A ride around more Kent lanes featuring some great views and quiet lanes.

 Apologies for the start still being early despite the rapidly lengthening days, but we have to get to the pub for lunch by a decent time. Take comfort from the fact that the post-lunch ride should be fairly leisurely and we’ll probably be back in town pretty early. 

There are some hills on this ride but it’s not overly challenging and there are lots of nice downhills. 

Check your brakes – some of the downhills are steep and you’ll need good brakes on the sometimes loose surface. 

Meet New Cross Gate ticket office 8:20 for the 8:40 train. We change at East Croydon and anyone wanting to meet us there can hop on the 9:10 from East Croydon which arrives at Oxted at 9:30. Arrive early at New Cross Gate for maximising your chances of getting a Groupsave 4 for the price of 2 deal. 

Suitable for any bike. There is a stretch of moderate off-road but this route was reccied on two bikes with narrow tyres. 

Total distance – about 60 miles. 

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Just two of us at New Cross Gate - er, me, and newcomer Charlie (apologies if wrong spelling) so it didn't look like the best of introductions for him to our rides.

But such is our ever-increasing troop of sainted fools across London that we picked up Jurek at East Croydon along with Catherine (more apologies if wrong) who had zapped over from Wimbledon on her flash newish bike. Onto the train, damn-it, two bike places already taken, but it turned out to be Jo and William who'd trained it from Victoria. So we were Six, something between the Famous Five and the Secret Seven I suppose. Invent your own.

Lots of empty lanes, a fair bit of climbing but nothing too steep or
extended. Through the rather pretty Cowden, skirted Penshurst where in the lanes there are some rather nice pubs, though unfortunately some have fallen prey to being turned into gastro-pubs, exploiting their locations. Wonderful when you want such a thing but it's getting increasingly difficult to find nice simple country pubs.

A particularly tough climb before Bidborough. Must pop in the church next time we pass this way - supposedly there's a knight in armour buried under one of its walls. Jo seemed particularly interested in the church as we sheltered from a sudden downpour under its gateway but we wanted to press on to lunch.

I was rather looking forward to pointing out the great view that opens up from here but it was covered in low cloud so we sped down the hill through wind and rain. Jurek managed to persuade us to forsake the mild off-road bit in the rain, so a quick bit of map improvising and off to lunch in Leigh at the rather nice Bat and Ball - destined to become a regular stop I think.

We'd phoned ahead so we dashed in from the rain to find the table for six reserved for us. We settled in to watch the torrential rain, vague
mutterings from some weaker souls of hopping on a train back to town but we ate (good marks all round I think), drank some fine beer, nattered about all sorts, some of it not repeatable on the tablet of record that is the Lewisham Cyclists web page - don't want to shock Martians two centuries from now who cyber-stumble across it all after the planet, and probably Lewisham with it, have all been blown to bits. So, you'll just have to come on the next ride for the conversation, won't you?

We must have found each other pleasant company as we eventually got up from the table to find that we'd been there two hours. Rain cleared by now to a wonderful blue-sky afternoon and no-one was up for abandoning the ride.

Leigh's a nice place with real character though unfortunately we didn't have Jane with us today or doubtless she could have entertained us with her memories of the once-famous family that apparently built much of the village with the proceeds of their sock business.

So, off round the back of Leigh, through Underriver, thankfully turned right to miss the awful hill, past Igtham Mote were we stopped to have a quick look, then through Heaverham and along the Pilgrim's Way to Otford.

Charlie left us here - promising to return - and we pressed on - hitting a
busy stretch of road then back onto the Pilgrim's Way, always wonderful on a bright evening as you roll along the bottom of the North Downs.

Hit Oxted again fairly late as we'd had a long lunch stop and a fair bit of resting but I think everyone had a reasonable time. Plan to do this ride again later in the year when we'll maybe have less rain to shelter from, but if not - hey we'll just have to hole up in the Bat and Ball again.

No serious mishaps- one puncture, one rogue quasi-puncture, two graves discovered in someone's front garden but apparently pets.

Next Saturday (April 19) join me for a tootle along the Thames to Weybridge, pub lunch by a canal, returning by road to town.

Paul