HOME
RIDES AND EVENTS
RIDE REPORTS
ABOUT THE RIDES
ABOUT PHC
GALLERY
RESOURCES
CONTACT US
GRAND UNION CANAL It's not often we do a train-assisted ride INTO London but the thought
of cycling along the deceptively rural waterways of the capital brought
12 people to Victoria train station on this sunny summers day. Sunday
is a great day to ride past Buckingham Palace and up Birdcage Walk into
Hyde Park. A lone swimmer in the Serpentine. Reports of anti-cycling
measures around the Paddington Basin meant we accessed the Grand Union
Canal slightly further round at Little Venice.
The towpath is mostly concrete or tarmac. Within minutes, the bustle of
central London is lost to the rural idyll of life on the canal. Only
odd glimpes of city life such as the rear of Sainsburys and a madcap
cyclist in full Rocky Horror garb complete with a posing pouch serve to
remind you exactly where you are. The busy North Circular thunders by
underneath the aquaduct oblivious to the scene above. 6 miles of
traffic-free countryside until we hit Perivale and turn off, cross the
A40 and pile into Starvin Marvins, an American Diner, for morning
coffee. Bad for cycle parking. The grumpy host's refusal to give
separate bills was soon resolved.
As soon as you leave the A40, it's back into a rural setting and a
shaded long cycle path over Ealing golf course towards Hanwell where we
picked up the Brentford branch of the Grand Union. Past the old
warehouses and modern developments at Brentford and into Syon Park. A
little late for lunch at the riverside London Apprentice in Isleworth
but there had been many photo stops. The pub is in a beautiful setting
but today the tide was completely out.
After a nice lunch we headed back through Syon Park and along the
northern Thames Path. At Wandsworth, the majority fancied the extra
miles to ride back to Pollards Hill. When you pace a ride well, it's
less tiring and when a ride is flat, the miles just fly. Three split
for Victoria but the rest holed up in the Cat's Back, an eccentric
quaint pub in Point Pleasant, near Wandsworth. Then it was down the
Wandle Trail and it's surprising how quickly you end up back at Merton
Abbey Mills ready for the last push down the old railway line to Figges
Marsh and back to the library. Out for 8 hours, 43 miles for those who did the whole lot. See some photos from today on Flickr
Sunday 23rd July BIRTHDAY RIDE On Saturday 23rd July 2005, myself and Suzanne launched Pollards Hill Cyclists by distributing leaflets and collecting email addresses at a busy Commonside Dr Bike session. One year later, we currently have 132 members on our Yahoo email list which compares well with the our neighbouring LCC groups (Merton = 102, Wandsworth = 136, Croydon = 108 and Lambeth = 195) and we have just put our 1000th image on Flickr! We have done 53 rides, two Love Yr Bike events and organised Croydon's Bike Week. Last Thursday we completed our free sold-out two week maintenance course and have floated an idea for a bike building course.
20 people turned up today for the Birthday Ride, including Suzanne who had come down from her new home in Edinburgh. Our route has become familiar. Over Figges Marsh, through the Myrna Close railway path and up the Wandle Trail to Earlsfield. Then we took the quiet residential streets into Wimbledon Park where we ate our birthday cake by the lake. We pushed on towards the windmill on Wimbledon Common, stopping off briefly to admire the amazing Buddhist Temple.
The Windmill Cafe is always busy on a Sunday morning. Runners were limbering up and families sat in the shade enjoying the Italian ice cream. Once refreshed, we rode over Putney Heath but I missed the correct track. The horse-riding Rangers are so busy sticking No Cycling signs on the bridleways were you have a legal right to ride that they often forget to sign the actual cycle routes. Funny that. Still, we braved the flood water in the subway under the A3 and corrected our route by picking up the unmade Putney Park Lane towards Barnes Common. I resisted the short detour to go past the oak tree that Marc Bolan crashed his Mini into, instead heading for Barnes Bridge where we crossed to the north bank of the Thames. The steps onto the bridge weren't popular but the scenery is arguably better on the other side of the river.
At Kew Bridge, we opted to do a stretch of busy road through Brentford in order to detour through Syon Park instead of hopping back over to the south bank. The couple of extra miles (which I omitted to mention - whoops!) were well worth it as quite a few had never seen Syon House before.
We finally crossed at Richmond and camped up on the riverside. Some had picnics on the river steps, others visited the busy Tide Tables cafe whilst another group nipped into the pub for a pint. After a nice break we headed up Richmond Hill into Richmond Park where the deer were sheltering from the sun under a tree near to the traffic-free NCN 4 Route. You see so much more on a bike!
We'd done a lot of miles before lunch so I looked for the most direct route back. Wimbledon Common looked best. We rode up the hill and cut through to Merton Park and the delightful John Innes Conservation Area before holing up at Merton Abbey Mills for afternoon tea. It's one of South London's best markets, full of great craft stalls and food kiosks. I bagged a bottle of fresh apple juice. Then it was home down Myrna Close with a slight detour to go over Mitcham Common. The recent murder was due to the common being isolated so I wanted to help populate it to prevent it becoming a crime magnet. If it had official cycle routes or the activity levels of Wimbledon Common then it wouldn't be so deserted.
Today was probably the best managed ride we've done. 20 is a lot of people but we rode together as a group the entire way. The two backmarkers (one on the outwards journey and one for the return) were both excellent and by keeping the backmarker in sight, not filtering at junctions and slowing the ride when necessary, it was possible to maintain a steady pace for the entire day. Out for 7 hours, 32.5 miles (vs the advertised 28). See the 1000th pic (and more) on Flickr
Sunday 16th July BROCKHAM VICTORIAN FAIR It's risky running train-assisted rides on Sundays, especially from little used stations such as Mitcham Junction. Today we had offered two choices, a longer ride starting at Pollards Hill or the option to catch a train and meet us at Epsom for a more PHC-friendly shortened version. 3 of us set off from the library, unaware that no trains were running despite the fact that no problems were reported in the middle of the week. One person tried in vain to meet us but was scuppered. Another got a different train and met up with the Central London CTC who were going to the same place as us. Of course, Mitcham Junction isn't everyone's local station so we did have one rider who had caught the train from Clapham Junction.
As we were all experienced riders, I decided to use Stane Street, the old Roman Road that leads from Epsom Downs to Box Hill. It's a tough byway with varying surfaces. The muddy parts had baked into ruts which shook you to bits. But the views are worth it and it's a nice way of avoiding traffic. It drops you out at Juniper Hill so we slid into Rykas, the famous motorbike haunt at the foot of Box Hill. Sutton Cycling Club were out on their mountain bikes. Didn't recognise anyone.
Brockham isn't very far from Rykas so we rode an extended loop comprised of Surrey Cycleway roads and quiet rural lanes before riding into the heart of the village where we saw two members of the South West London CTC who had organised a cyclist's wordhunt based at Brockham. We lunched at the pub and then went to check if the cake stall had opened at the church hall. It had! Whilst eating a slice of party cake, the Central London CTC rolled in. It's a very popular cycling destination.
As there was no need to return to Epsom station, I plotted a route across to Gatton Park. It was a new route to me but the Surrey Cycle maps help when choosing which lanes or bridleways to use. We rode up to Reigate postmill for a look and discovered a church service going on inside the windmill itself. Turns out to be the only consecrated windmill in the world! The route up towards the North Downs from Reigate involved a stiff climb and a stretch of busy road so we waited for a gap in the traffic at the top of Reigate Hill and headed off to the viewpoint for an ice cream. The view is amazing!
I picked a bad route through Gatton Park so rather than continue to get shaken to bits we jumped onto Gatton Bottom Rd and swung left on Markedge Lane under the M25. A mechanic problem with a stuck chain gave us more time to rest in the shade before nipping into Fanny's Farm for a swift apple and grape juice and a peek at the treehouse for those who have only seen it in our pictures.
Once out of Fanny's and at the top of the lane it is mostly downhill home. I offered an option - the usual gradual descent along How Lane or a fast drop down Castle Rd on the one-way single track lane. We chose the fast descent but it was spoiled by two motorists who were desperate to overtake on a road that clearly can't accommodate such a manoeuvre. The sharp climb up Chipstead Way leads onto the fast descent from Woodmansterne where we finished the ride by going through the Little Woodcote estate and riding past Beddington Park back to Pollards Hill.
Total mileage was 45, 36 for the Epsom start back to Pollards Hill. Epsom to Epsom would have been a normal PHC ride had it been possible. Out for 9 hours.
See some photos from today on Flickr
Sunday 9th July MITCHAM LOOP As I left home for the library this morning, I was wondering if we're
wasting our time continuing to do the Mitcham Loop family ride. After
all, it's rare that any families turn up unless we are doing it as part
of a special occasion or have had a feature in the local press. And how
many times do regular riders want to go along the same route? I was
still in two minds when three CTC regulars and a teenager were amongst
the 10 grouped outside the library. Only 9 coming on the ride though. I
decided to add an extra loop in and agreed the additional mileage with
everyone before we started.
So, instead of stopping off at Beddington Park cafe or Honeywood after
rattling along the stony traffic-free path by the sewage farm, we
continued in drizzling rain to the cafe at the garden centre on the
site of the former Croydon lido. Once the skies had cleared, we looped
back to Beddington Park, past Croydon Airport and picked up the Wandle
Trail to Merton Abbey Mills.
A child was riding a small petrol-driven quad bike in Ravensbury Park.
Because of this, the park is now gated for cyclists at either end, even
though this particular machine would easily fit underneath. I asked the
watching parent if he was aware that it was illegal to use them in the
park and that's why it now has barriers. Clearly he did know and I got
some abuse for my efforts. Quite why the police can't solve simple
matters like this is beyond me. There have now been two high level
meetings about removing the barriers but both times the police said it
was too hard for them to respond to calls about illegal vehicle use in
the park.
Normally we stop at the cafe in Merton Abbey Mills but this time we
took riverside seats and had a pub meal at the William Morris. It's a
touch pricey but the setting is nicer. It's not far back to Pollards
Hill so we lingered over lunch and then used the Myrna Close path back
to Figges Marsh and, for additional value, I took us over Mitcham
Common past 7 Islands Pond instead of riding down Tamworth Lane before
heading back to the library. 18 miles, out for 7 hours. One person on a PHC loan bike.
See some photos from today on Flickr
Saturday 1st July FOREST WAY A return to the Forest Way, the old railway line between East Grinstead and Groombridge that is now converted to a walking and cycling route. 5 riders, including 2 visiting the UK for a couple of days from Hong Kong who borrowed the PHC bikes, caught the train from East Croydon. The sun was blazing but fortunately the route is mostly shaded by the trees. Our two visitors turned out to have very little cycling experience but the beauty of the Forest Way is that you can cycle for miles without seeing cars or road junctions.
Lunch was taken at the Crown in Groombridge and the return journey simply retraced our steps. There's an option at East Grinstead to continue on the railway line to Three Bridges. This is known as the Worth Way and is currently under threat of being dug up to accommodate a road in a cut and cover tunnel. Returning into Croydon by train, the police were out in force fearing a repeat of the recent football riots as England were playing in the World Cup. Out for 7 hrs, 26
miles.
See some photos from today on Flickr
April 2007 ride reports
March 2007 ride reports
February 2007 ride reports
January 2007 ride reports
December 2006 ride reports
November 2006 ride reports
October 2006 ride reports
September 2006 ride reports
August 2006 ride reports
July 2006 ride reports
June 2006 ride reports
May 2006 ride reports
April 2006 ride reports
March 2006 ride reports
February 2006 ride reports
January 2006 ride reports
December 2005 ride reports
November 2005 ride reports
October 2005 ride reports
September 2005 ride reports
August 2005 ride reports