An email from the organiser of the East Surrey Road Club Hardriders 30 mile TT, which takes place this weekend, plopped into my inbox with a sufficiently ominous title to make me open it immediately.

Inside was the information that roadworks on the A264 part of the course had obliged him to divert the course via a little-known lane called Friday Street, keeping the full distance and adding a bit of extra drama to what is a tricky course at the best of times.

It’s an event I have ridden regularly since 1984, when I finished fourth after blowing up as I rode through Newdigate. In those days the course went into and out of Horsham before climbing Rusper Hill. Later, once the dual-carriageway A264 had been made, it passed Horsham and Rusper Hill by, travellling all the way to Faygate before climbing back up to Rusper. It still started and finished on Reigate Heath, which required a right-hand turn out of a T-junction at Dawes Green.

To get around this, the course start and finish points recently moved and are now either side of Dawes Green, omitting the T-junction and crossing Reigate Heath after several miles of riding.

It’s a course I know intimately, so news of a change was not entirely welcome. On the other hand, I hate the single-carriageway A24 section from Capel to the Great Daux roundabout, so maybe the news was good. Best way to find out is to do what should be done with any unfamiliar course and have a recce.

I’m glad I did. The lane heading east from the Capel roundabout is one I know well enough from Redmon CC evening 15 mile TTs. The ESRC course, however, takes a right turn into Friday Street, which I now know is an undulating lane with several tight, unsighted bends, a nasty drag past what must be the largest landfill site in south east England and a fast descent covered in a light coat of greasy mud left by HGV traffic.

Forewarned etc; I’ll be able to pace myself along it better the second time around. But let’s hope it goes back to the regular route next year. It’s more relaxing.