Aldershot to Haslemere and back 4th Jan

[big yellow tractor]

Moist !!!


moist (mɔɪst)
adj
1. slightly damp or wet
2. saturated with or suggestive of moisture

Yep, I think that just about covers it . . . . . . .

[Dave]

Seepage (siːpɪdʒ)
noun

1. the slow escape of a liquid or gas through porous material or small holes.

[big yellow tractor]

93 miles through floods, over and under fallen trees, along lanes and roads strewn with rubble and other debris. We set off in rain, then it drizzled before pouring down a bit then settling down to just showers with wet intervals.

At 09:35, seven bikes and riders left Aldershot and trundled (or maybe slithered) their way along a few lanes in Ash before popping out at Wood Street Village. A little bit of roadwork to Fox Corner took us along a lane that in the summer is a gentle meander through open woodland but today was a shallow river. The Old London Road near Deepcut was a series of large lakes.

The lanes either side of the Hogs Back weren't too bad but the one to the north of Puttenham Common was pretty wet; I got a drenching dropping into a rut that was about two feet deeper than I thought. Lee was right behind and followed me through.

We ran alongside the River Wey as we passed from The Sands to Tilford along Greensand Way and it was right across the fields. The Whoops were very wet and the ford in the middle was pretty deep but passable without trouble.

At the carpark at Frensham, “Billy”, left us to pop into Farnham to get his front brake looked at at Elderfields. The rest of us did a run out through Alice Holt to pick up Cradle Lane. The road through West End has a brook that runs alongside it but today the whole width of the tarmac was footpeg-deep in flowing water for a good half a mile. Quite good fun to ride along.

When we arrived at the bottom of the lane that runs into Alice Holt, we were faced with a torrent of water rumbling down the track and across the road. It wasn't too bad to ride up though. Alice Holt was particularly slippy on the grassy bits but on the hills where the water had carved away the top-soil were nice and grippy.

Cradle Lane was impassable. I'm pretty sure that the footbridge is above head height as you ride through the ford so I estimated the depth of water to be around seven feet.

Back at Frensham, “Billy” rejoined us having had a new disk and pads fitted and Wayne departed to make his way to his van by road.

We made our way across the sand and into the punchbowl. Gibbet Hill was pretty snotty but we all made it up without any problems and arrived at the garage in Haslemere for some munchies and a splash of petrol at 13:35.

After the stop, “Billy” offered to lead us on a few local lanes that he said were worth a visit. I hadn't ridden them before but both Lee and Mike had. They were pretty nadgery and steep, and to be honest I struggled a bit with my dodgy arms.

Our route back was via the lane around The Punchbowl rather than down Gibbet Hill and we retraced about half of the morning's lanes back to Aldershot; arriving at 16:00.

A surprisingly good days riding although I had had enough by the time we got back.

[Dave]

Nice write up. Pretty mental about the 7ft flood, damn!

[big yellow tractor]

Nice write up.

Thanks, I never know whether anyone is interested in a ride report.

Pretty mental about the 7ft flood, damn!

Certainly the most water I've ever seen about.......everywhere. Made Wales seem arrid.

[kris]

Ride reports are fantastic ... keep em coming !

[stevent]

+1
its great to read a report, thanks for writing it up!

[Corky78]

Nice write up.

Thanks, I never know whether anyone is interested in a ride report.


Also enjoy reading the reports - keep em coming. I do get amazed by the knowledge of the name of lanes and areas where you travel.....I guess that will come to me in time

[big yellow tractor]

Also enjoy reading the reports - keep em coming. I do get amazed by the knowledge of the name of lanes and areas where you travel.....I guess that will come to me in time

Thanks for that.

I don't know where I am about half of the time. The rest of the time I'm not so sure either.