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WOODIES It's becoming a bit of a traditional to skip the Sunday ride in favour
of a Monday ride on Bank Holidays. They're normally pretty busy and
today was no exception with 16 at the library and 2 more joining
en-route.
The lunch destination was Woodies, the self-proclaimed 'best kept
secret in New Malden'. That would be a short ride if you went as the
crow flies so we meandered around the long way, using the Wandle Trail
from Colliers Wood to Earlsfield and into Wimbledon Park for a morning
stop.
It's a bit hilly out of the park but it's nice to go past the All
England Club, the future Olympic venue and world famous tennis
stadium. Hidden away amongst the houses behind the stadium is the best
kept secret in the whole of South London, the fantastic Buddhist
temple. A puncture was noticed and duly fixed whilst we were in the
grounds. It's always good to choose somewhere scenic if you're going
to get a puncture!
A bit of traffic-free riding over Wimbledon Common takes you to the
Causeway and back down towards the A3 which you cross using the subway
and onto the pub.
Woodies is is the middle of a residential area but really hidden away
down a driveway. The beer garden overlooks playing fields which
completely transports it from an urban pub to one that feels like it's
in the country. Food is always good and service reasonably swift and
they always have a selection of guest beers.
On the way back, we visited Merton Park where Wimbledon & Merton Lions
Club were having their summer fair. Obviously it was a whole day of
activities but we just stayed for 20 minutes or so. Even then, an
irate member of the public managed to get upset about the fact that we
were on bikes in the park which is bizarre. considering the fact that
cars had driven all over the grass to use it as a car park.
After Morden Hall, people started to peel off. It's a short ride so we
were back at the library by 4pm. 23 miles. See the pix on Flickr at:
Saturday 18th August VIKING COASTAL TRAIL A re-run of popular coastal route. See the pix on Flickr at:
Sunday 12th August ASHSTEAD COMMON 18 riders at the library for today's mix of quiet roads and tracks. 2
on recumbent trikes. As it was a new ride, we devised a new route to
Nonsuch Park by going over St Helier to Sutton Common, past Sutton
United's ground and through Seears Park. It's quicker than our usual
route but you do have a slight climb to contend with.
After tea and morning cakes, we headed across the busy Ewell Bypass
and along quiet London Cycle Network roads towards Chalk Lane near
Epsom Downs and then over to Ashtead Park. The private City of London
Freeman's school educated a young Joe Strummer (from The Clash) but
summer holidays meant the place was deserted. We rode into Ashtead
Park itself on a bumpy track through woodland which brings you to the
A24. A mile on suburban roads got us to the pub just after midday.
Where it promptly started to rain.
The Woodman is a big, newly refurbished chain pub. That's great for us
because it means the food menu is varied and reasonably priced.
Everyone was happy. Their big beer garden sports giant umbrellas so we
sat outside despite the rain. Fortunately, it soon cleared up.
The promised tracks were all after lunch. A little mistake getting
onto the Common meant we had to ride along a footpath but soon we were
on the bridleways and cycle routes. The tracks are well surfaced and
the 2 miles of nonstop riding was quite enjoyable. We then crossed
over the B280 and did another 2 miles of wide, well surfaced tracks in
Horton Country Park.
It's a bit of a maze in the Country Park without a proper map and over
a year since I'd ridden there but I was able to pick the correct path
out. Or so I thought. It ends at the golf club's car park but this
time the gate was locked. No other way out so 16 bikes and 2 trikes
had to go over the top. Then it started to rain again.
Fortunately, it was just a short shower. We rode a small part of the
Hogsmill Trail and then cut back to Nonsuch Park along The Avenue,
stopping to look at the boundary stones that mark the site of Henry
VIII's most spectacular palace. There's a few bricks in the trees but
nothing much remains. Then it was back to the cafe where a folk dance
demonstration was about to start. We watched the first dance and then
moved off back through Carshalton where your leader had a puncture,
conveniently right outside his house and left the others to ride a bit
of the Wandle Trail back to Pollards Hill. Out for 8hrs, 30 miles. See the pics on Flickr:
Sunday 5th August MUDCHUTE FARM I thought the 20 at the library was quite a good turnout on this
baking summer day but we gradually swelled to 28 on our way towards
the Thames. I think the popularity of the route helps. A lot of people
are keen to know their way along this one.
The first part of the ride is fairly dull as we negotiate quiet
streets to South Norwood Country Park. It's here that it gets good as
we pick up the Waterlink Way, possibly South London's best cycle route
now that most of the barriers have been removed. It's a clever route
that links several parks together making the most direct route to
Greenwich. It's easier to cycle there than it is to drive.
Having so many people out means you have to think about the easiest
routes to use so we had to cope with all of the bumpy Barnmead Road
and pass under Kent House station rather than use the sneaky path past
the allotments. But we were soon at Beckenham Place Park's cafe in the
middle of the golf course.
Ladywell Fields has the best cycling bridge in London, simply because
it's fun. A narrow ramp winds up to the top and it's possible to ride
up all the way if you pick the lowest gears. Coming down just means
careful braking and paying attention to what's in front of you.
There's also the most bizarre work going on in the park at the moment
as the river is re-routed, seemingly to make the cafe more attractive.
The cafe is hardly ever open and surely its easier to move the cafe?
Instead of following the Waterlink Way directly into Greenwich, we
detoured at Elverson Road DLR station using the crazy ramped bridge
(not as much fun as the one in Ladywell Fields though) and up the
steep Morden Hill to bring us out on Blackheath. The huge, flat
expanse of grass is reasonably well served with cycle routes although
Wikipedia says that it's name does not derive from the fact that it is
reputed to be a mass burial site for victims of the Black Death.
From here, you can ride straight into Greenwich Park and take in the
spectacular view from the hill near the Royal Observatory. There were
too many of us to fit into one shot on the camera!!
The ride took a downturn as one of our riders fell off during the
descent to the Greenwich foot tunnel. A pair of ignorant pedestrians
ignored the ringing cycle bells caused the rider to swerve and topple
over the bars when the wheel caught in a storm gully. We had to call
an ambulance but after a few hours of rest in hospital, she was well
enough to return home.
I had no idea what the cafe was going to be like at Mudchute City Farm
or if they could cope with us arriving en-masse so I suggested some
might like to stop off at the Waterman's Arms. The rest of us piled
into the cafe and at first it looked like the staff might struggle to
cope. However, excellent food began arriving within minutes and 3 huge
pitchers of homemade drinks were placed on the table. To give you an
idea, beans on toast is actually butter beans in a nice sauce on
beautiful bread. The deserts are out of this world. Time Out were
right to recommend it, especially as two courses and a drink is under
a tenner.
The return saw us pick up the Waterlink Way direct at Greenwich by the
tarpaulined remains of the Cutty Sark and ride all the way to Cator
Park where we detoured into Crystal Palace park. There had been too
many on the ride to do the other detour to Hilly Fields so we'll go
and see the stone circle another day.
From Crystal Palace, riders began leaving for home whilst those
returning to the library got to enjoy the huge downhill descents. Out
for 8hrs, 29 miles. See the pix on Flickr at:
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Click here for ride reports from 2005