We all arrived in the morning at Puttenham's Jolly Farmer to a locked gate. I went into the pub to ask the bar wench if I could speak with the Land Lord about the car park and if we could park in there as previously it's not been an issue. She replied saying that we're welcome to wait 40 minutes until it's officially open and that she wouldn't get the manager. I asked a second time to get the manager and she said no because her leg hurt. So we spoke some more about how retarded she was being and left it at that.
Our group consisted of 6 riders:
Ewan wrote:Ewan
Sarah
Tony111s wrote:Tony
Stevie wrote:Steve
jack wrote:Jack
& Myself
Ewan as it turns out is ex FMX as he showed off a pretty wicked back flip to Tony after lunch.
We headed out from Puttenham along the North Downs Way. Around from the carpark at the end we passed a group of about 20 people in wax jackets and flat caps... I thought I might have seen one of them bearing a shotgun.
Instead of heading north to try some lanes around Tilbury we headed south towards Devil's Punchbowl. The lanes were soft and dry, Frencham Ponds was a good laugh and a good experience (hopefully) for our newcomers and I can only remember stopping for one horse that day. Travelling around the Punchbowl the logging company have been removing trees all along the side of the road so you can get a really good view of the Punchbowl from all sides now.
We stopped at the National Trusts Devil's Punchbowl Cafe for some hot lunch, and in my case the worlds most expensive sandwich, and a bit of a chat and reflection of the day so far. Was pretty interesting to know that Ewan and Sarah both do track days on occasion, so they might be interested in one of Billy's road rides down the coast next summer 
After lunch we headed south west a little to do the 3 closest lanes before heading back to Puttenham. Those 3 lanes were exciting. There was a fallen tree and a fair few immense pitted ruts to contend with after some 4x4 abuse, not that I'm complaining but I didn't expect it for the Beginners' Run. Saying that, no one had any difficulty and seemed to be well received as the challenge of the day. I think this was the point Ewan was showing off his FMX black flip skills. Sadly the only spectator was Tony. On the way back passed the fallen tree we stopped because a 4x4 had stopped and let a dog out which was right in the middle of the lane. We waited (and waited for the man to move his dog) until the man waved us through and so drove at the dog which freaked out. Nice.
All in all a good day, good weather, good views, good food and most importantly good company.
Thanks for the good time out and well done to those of you 'getting back into it' look forward to the next ride
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For those of you who enjoyed your ride and the guidance of the TRF please consider joining. The club offers so much more than just the riding, there are weekends away, great social events and your contribution will go towards keeping these lanes open for everyone to continue enjoying.