Whilst 150,000 homes and businesses in the UK lost power in the last 24 hours due to high winds and Scotland sits under snow, one of the the greatest issues facing Surrey cyclists this morning was a major offence on their Strava efforts.
A large tree was blown down, falling following high winds overnight.
The tree in question fell across the Old London Road, in Dorking - between the Ryka's cafe and the right hand turn to the Zig Zag Road.
A photo posted by on
Local cyclist Jamie Olsson spotted the fallen tree and snapped the picture. Commenting on the situation, he said: "It was a bit of a shock having to get off my bike and carry it over - good cyclocross training though."
"I've since been told by everyone I should have bunny hopped it," he added.
Olsson sent the picture to Reigate and Cranleigh's Maison du Velo bike shop who jested that its demise could have a rather detrimental effect on riders pursuing a KOM or QOM attempt this morning.
Indeed, data from cycling app MyWindsock shows that the riders on the climb this morning could well have enjoyed a tailwind over the first section - but coming to a dead stop wouldn't have lent to a fast time at all.
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The current KOM is held by Edmund Bradbury with a time of 4 minutes 26, whilst the women's leaderboard is topped off by local rider Maryka Sennema with 5 minutes 34.
Eye witnesses from Destination Bike - the place of further bike delights that sits on Box Hill Road after the climb - tell us that the tree has now been cleared away.
Geoff Clifton, manager and co-owner told us: "[The tree] was big and they have only removed the bit over the road so far. I had to crawl under a tree on my walk here this morning. This was no challenge to George of course.."
George the dog wasn't troubled on the way to Destination Bike
With the tree mostly cleared, no further risk is posed to the efforts of cyclists in and around the Dorking area.
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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her first daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.
Michelle is on maternity leave from April 2025 until spring 2026.
