for exactly 1 second before leaping off to the right.
A tiny smooth descent before a silver metal barrier, this is the
Headley Road crossing. Quite a busy road, so I get off, walk across and
remount. A smooth-ish gravel track leads uphill a little and to the
most public part of the ride, a wide bridge crossing over the M25
motorway. Now the track from this point takes on the name Pebble Lane,
and under cover of trees I notice a perfect reflection of a big puddle
ahead. Since there isn't that much mud I decide to charge through the
middle and give my tyre a nice wash. A few moments later, another
puddle and another speed through adding cold drops of water to my
thighs. After a staggered crossroads, a tree-shaded exciting descent
puts my pedal braking to the test and opens out to a proper tarmac
road. On the right is Thirty Acre Farm.
A further network of bridleways and byways provides plenty of choice,
but I ride up the road. The reassurance of a relaxing ride on tarmac
fades as loose stones and potholes provide me something to weave
around. I suddenly hear the sound of heavy farm machinery and turn
around to see if it's behind me. My ears did seem to tell me it was,
but it's behind some trees on the right. I turn my head to the front
and see that I'm immediately heading into a set of two potholes. My
emergency mechanisms activate, quickly grabbing the seat handle and
putting power to the pedals. I make it out the first hole, but it's
slowed me enough to ditch me in the second one and a violent UPD
results.
A little further up the road, I pass a set of posh houses in a
cul-de-sac on the left. A lady is standing next to a 4x4 on her mobile
phone, she seems to take no notice of me. I notice something shiny on a
pole in the distance, it's a parabolic mirror signalling the end of
this road and my turnaround point. I ride to the end of this junction
and at least a dozen cars on the other roads of this busy junction may
have seen me "idle-turn". I notice the sign for this road is
"Shepherd's Walk", it's changed again. I ride back down the road a
little bit and stop in a lay-by for a short rest. It's 45 minutes since
I left the car...
*end of part one*
--
gkmac
------------------------------------------------------------------------
gkmac's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4577
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/49355
circuit of Norbury Park twice, time off work meant time to try out
something new.
My starting point was a car park on Mill Lane, somewhere between
Leatherhead town and Headley village. My OS map, Surrey Street Atlas
and Google Maps all have different ideas on whether the car park was on
the left or the right side of the road. Turned out there were car parks
on both sides, opposite one another. The north one is an open air
affair with six cars there, but my choice is the south one covered in
trees and nobody there, a lovely privacy feeling. Two bridleways fork
away from my parking space.
As I get ready, a silver estate car pulls in and parks on the other
side. The occupant is alone and sits in the boot and changes his shoes,
before locking his car and walking on the left fork. I mount and set
off on the right fork.
The track is easy. It's a hot sunny day with the tree cover letting
through a pleasant amount of light, then the trees on the right thin
out rather quickly to reveal a busy golf course. The illusion of
privacy is destroyed, as is the apparent easiness of the route. Horse
hoof prints were apparent here and there, but the track quickly narrows
and green stalks stick out from the left, right, and above me. A horse
couldn't get through this, surely.
As the golfers play on the track widens considerably. Unfortunately
there's no extra room for wobbling as most of the track is churned up
with thick mud. I stay to the left despite the gully trying to bring me
down and dirty, but a thin tree branch in the way stops me. A few
footsteps on and I'm back on rolling. By now there were no more trees
on the right, just a rusted metal fence leaning over in places. A lot
of sunlight is let in, and I'm in clear view of the distant golfers if
they decided to look this way.
More churned mud sits on the sides of the path which is no problem,
then it disappears back to concrete and narrows again. A little curve
to the right, I'm in the open air and I reach a crossroads, a fifth
route blocked by a gate with cows standing right inside it. I get the
map out and confirm that I've reached the long trackway of many names.
The roman road. Stane Street. The Thames Down Link...
Ahead of me a group of four people are sitting having a snack. They
never notice me, even as my wheel cracks it's way along this smooth
gravel track. Within seconds I'm under the cover of trees again,
another rusted metal fence separating me from the other side of the
golf course. A bunch of golf players are within feet of the fence, too
busy lining up for their next shot to notice me. The gravel stones are
getting a little bigger, big enough to up the attention and get a
little grip on that saddle handle. Suddenly there is a downhill which
gets surprisingly technical with tree roots here and there. I make the
downhill, and voluntarily dismount for the first road crossing over
Mill Lane.
After passing an amusing "no vehicles" sign the track continues uphill.
I attempt to power up it, but the loose stones and roots resist the
wheel enough for my weakness for take over me and start walking,
pushing my muni in front of me. The tree cover is thickening and the
lumpy mud is increasing, this uphill walking shows no sign of ending
until I see light ahead and it levels out. The cause of the light is
the second road crossing, this time a quiet residential road.
I mount under cover of trees again and attempt to ride on avoiding the
muddy patches, but then another uphill and I "choose" to walk it again.
My choice is influenced by some of the thickest, lumpiest mud churn
I've ever seen. Ridges of brown over 3 inches high that not even a
bicycle could get though. A short section of wooden fence on the left
signals the end of the uphill, I believe there isn't any more mud churn
at this point and I remount. The tree cover opens out around the next
bend, an apparent fork. Which way? The right fork is wide but more
impassable mud, so I choose the left narrow one which has a set of mean
tree roots. My determination to get through them is no match for their
determination to UPD me. As I walk on looking for my next mount point
the two forks meet up again.
Yet another mudbath with a puddle in the middle with a little diversion
fork is immediately next, but the diversion is too blocked with
dangling green branches so I walk around and remount afterwards. The
trees left and right give me a speed sensation and made me so glad I
got the chance to get back on and ride. Gaps in the trees indicate a
potential crossroads into the adjacent fields. 10 seconds before I get
there, some kind of light brown quadruped leaps from the left into
view. Is it a dog? Is it a horse? No. It's a deer, stopped and staring
at me for exactly 1 second before leaping off to the right.
A tiny smooth descent before a silver metal barrier, this is the
Headley Road crossing. Quite a busy road, so I get off, walk across and
remount. A smooth-ish gravel track leads uphill a little and to the
most public part of the ride, a wide bridge crossing over the M25
motorway. Now the track from this point takes on the name Pebble Lane,
and under cover of trees I notice a perfect reflection of a big puddle
ahead. Since there isn't that much mud I decide to charge through the
middle and give my tyre a nice wash. A few moments later, another
puddle and another speed through adding cold drops of water to my
thighs. After a staggered crossroads, a tree-shaded exciting descent
puts my pedal braking to the test and opens out to a proper tarmac
road. On the right is Thirty Acre Farm.
A further network of bridleways and byways provides plenty of choice,
but I ride up the road. The reassurance of a relaxing ride on tarmac
fades as loose stones and potholes provide me something to weave
around. I suddenly hear the sound of heavy farm machinery and turn
around to see if it's behind me. My ears did seem to tell me it was,
but it's behind some trees on the right. I turn my head to the front
and see that I'm immediately heading into a set of two potholes. My
emergency mechanisms activate, quickly grabbing the seat handle and
putting power to the pedals. I make it out the first hole, but it's
slowed me enough to ditch me in the second one and a violent UPD
results.
A little further up the road, I pass a set of posh houses in a
cul-de-sac on the left. A lady is standing next to a 4x4 on her mobile
phone, she seems to take no notice of me. I notice something shiny on a
pole in the distance, it's a parabolic mirror signalling the end of
this road and my turnaround point. I ride to the end of this junction
and at least a dozen cars on the other roads of this busy junction may
have seen me "idle-turn". I notice the sign for this road is
"Shepherd's Walk", it's changed again. I ride back down the road a
little bit and stop in a lay-by for a short rest. It's 45 minutes since
I left the car...
*end of part one*
--
gkmac
------------------------------------------------------------------------
gkmac's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4577
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/49355