With the week being the nicest we had seen in a while us Femoles were keen to get a midweek ride, little did we know what pleasures were in store for us this evening.

One of the many things I have always liked about the Femoles is that there is always someone free and when a spur of the moment ride crops up you can guarantee enough ladies will be available to form a friendly group and enjoy a ride.

Tonight was no different and over the past 48 hours realising how nice the weather was going to be Four Free Femoles met up for a care free evening ride.

We had quite an early start just after 6pm and we needed to be back at the start point for 8.30 and initially agreed we would keep really local and do what we commonly refer as the “girls favourite” the girls favourite tends to be a bit of a warm up especially when the complete ride is undecided. We headed off at a good pace chatting and introducing ourselves as it turned out a few of us hadn’t ridden together before so for some it was a chance to meet and chat to some new faces which is always a pleasure.

With the wonderful blue sky the views across the fields along Crabtree lane were stunning and by the time we reached the cottage any stresses of the day were long forgotten, we enjoyed the sweeping “girls favourite” and were cheered along by some wayward lambs trying to find their way back to the farmer.

At the end of the “girls favourite” we checked time remaining and decided that actually we could manage a bit more than anticipated and we decided to head off to Denbies and Ranmore, I am so thrilled that we decided to do this as two of tonights ladies hadn’t ridden this route before and had the pleasure of climbing up through Denbies and taking in the spectacular view of Dorking and the surrounding area, from there we headed along Ranmore to Yew Trees where we had the pleasure of bumping into the Moles, it was lovely to introduce people to each other, put faces to names and it was fantastic to see some faces I haven’t seen for a few months too.

With time ticking along we needed to get going and were warned we would pass D’andy on our travels who was fixing a puncture, I did check to see if we would need sun glasses but sure enough it was “dress down Wednesday” and we were all safe ;-). So us ladies sped past Matt, Tony and D’andy “good evening gents” down and under the twin bridges and up to Polesden, where on the horizon was the most spectacular sunset. Continuing on we stopped in awe when five minutes later we had the pleasure of sharing the most tangerine sunset that was completely breath taking, the colour is almost undescribable and I have been trying to think of something to compare, the closest being the drink Tequila Sunrise (ooooo I haven’t had one of those in years) the warm glow of orange that isn’t orange and yet isn’t quite red. I sincerely suspect it is a vision I will remember and treasure for a very long time and it was certainly a moment “in the moment” where I felt happy to be alive and that all four of us were not just sharing an amazing bike ride but a vision most remarkable.

Completing the ride along the horse fields and home.

A fabulous ride with lovely people and enjoying a very fun evening.

One of the ladies this evening has only been out with us twice before and a mutual friend commented to me today “I bet her legs will ache tomorrow” I replied ” I doubt it but it’s the grin on her face you want to look out for”, I know she grinned all the way home and will still be wearing the same MTB in the Surrey Hills smile tomorrow 😉

Jo – it was fantastic to meet you at last and get to ride with you, a wonderful evening 😉

Ja – Looking forward to the weekend 😉

El – you did amazing, I look forward to seeing the Grin tomorrow!

I read something earlier this week about how people have periods of luck, I feel lucky after tonights ride, it isn’t my spell of luck it is just having my eyes opened to see the luck!

Wonderful ride and I can’t wait for the next x

About the author

Cathie was introduced to mountain biking by Dave about 9 years ago but only really been riding regularly since May 2008 when she invested in a new hard tail (a white On-One classic Inbred), a wise investment as a result of being able to trial different bikes at Cycle Works demo day at Holmbury-St-Mary. She also rides a full suspension Giant Cypher which was this year's treat and saw many miles during the summer of 2010.

Cathie has attended skills days with Dirt Divas at Swinley Forest, she would like to improve her skills on bomb holes and her favourite trails are the ride over to Newlands corner loving "Whitedown" and a favourite trail through Denbies.

Cathie loves meeting other female riders of all fitness levels and experience and is hoping for less punctures in 2011 now that both bikes are wearing tubeless tyres!