The weather has been getting better. Did a 52 mile group ride yesterday with another 6 miles carrying my daughter on my cargo bike in the evening, and 46 miles today.
Have ended up taking the same lane in the picture in my OP, three rides in a row. Today I could have avoided it, and saved a couple of miles and a bit of a hill. But it would go all through Guildford.
The lanes starting from Bramley, just south of Guildford (not to be confused with other villages of the same name), and passing various lakes (including the rather fabulous Busbridge lakes) to eventually wind around towards Munstead were totally free of traffic.
This nice little hill is one of those where you are in a sort of ridge. The reward at the top is expansive views over fields.
Apparently there is a straight-on here. I didn't spot it but I guess it's by the 'men at work sign'.
Only a few hundred yards extra.
Then passing through Hambledon (which has a cricket club, though not THE cricket club), and seems to think quite a lot of itself.
Sandhills is a small hamlet, but well worth passing through via Barnacle Hill Road and down the short + steep Sebastapol Lane (somehow steep descents are more amusing in villages)
From Sandhills into Brook, very briefly on the minor A-road before heading up to Bowlhead Green on a nice single track road with a fairly gentle (5%) slope. From there to French Lane, which heads towards the A3 without serving much purpose for motorists, and crosses it over a bridge, which sees very little traffic.
Passing the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is a dinky little church in The Sands, Seale, is a sign before the impending trip into hell.
The Hogs Back is one of the borders between 'nice roads' and 'overcrowded mess'.
After passing through Tongham, the level crossing was down at Ash, which meant a long queue of cars behind me. The 3.5 mile Pirbright Road A324 between Ash and Pirbright is not great for cycling, as it is just wide enough to be 'fast', but not wide enough that all motorists feel comfortable overtaking. Especially at 6pm you may feel like a bit of an inconvenience to traffic. I did try to cycle a bit faster, though I suppose in the end at that time of day, even if it's 3 miles up the road, the motorist is only hurrying to his next queue of traffic.
At any rate the light today was very good till almost 6pm. There is something wonderful about the English sun at this time of year when the weather is good, it's a bath of light rather than a burning tropical heat, with the promise of spring (or perhaps it is already here).
