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UP TO DOWNE 17 people turned up at Pollards Hill library for a day of glorious cycling
around the Kent countryside. Another 6 joined at Thornton Heath station
making a total of 23 riders of all ages and abilities.
Unfortunately, this number turned out to be a bit unwieldy. Even with Colin
Wing doing an excellent job of backmarker, we still managed string out over
a huge distance right from the start. This inevitably slowed us down and we
were not making good time, even by the time we got to South Norwood Country Park, 5 miles into the ride.
The steady climb through the housing estates on the urban part of the
Waterlink Way to the top of Spout Hill took its toll on 2 riders who opted
to spin round and go home after a respectable 8.5 miles of climbing. The
fast descent and the subsequent climb at New Addington somehow managed to
lose a portion of the riders who resurfaced near Addington High School. I
started to worry about how we were going to manage to complete the route on
time or even get to our lunch stop on time. After a nifty little route on a
bridle path, courtesy of Sustrans Ranger Jim (I would have stayed on the
road but it was a great route), we pulled in to the White Bear's car park at
Fickleshole and decided to change lunch to the Old Ship in Tatsfield instead
of trying to reach Downe and skip the elevenses at the Gator Cafe.
Unfortunately, despite being a pretty pub, the Old Ship is very badly run.
They only had one person manning the kitchen on Bank Holiday Monday! There
was an hour wait for food and then the manager decided he didn't want to
serve us because he didn't know we were coming and he couldn't cope! So,
nine of us had to backtrack for 2 miles to the Botley Hill Farmhouse pub who
had told us they would have no problem serving food to us. Instead of an
hour, food was arriving within 10 minutes. It's a busy but very pleasant pub
and had a top class band playing in the beer garden. Highly recommended.
Once we had regrouped at Tatsfield, 5 faster riders decided to make a break
for it and Mike led them back the way we came and out through Chelsham and
up to his house for a quick cuppa before riding back to Pollards Hill. They
averaged 16-17mph on the way back and covered about 35 miles.
The remainder of us ploughed on to Downe, saw Charles Darwin's house, had a
photostop in the village and then rode through the undulating lanes to West
Wickham where 3 opted to get a train from Hayes station. That left 13 of us
to trundle along the busy B251 to Kelsey Park for an ice cream and cake
stop. Suitable refreshed we came back via Elmers End to South Norwood
Country Park and then back the way we came.
Several people had never done a ride of this length before so
congratulations for getting round in one piece. 34 miles from Pollards Hill
(38 for those that had to go back to Botley Hill for lunch). Out for about
8.5hrs. Beautiful scenery!
See all the photos from today on Flickr
Sunday 21st August WATERLINK WAY TO GREENWICH Five of us enjoyed the sunshine on a relaxed ride up to Greenwich. After negotiating Thornton Heath high street we were soon at South Norwood Country Park where we picked up the Waterlink Way. The route is a series of parks and riverside routes linked together, nearly all on tarmac. A good proportion of the ride is traffic-free on shared paths, most of which follow the route of the Ravensbourne river on its way to the Thames. Probably the worst part is the uneven surface on Barnmead Road, an unadopted private road on the Cator Estate where the residents prefer to maintain the road in the same state as when their houses were first built, 135 years ago. Once we got to Greenwich three opted for Pie and Mash at Goddards and two went off to visit the market. All 5 of us nailed the challenging spiral bridge at Catford on the return - you need a clear run and your lowest gear to get up there! I'd post the picture of us at the Cutty Sark but the tourist we asked to take the snap managed to shake the camera so violently that we are all just a blur!!! So here is a pic of us on the route. Visit Flickr to see the others. 26 miles, out for 6 hours
Sunday 7th August FRUITSTOCK
Not a popular ride! You all missed a treat - free smoothie samples, free tastings at the farmer's market, laid back sounds on the main stage, plenty of bike parking supplied with a security guard thrown in for good measure. And all for free. Regents Park is only 10 miles from Pollards Hill. If there's a reason why you didn't fancy this ride, give us some feedback so we can make sure we tailor future rides to what everyone wants. Thanks to Mike for leading on this one.
Tuesday 2nd August CRYSTAL PALACE Three of us tackled the hills and back roads to Crystal Palace park on a warm summer evening. We dropped into the park and watched a bit of the Crystal Palace Circuit League cycle racing and then rode off to see the dinosaur park, the world's first theme park and watched a bit of the model car racing. The park is only 3.5 miles away from Pollards Hill library so it makes an excellent destination for an afternoon out on your bike. See the park's website for details. After that it was downhill all the way back! Out for 2 hours, 9 miles on the clock
Sunday 31st July SUNDAY AFTERNOON FAMILY RIDE
24 people on 21 machines turned up to the first full ride. We had an amazingly diverse group of people of all ages and abilities and we even had a trike with 2 passenger kids! Ideal cycling weather - warm but not blazing sun. We set off across Mitcham Common down to the path behind Beddington Lane tram stop and soon realised that anti-motorcycle barriers were going to slow our progress. After a pleasant trip through Beddington Park and past Carew Manor we stopped off at Honeywood for a 15 minute break where we lost the trike due to an ill child. We continued up the Wandle Trail towards Deen City Farm where we had another welcome break. From there it was back to Pollards Hill using the Myrna Close cycle trail which was new to just about everybody. Let's hope the council finish the surface off some time soon. An excellent start to our rides programme proper - well done to everyone who came. About
13 miles instead of the advertised 12. Out for 4 hours. 1 puncture.
See all the photos from today on Flickr
Tuesday 26th July RICHMOND RIVERSIDE (nearly!) A couple of hardy souls braved the uncertain skies and the drizzle to head
out on the inaugural Pollards Hill Cyclists ride to Richmond tonight. Paulo
Camara from Merton Council came down to see us off. A change to the route to
take advantage of the tail wind meant skipping Wimbledon Common and heading
straight to Richmond Park. After a nice ride over the top of the park on
National Cycle Network Route 4 (with plenty of baby deer for company!) we
dropped into Ham and along the river only to find it was such a high tide
that the path was submerged. Undeterred, we headed back to the Ham Brewery
Tap (cycle-friendly pub - 6 bikes inside and out!) and had a pleasant drink
in the beer garden. We came back through Richmond Park and along the A3
cycle path to Putney Heath and then alongside the Common to Wimbledon
Village and down the London Cycle Network back roads to Merton Abbey and
home through the Myrna Close Linear Nature Park. 3 hours door to door. About
25 miles.
Saturday 23rd July DR BIKE We launched the Pollards Hill Cyclists at a busy Dr Bike session, part of the Commonside Community Development Trust's Environment Fun Day. Several people signed up for the email list and pledged to come along on the rides. There will be more Dr Bikes throughout the year as well as the Re:Cycle project, based at Pollards Hill Youth Club which teaches youngsters how to fix bikes and encourages them to use those skills to help others in the community. Here's a couple of pix of the day, taken by Paulo Camara from the London Borough of Merton.
See all the images of our rides on Flickr
April 2007 ride reports
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