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2nd BIRTHDAY RIDE It's always nice when people turn up to your Birthday party! We had 20
riders at the library and another meeting us en-route for our 2nd
Birthday ride. The route had been decided by a vote using our Yahoo
pages and the winner was the ride out to the Mint pub and Fanny's
Farm. The weather had been wet overnight so it was necessary to cut
out most of the off-road bits. Fortunately, the rain had blown over
leaving us with a beautiful day for cycling.
A puncture in Carshalton Park held us up as the cause wasn't found and
the replacement tube punctured straight away. Some whiled the time
away racing up and down the giant crater in the park. I'd already
called the Mint pub and asked if they could accommodate us but they
don't do table bookings and had suggested we ought to arrive at
midday. The delay from the puncture meant that I had to change the
morning stop from Woodcote Nursery to Oaks Park as it would be quicker
and easier to get the group out from there. It's still not the fastest
cafe in the world so by the time we'd all got our orders, it was
getting a bit too close to midday to risk any more meandering around.
A short push uphill takes you to Woodmansterne and the Mint is
basically at the end of the lane. Quicker riders went ahead to secure
seating but it turns out the pub had a change of heart and had
reserved seats for us anyway. The food there is excellent and the
fresh juice behind the bar is well worth trying. Within about 10
minutes of ordering, we all had our meals. I can't recommend this
place highly enough.
I still can't work out what I was thinking when I put this ride out to
the vote and suggested we go to Fanny's Farm as it's only a few miles
from lunch. In hindsight, it made no sense. But I'd said it so that's
where we headed for our birthday cake. There's a great descent after
the pub (one rider recorded over 40mph, you can easily do over 30mph
without pedalling) but you pay for the thrill with a steep climb
straight back up.
Fanny's ramshackle farm is a delight. We bought 3 cakes with club
funds and cut them into unintentionally huge chunks and spread
ourselves out over the garden. The teahouse was booked by another
party but there's a fantastic new gazebo in the garden with
translucent coloured roof tiles. The climb back out of the farm helped
to offload a few of the calories before the next long descent down
White Hill. I'd hoped that we could use a shortcut shown on the map
but unfortunately, it no longer exists. That meant a steady incline on
the A217 dual carriageway for about a quarter of a mile.
We don't usually ride on busy roads so the first opportunity to leave
the dual carriageway was the road into Kingswood Warren where we
discovered a BBC building. Turns out that the R&D department was based
in an old country house there for many years. The operation is scaled
back these days.
We cut through Burgh Heath and Nork Park to get to Banstead station
where a nice downhill sweep on Higher Drive takes you to the poorly
surfaced Cuddington Way and into Cheam where we picked up the London
Cycle Network roads to Sutton. I'd not advertised this part of the
ride as details had been sketchy but it was the annual Sutton town
centre cycle race day. We missed the top UK women's riders race but
caught the final race of the day which seemed to feature riders of all
abilities. The leader lapped the slower riders! There was also a
cycling related festival in Manor Park with bike try-outs, BMX stunts
from Team Extreme, live music, vintage bikes, a Dr Bike and several
other related stalls. The event deserved to be packed but poor advance
publicity meant only very local people knew about it.
By the time we left Sutton it was 5pm so we split into groups with
several heading off to Wimbledon via Rose Hill. The Pollards Hill
bound group rode through Carshalton and back towards Mitcham Common. Out for 8hrs, 31 miles.
Sunday 22nd July RICHMOND GELATO RIDE I'm not sure how interesting this urban route sounds on paper but it's
actually a fantastic, pretty ride that should be a staple of
everyone's South London rides repertoire, especially If you cheat and
started at Colliers Wood near the river. You'll get part of the Wandle
Trail, Wimbledon Park, bits of Putney Heath, Richmond Park, the busy
riverside at Richmond, the Thames Path, Ham House - the list goes on.
And all without going very far from home.
As we had our first ever adult trike out on a ride, I though it would
be prudent to skip the normal barriered entry into Myrna Close nature
reserve and try to get in further down. First mistake! The second
entry has an even worse wooden barrier which meant a ham-fisted
attempt to get back on track at Colliers Wood. Once sorted, we rode
the Wandle Trail up to Earlsfield and then straight across to
Wimbledon Park for a morning tea stop.
The big hill out of Wimbledon Park is thankfully very short and pops
you out right by the A3 which you duck below using the underpass at
Tibbets Corner. Hidden from view behind the trees is a passable
'Country Pub In London' and the serenity of Putney Common. Then it's
only a matter of minutes before you get to Roehampton Gate and the
majesty of Richmond Park. The Tamsin Trail cycle path was hard work
due to the recent rain even though the sun had been out all day. By
the time we reached Adams Pond it seemed better to resort to the
tarmac cycle path along Sawyers Hill to the top of Richmond Hill where
we saw several young deer at close quarters.
The Richmond Riverside was crowded as we inched towards the White
Cross pub, just in time before it got busy. After a good rest, food
and drink we rode up to historic Richmond Green (former home to "minor
nobility, diplomats, and court hangers-on" apparently) to sample the
superior ice creams at the Gelateria Danieli. Thumbs up all round! A
couple of us tried out the adult trike on the safety of the Green but
it's actually surprisingly difficult to ride because you physically
need to steer it and that doesn't come naturally.
The Thames Path to Kingston was also busy but there are great views of
Ham House off to the left. We rode via Ham Common to cut a corner off
the river and then hit Kingston town centre. On the one hand,
Kingston's planners have really considered cyclists with the myriad
cycle paths and contraflows but we seem to get lost every time we go
there. Eventually we found the Tumbling Telephones sculpture which
heralds the route out of town.
Several miles of quiet roads and a short stretch over tree-lined
Malden golf course bring you to Raynes Park where we opted to go over
Bushey Mead towards pretty Merton Park on the way to Merton Abbey
Mills. A young band were playing on the bandstand, part of the long
summer festival of music and comedy. Riders started to peel off soon
afterwards but quite a few of us finally got to ride along the Myrna
Close path and back up to the library. 28 miles, out for 7.5hrs.
Saturday 21st July THE FOREST WAY 7 people turned out for this year's ride along the Forest Way, 10
miles of former railway line that cuts through Ashtead Forest - Winnie
the Pooh Country. The trail is picked up after a mile or so ride
through the town centre of East Grinstead with it's pretty
half-timbered properties and the fabulous 400yr old Sackville College.
Once on the route, aside from crossing the odd road where no bridge
exists, it's a remarkable traffic-free excursion through great
countryside.
The recent weather had left it's mark. A huge tree had virtually
blocked the route and many of the fields were flooded. Eventually, the
weather turned its attention to the ride and drenched everyone. The
surface drained most of the water away but no one felt up for a picnic
afterwards so the ride continued to the pub where it brightened up.
It's a linear route so it was the same 10 miles back although slightly
uphill. It can be quite tiring doing this sort of riding as your legs
never get a break and the rough surface can take its toll on your arms
but that is weighed against the fact that there's no traffic. And if
anyone is feeling fit, there's another couple of miles of the same old
railway called the Worth Way the other side of East Grinstead.
Sunday 8th July TOUR DE FRANCE - STAGE ONE Stage One of the Tour travelled through Kent to Canterbury. South
Eastern trains decided to ban bikes from their trains which made it
very difficult to get into Kent without riding 60+ miles to a vantage
spot. However, Southern trains had no such ban and they run trains to
Hever which is only 9 miles from Southborough, site of the first King
Of The Mountains stage. I thought that using Bidborough Ridge as a way
in would be a wise move that not many people would pick up on. I also
figured that not many would realise about using Southern trains so I
was a bit alarmed when 12 PHC riders joined about another 6 cyclists
on the platform at East Croydon, all trying to get on the same 2
carriage train! Fortunately, the guard was very amiable and squeezed
us all on.
We alighted at Hever where another 2 PHC riders were waiting. From
here, it was an undulating ride through pretty Kentish lanes to
Penshurst for a quick tea stop. I started to get worried about my
premise that not many people would latch on to this route to the race
course as hundreds of club cyclists flew past us. The Quaintways
tearoom were pushed to breaking point as cyclists filled every
available seat.
A big hill out of Penshurst caused a chain to break. Scores of
cyclists rode past as we fixed the chain. However, it gave chance for
a PHC latecomer to catch up with us.
It was only a few more miles to the course but we found time to admire
the view from Bidborough Ridge before we rode up the the road closures
and through to the course. Hundreds were already there with more
piling in every minute from clubs all over the UK. We locked the bikes
up and a couple of us found a good spot in the trees right by the
finish line for the King Of The Mountains stage. The caravane came and
went, much quicker than yesterday's Prologue. After that it was the
wait for the race.
A PHC rider positioned in Rochester rang through with the news that
British rider David Millar was in the lead several minutes ahead of
the main peleton. A few more text updates and an increase in official
vehicles meant they were getting close. Then, in a hail of motorcycle
outriders, came the breakaway group , riding so fast at the top of the
climb that you could barely see them. The peleton came through about 5
minutes later, 186 multi-coloured riders racing through in a matter of
seconds. And then it was over.
A small group decided to take advantage of the weather and cycle the
30 miles home. The rest of us opted for a fast descent off Bidborough
Ridge to Sustrans route 12, a traffic free tarmac track back to
Penshurst Place, a stately home near the village green where we
planned another stop.
A big hill beckoned so some effective map reading took us along a
bridleway that avoided the worst of the climb. The lanes were lovely.
Chiddingstone village was so pretty we stopped for photos. But a last
minute puncture for one of our quicker riders threatened to force us
to miss a train so we left a couple fixing it whilst the rest of us
arrived at the station to find we had just missed the hourly train by
minutes.
3 of us decided to kill the time with a loop of the station but the
cheeky idea of using a footpath soon turned into a fully fledged
disaster as we rode into a field of long grass with no idea where the
path went. With time ticking and farm dogs yapping at our ankles we
decided to backtrack. A pannier fell off into a puddle to cap things
off. We just about made it back in time for the next train! About 21 miles in total.
Saturday 7th July TOUR DE FRANCE PROLOGUE
TfL had arranged for London Cycling Campaign to have a VIP reserved
viewing area near Hyde Park for the Tour de France prologue. Only
those arriving on official LCC rides could gain access. We ran one of
4 rides originating in Merton. 20 met up at the library with several
more PHC riders making their own way to the mass meeting point in King
Georges park, Wandsworth.
Riding in a large group was a new venture for most of the other rides
and LCC had arranged for training sessions with CTUK (Cycle Training
UK) to advise the leaders and marshalls, especially on how to clear
junctions. We do this week in, week out and I preferred for our group
to travel separately so that it didn't compromise the standard of our
ride. We took some additional riders from other groups and moved off
towards Hyde Park with about 80 cyclists.
Having led and marshalled our own rides to the highest standards over
the past two years stood us in good stead and we very efficiently
moved the large group into Hyde Park by holding junctions and bunching
the riders up so that we travelled as one 'vehicle'.
The secure bike parking in the park was a bit of a joke with those Heath
Robinson scaffold contraptions that you are supposed to suspend your
bike on by its saddle. No entry system was operated, effectively
leaving the compound open to opportunist thieves. It was also the
opposite end from the viewing area which meant a big walk in cycling
shoes carrying panniers for many people. Maybe the idea was to channel
you through the cramped 'Peoples Village' of cycling-related stalls.
A group of us headed for the reserved area only to be told that it was
closed because the caravane was about to start and that it wouldn't
reopen until after the race. We settled down under a tree to watch the
faintly ridiculous procession of sponsors vehicles and floats with
promotional girls on board throwing out free hats and the like.
However, it turned out that the security had given us wrong
information and a phone call revealed that crossing a temporary bridge
would gain us access, so long as we did it in the next 15 minutes.
Queues to cross were huge but we assimilated ourselves into the line
near the front and just made it in time only to be told that the gate
would remain open for the duration. Typical misinformation that you
get at large one-off events.
The reserved area was the traffic roundabout on Park Lane and provided
a reasonable vantage point. Toilets were just outside and a video
screen has been provided so that the TV coverage could help to give
the day's events some perspective.
The first rider seemed to be going really slowly until you noticed the
speed of the following team car - they were whizzing past at 30mph! It
takes 3hrs for all the riders to come through with the better riders
racing last. The idea is that each rider races individually against
the clock to decide who wears the Yellow Jersey on the first full day
ride. Big cheers went up for London's Bradley Wiggins but most of us
had no idea how to spot who was who.
We regrouped after the race and took a fairly large group back to
Earlsfield where we split. It was a great idea to give London's
cyclists a bit of VIP treatment at the world's greatest sporting event
and so any shortcomings in the organisation were soon forgotten. A
very long day saw us out for nearly 12 hours.
Sunday 1st July GODSTONE VINEYARD We don't have a club statistician (does anyone?) but if we did, it
would be interesting to find out the last time we had an all-male
ride. 6 at the library and another who joined later in the morning.
Normally we have a very good split and occasionally we have more women
than men. Perhaps it was the weather or the thought of hills that put
some off? Who knows.
The second meeting point at the Purley Way garden centre cafe
obviously held no appeal as no one met us there but it's a welcome
stop for morning refreshments.
On the way to the hills, I skipped a potentially muddy Haling Grove
bridleway in favour of a longer stretch of the A235. We were all
strong riders and had been going at a slightly quicker pace than usual
and busier roads presented no problems. We then had two choices to get
up to Riddlesdown Common; the mile long steady incline of Riddlesdown
Rd or the comparatively flat Brancaster Lane with it's mountainous
climb at the end. We chose the latter and stopped to catch our breath
at the Riddlesdown car park.
The descent off Riddlesdown is loose stones and quite hairy for
thinner tyres. But as always, everyone made it down safely in their
own time. We skipped the back roads and the climb over the footbridge
in favour of a stretch of the A22 but we did go for the rural incline
of Church Rd at Whyteleafe before deciding to skip the potentially
muddy Manor Park and dropping back down to the A22 to ride along its
6ft wide cycle lane.
The tarmac bridleway through Marden Park towards Woldingham School
makes the most of a gap in the North Downs. It's a steady climb but
with an easy gradient. There were hardly any 4x4s today so perhaps the
schoolkids had gone on an outing. Usually parents are dropping the
kids off on Sundays for another week of boarding school.
The bridleway meets the North Downs Way long distance path and a quick
(but tricky) descent brings you out at the vineyard. Last time we
visited, we caused mayhem by arriving en-masse (8 of us!!) and
wrong-footing the lady behind the counter by ordering a meal each. A
more organised lady served the 7 of us with no problem and several
bottles of local 8% cider were placed on the table along with a
Godstone pear juice for the tee-totallers. We had a great meal but the
all-male banter could have done with a female present to temper some
of the conversations!
A couple on mountain bikes did a slight detour on the return but we
were all back together for the ride onto Farthing Down were a puncture
forced an unscheduled stop. A 38mph descent(!) with the wind behind us
was a real blast. But then we opted to climb up the A237 towards
Wallington, turning off onto the Oaks Track and along the downhill
backroads to Carshalton where we enjoyed a very civilised tea at
Honeywood, overlooking the village ponds.
A quick wander up the Wandle Trail and the ride split at Mill Green on
the outskirts of Mitcham. The weather held all day with the only rain
of the day falling as we ate lunch under the covered patio. 32 miles, out for 7hrs.
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