Pagets Downs Link Ride - 17th May

Works Outing along Downs Link

Friday 17th May by Paget Cohen

I'll admit that strictly speaking it isn't an official works outing;  we aren't representing the firm we work for, let alone promoting it, but once a month myself and some like-minded colleagues like to take a well-earned day off to share our love of cycling.  Normally this entails putting bikes in cars and meeting at a car park somewhere to explore the lanes of Kent or Surrey for a change.

May 2013 saw a slight twist to that theme as we'd agreed to ride the Downs Link from Henfield to Guildford and back.  I'd presumed the path would be much like East Sussex's own Cuckoo Trail, but seeds of doubt were sown when one colleague said he'd bring a change of clothes as it was so muddy last time he rode it.  Still we'd had a dry week so how bad could it be?  I've only got smooth road tyres for my mountain bike anyway so it was the Marin hybrid in the Focus and off to West Sussex.

Four of us met outside the library at 09:30 having just heard on the radio of Wiggo's withdrawal from the Giro.  It should have been 5 of us, but there's always one who goes to the wrong car park.  Thus, later than we'd hoped, we hit the road then shortly the trail.  Immediately my fears were realised as the surface was fine loose gravel and the trail narrow.  Before long we had to stop for a gate into a grassy field with no path beyond a 6inch wide strip of mud worn by previous cyclists.  Thankfully there were only two stretches like this and at least it wasn't wet.

The route as a whole is relatively easy to follow with signage adequate and only a few brief road detours.  Unsurprisingly for a former railway line there is barely a gradient worth mentioning apart from several short inclines down to and up from roads where bridges have been removed.

Or so I thought until we saw ahead an overgrown tunnel entrance with a muddy path peeling steeply away to the left.  One of our number found he couldn't engage the small chain ring on his rarely employed Ridgeback. My over-inflated narrow tyres were too clogged with debris to afford enough traction.  Two didn't have the legs, but one found he had a natural aptitude for the rough stuff and impressively stayed in the saddle to the summit.

One edge the Downs Link has on the Cuckoo Trail is the more varied scenery and odd pieces of industrial archaeology with accompanying information boards.  The Cuckoo Trail though no longer has anywhere so boggy that even mountain bikers have to get off and clamber along the embankment.  On the outskirts of Guildford we encountered yet another fork in the path.  The 2 then in the vanguard went right, I spotted the sign pointing left, but not the strip of wood embedded in the path to retain the gravel surface and endured the lone spill of the day - yet another shin scar to add to the collection.

Our regular road rides are run at a leisurely 13-14mph which isn't usually any problem for me as there's always regular opportunity to stretch my legs, but on such a poor surface with such frequent encounters with dog walkers, joggers and casual cyclists there had barely been a chance to top 15mph so far.  As such with it being so overcast and me having not eaten for 6 hours I was actually shivering with cold by the time we entered Guildford.  Just when I thought it couldn't get worse I realised our notional ride organiser hadn't organised anywhere to get lunch.  Fail to prepare, prepare to fail;  or to put it in cycling terms let the tea stop define the route, not the route the tea stop.

Hence we found ourselves looking for a relatively quiet and inexpensive cafe we all liked the look of in a town we barely knew and on a Friday lunch time.  Just for good measure, one of our number got caught by a red light, two of us noticed and waited and the other two disappeared into the one-way system.  Eventually 1 hour after we arrived in Guildford and with no small thanks to the wonders of the mobile phone we met up outside the station to consume over-priced sarnies, pastries and coffee on the pavement.

I felt much better once fed, but was so fed up before then that there was no way I was going to put up with the slow rumble of the Downs Link all the way back.  I was prepared to find my own way by road solo, but found an ally and, after making use of the path to escape the traffic, we parted ways with the other 3 at Shalford.  Almost immediately we found a lovely quiet country lane and started to make good progress.  The B-road through Wonersh and Rowly was slightly busier, but still relatively smooth and far from hilly.  Once in Cranleigh we were on familiar territory and even the sun was out to brighten the unavoidable stretches along the As 281 and 29.

We rejoined the link to make use of the facilities at Southwater Country Park, but returned to the lanes after West Grinstead station and arrived back at the cars by 5:30 with the off-roaders nowhere to be seen.  Can't say I really enjoyed my semi-off-road experience.  The Marin performed admirably in the circumstances (I did apologise), but a knobbly tired mountain bike with at least front shocks would have been more appropriate as my shoulders and hands took a pounding.  I'd wrongly assumed the slow pace would negate the need to feed whereas I should have overcompensated with extra layers to account for reduced effort;  we live and (ought to) learn.  Chatting today (Monday) with my co-workers who'd become separated from us in Guildford and they'd discovered retrospectively that they'd got within 50 yards of a greasy-spoon before turning the other way.