It wasn’t quite a roaring fire which greeted us in Downe Village, but on a cold damp November evening the smouldering logs on the grate in the George and Dragon were a warm and welcoming destination for the 10 of us on the wander.

We gathered at Bromley South

We gathered at Bromley South on a clear evening following a day of heavy rain and squally winds, and when the late comers finally showed we were on the road. We headed south through Hayes and Keston and after passing the bottom of Fox Lane, it was uphill all the way. The route is always very pretty, especially so at this time of year with the last of the leaves hanging on to one or two of the more doughty trees, but in the pitch dark with only our battery powered cycle lamps twinkling in the gloom we could see none of it. We cared little. It was great to be out on the bikes and to have each other for company.

Some of us were cold

At the pub some of us having come straight from work etc were hungry, but as there was no substantial bar snacks available we had to make do with a rather unhealthy assortment of crisps, nuts, pork scratchings and crisps. Evidence of which soon littered the table where we were grouped, in the form of the empty packets. We sat together swapping stories, talking about cycling and planning next years rides until it was time to leave for the lovely, long, mostly downhill, ride home.

Discussing Cycling and Planning Rides

Thanks to Steve hardy for planning and leading the ride.

Stats: 12.5 miles round trip; quite short but great at this time of year on a very unforgiving day. See you all next week.