Granville beats the rain

Granville, 80, was taking part in the London/Surrey Prudential Ride on Sunday and described the conditions as “atrocious”.

He said: “The surface water on the roads ran in torrents and there were many roads entirely flooded with riders taking their chances and riding through. I was amazed at the number of cyclists having punctures caused by the wet weather and the debris strewn on the road by the wind and rain. There were some crashes but none that I saw were bad.

“Because of the conditions the organisers diverted the riders away from Box Hill and Leith Hill which were considered too dangerous. The challenge lost on the hills was more than made up by the conditions on the ride. I was lucky to arrive at the finish in good shape without mishap. My official time was 6 hours 28 minutes.”