Camberwell to Four Elms via Westerham 13/02/10

60 miles in the cold, with only the thought of cake for comfort

The Ride: Cycled out from Camberwell via Westerham down to Four Elms then back via Toys Hill, Cudham and through Bromley back to glorious Camberwell.

Riders: Big Smurf, Granty & Inaki

(No shows: Alex was too lazy to get out of bed, Julian too busy and Raph and Al bringing in the year of the tiger - yeh, whatever)

Bikes:
Grant's Pinarello FP2 – (Looks to be riding well and definitely can detect an increase in speed - what a difference a bike makes).

Inaki's Boardman – (Nice bike, sadly weighted down by some Tri-bars - OFF, OFF, OFF)
My Cannondale CAAD 5 – (Problems engaging pedals today, and slow on the descents - of course I am blaming the bike)

Description:
Setting off from home in Camberwell, Inaki and I went to meet Granty outside the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill. It was then an un-eventful trek through south London. A journey taking in the delights of Catford, Bromley (why, oh why have I never visited the Glades) and then down towards Biggin Hill. Biggin Hill was formerly an RAF fighter base (1943) until the RAF left in 1992. To comemorate the fighter planes and the men that flew them, a Hurricane and Spitfire flank the entrance of St George's Airforce Chapel.

At Biggin Hill we took a left eastwards down Jail Lane and up Berrys Hill to Cudham. Prepare yourself for a pretty steep and thankfully short hill. (25%)

Riding down Cudham Lane South we decided to take a right onto Grays Road towards Hawley's Corner and then a left down do Westerham and our breakfast stop. What better place to stop than the Tudor Rose Tearooms in Westerham. 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/placesource=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK367&lr=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=westerham&fb=1&gl=uk&ftid=0x47df51

As you can see, we were not the only bikers there. Infact the cafe was full of lycra clad roadies tucking in to their full english and mugs of coffee. One point to note is that if you do stop here and i do recommend it, then please make sure you DO NOT lean your bike up against the wall of the house next door (on right in photo), as you are likely to get a mouthful from the owner, so i would respect her property and lean it elsewhere. We tucked in to scrambled eggs on toast and toasted bacon and egg sandwiches. Perfect way to start the rest of the ride.

 

  

It was hard to leave the warmth of the Tudor Rose and Grant seemed particularly keen to try the cream tea, but thankfully we were able to persuade him that his body should be a temple and if the renovators were going to stand any chance  at all, then a pass on the cream tea might be best.

So, it was off and after turning left on to the A25 we took the first right up Hosey Common Hill towards Crockham. From Crockham Hill we took a sharp left down Pootings Road towards Four Elms and onwards and upwards to the famous Toy's Hill. It was a nice climb and having not ridden it for a while i had forgotten how it just creeps up on you. I managed to get up so i was ready to take some photos on my phone of the boys working their way up.

  

  

The great thing about going up Toys Hill is that you get a fantastic descent down Brasted Chart. It is about a 2 mile descent down to Brasted and you can really get some speed up, which makes the slog up the hill all the more worthwhile. Nice surfaced road, but beware of people edging their cars out of their drives. We didn't stop in Brasted this time, but i do recommend it as a good stopover if you need some refreshments. I would definitely recommend The White Hart, but it does get busy especially on Sunday afternoons.

http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thewhitehartbrasted

We headed north up to Brasted Hill Road and took the left down Pilgrims Lane for few hundred yards, taking the right up Hogtrough Hill. A short, but steep hill that will get your heart pumping and as it hits you full on as you turn right.

 

It was then back on to Cudham Lane and on towards Green St Green. It was then the A21 to Farnborough. From there we headed back on the same route we headed out on, but took a detour to go to Dulwich Picture Gallery - well the cafe. Did I tell you we like cake?

  

Food: 

The Tudor Rose
Friendly and full of lycra clad roadies. 

Bacon and Egg toastie, 2 x scrambled egg on toast and 3 lattes.

Dulwich Picture Gallery Cafe

Friendly and full of middle class arty types out for some culture and three lycra clad bikers (us) 

Coffee & Walnut cake, very rich chocolate tart and something dry and brick like.

2 lattes and a Lemon and ginger tea.

Mechanicals: None

Distance: Approx 60 miles (Inaki probably did approx 65miles as he came from somewhere near Clapham)

Terrain: Busy roads getting out of South London, quiet lanes south of Westerham. Hills and more hills, undulating in places and some fast descents. 

Weather: Cloudy, some snow/sleet and it was very cold

Notes: On way back from the Dulwich Picture Gallery I took Inaki to see the Herne Hill Velodrome on Burbage Road. It opens again on 6 March for public training.

http://www.hernehillvelodrome.com