Ode to a Day Without Rain - 8 Feb to Camberley

During a slight pause in the current monsoon season, we met at Whiteley Village's Community Cafe - a new elevenses venue for us.  An amazing turnout for a grey February day - eighteen riders found their way there.   Was it curiosity about the new venue, or just desperation to get out of the house without getting instantly soaked?   I think we were all delighted to see so many people, especially Niall after his recent spell off the bike.   The cafe staff and regulars seemed very pleased to see us too, and encouraged us to come back soon.   It's a lovely old building with plenty of space.  We had the Conservatory to ourselves, and a good selection of pastries, sausage rolls and bacon butties was enjoyed by all.

Part of the large Millenium tapestry

Ah yes, so much fun chatting, but we had a longish ride to do, so a round dozen of us left fairly promptly, destination Camberley.   I had tried desperately to make it sound attractive in my "invitation" to the ride, and David W found a much more interesting poem by John Betjeman, A Subaltern's Love Song, which includes the lines

By roads "not adopted", by woodlanded ways,

She drove to the club in the late summer haze,

Into nine-o-clock Camberley, heavy with bells

And mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen smells.

After much research, I found that David W had already invented the best route, so I stole that with a few adaptations.   We had to dodge the flooded river Wey at Brooklands, and reduce the stretch along the canal because it was a bit mucky, but soon enough it was "only another ten miles" and we were approaching Pirbright.   It's a little-known fact that Camberley is on top of a small mountain, so there was a fair bit of climbing through the above-mentioned mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen woodlanded ways.

Eventually we reached the sanctuary of the Claude Du Vall, named after a gallant and non-violent French highwayman who charmed the ladies and tied up the men before relieving them of their valuables.   It ended badly, as he was captured and executed at Tyburn in 1670.   His memorial stone reads as follows:

Here lies DuVall: Reder, if male thou art,

Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart.

Much havoc has he made of both; for all

Men he made to stand, and women he made to fall

The second Conqueror of the Norman race,

Knights to his arm did yield, and ladies to his face.

Old Tyburn’s glory; England’s illustrious Thief,

Du Vall, the ladies' joy; Du Vall, the ladies' grief.

The return was much more straightforward, with only a small mountain to climb in order to leave Camberley, and no highwaymen troubling us.  Soon we were speeding to Lightwater, Windlesham and Gracious Pond Road.  We nearly saw Pam in Chertsey (she waved at us from the bus, having just visited Vic) but we were at the end of a longish ride, it was tea time and our attention was elsewhere.   Just four stopped for tea at Shepperton, everyone else heading home to make the best of the daylight.

Thank you everyone for making it such an enjoyable and sociable day.  And especially to David W and Andy for leading a second group of riders, and Geoff for back marking, plus Dave E and Diane for their photos.