Highlights of this ride over the North Downs include a sort of private valley, one of the nicer bits of the rather crazy NCN route 21 to the south coast.

After riding along the North Downs ridge, we’ll drop down into Oxted for a pub lunch at a Weatherspoons by the station – not one of our more rustic pubs but good beer at good prices and decent and good value food including Sunday roasts.

After lunch and having completed about 26 miles, you can take the train back (but check for engineering works) or join us on a trip up the challenging White Lane. We’ll take it easy and wait for everyone. Then some nice long downhill runs through country lanes and back to Greenwich.

Thre are of course hills on this ride – we’re going over the North Downs and back.

Total distance – just over 45 miles.

Suitable for any bike.

Check your brakes – the descent into Oxted is steep.

Meet Cutty Sark Gardens 9:15am.

More info from Paul: 07957 209322

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Seven of us by the time we had picked up at Forest Hill – a lower turnout than some rides of late but this was going to be fairly challenging and Ian had bagged a very large turnout the day before.

An uneventful ride down through Croydon to Purley where we did a quick stop for a puncture.

Turned right up into the suburban hills to avoid the main road which some find a bit gruesome. Rounding a bend near Kenley on what is a signed London cycling route Ray and Alan took a fall on a strangely slippery surface. I’ll send an email to Croydon Council’s roads person. Alan decided to head back at this point, giving us a friendly two-fingered salute as he sped back to town, and Steven bowed out after being hit by a second puncture.

Five of us carried on, pausing at St Lukes Church to take a look at the RAF graves from Kenley RAF Station, one of the major WW II bases along with Croydon and Biggin Hill which defended London and put Lewisham in the front line. Some of the graves are from the Battle of Britain. More at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/98/a4016198.shtml

and googling.

I’ll take a ride up to Kenley sometime – the runways are still there though the chap at Biggin Hill who told me you could cycle up them was maybe being a bit optimistic. Last time I was there thoughts of a good shot of Lewisham Cyclists riding in formation into a blue sky were thwarted when an attractive but irate female soldier told me to get out of the way if I didn’t want to be chopped in two. What I’d taken to be a boring bit of road machinery was a powered winch to get gliders into the air. With the glider released, the cable slices back earthwards.

Over the tracks at Whyteleafe, past the Betty Boop Café (very good for long natters with mad cyclists but closed on Sundays) and the Ann Summers warehouse of fluffy socks or whatever, then we turned off through the “secret valley” at Woldingham. At the top, turned to climb along the Downs ridge, then dropped down into Oxted and the Weatherspoons pub. Food not great but me and Ray couldn’t complain at two fish and chips for £7 and the beer’s good.

After lunch a ride up the seriously tough White Lane, rewarded by a long descent down Beddlestead Lane, up Hesier’s Hill, then back towards West Wickham and the suburbs.

A good ride - thanks to everyone for coming. I plan to train it to Oxted soon for a couple of loopy rides.

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Paul.