Sometimes it's good to take a break from the usual routine (my usual routine has been flatter riding out to Chertsey of late). I had forgotten what a great place the Surrey Hills are for riding. The route out from SW London is flat and uneventful, although at least the roads aren't too busy. But once you get out to the country lanes there are literally hundreds of options to choose, from the well-trodden (well-ridden) 'standard' routes including Box Hill, Leith Hill, Ranmore and Hungry Hill to the lesser-used climbs, many of which I still can't name. I would struggle to find quite a few of them again too, despite having ridden them a few times. One of the many benefits of joining a club is that you have access to riders who have been cycling the hills for years and know some fantastically quiet and picturesque climbs.
Anyhow, we'd just got over Hungry Hill (Coombe Bottom) when the rain which had been promised for the afternoon arrived early. So we took a very slow descent down wet, recently (badly) resurfaced roads towards Shere and set off in the direction of Peaslake. We didn't get far - the heavens opened for a torrential downpour, forcing us to shelter under a tree for a few minutes before giving in, turning back to take refuge at the tearooms in Shere. As we huddled together, teeth chattering, we tried to detect any break in the low, dark, water-laden cloud cover. Nope, none. Looked like rain had set in for the day. I felt quite sorry for the riders struggling around on the Evans sportive ride - of all the days to have an introduction to the Surrey Hills!
A couple of the Dynamo riders decided to tough it out in the tearoom, resigning themselves to the fact that they would have to drink coffee and eat many, many cakes! The other more foolhardy members of the group decided to press on with the return journey - after all, once you get to a certain point of saturation how much worse can it get? We decided on a shorter route up to Ranmore Common, including a really nice little climb up (I think) Colekitchen Lane, although it could have been Critten Lane - when you have so much water and grit in your eyes and your teeth sound like castanets you stop caring about exact routes. From there we pressed on over Box Hill and then took the faster route home via Epsom - usually a glorious run with a south-westerly pushing you home where you can bowl along at 25mph or over nearly the whole way from Box Hill to Epsom, but today a war of attrition with standing water, spraying mud, cold conditions and skiddy, gravelly road surfaces to contend with.
Still, I was home by 12:20, having taken in a lap of Richmond Park on the way just to try and warm up and make the final journey a round 60 miles. That meant arriving home just in time to tuck into a big bown of rice and meatballs prepared by my lovely wife. The kids had a good laugh at my legs when I took my socks off (seriously white feet) and insisted on taking a picture! 
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