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Message from Fleet Cycling:

This coming Sunday, 7th June, we have a special ride planned.
We are cycling from Odiham to Runnymede as part of the Odiham celebrations of the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta. This will be a club ride but is open to all CTC members as well as 10 guest riders.

The ride starts at 9:00am outside the George Hotel in Odiham High Street and stops at 9:30am in Fleet at the Hart Leisure Centre to pick up Fleet riders. Then onto coffee at Deepcut and lunch at Runnymede. The ride finishes in Fleet at Hart Leisure Centre – total of 70 miles

There are more details on our website – where you will find details of the route out and back as well as contact details for the ride leader, Ken Crookes. It is possible to download ‘gpx’ files of the routes if you want to load them to your GPS.

Also on the website is a Guest Rider Form which should be handed to Ken on the day.

BUT MORE! From Sean Hayden, Secretary of Reading CTC: –

“You may be interested to know we have our own ride to Runnymede the following Sunday 14th June led by John Lomas to meet the celebratory carnival and water procession. It’s a 40 miles at a leisurely pace departing 10:am from Dinton Pastures (between Reading and Wokingham)  and returning there for those parking cars. I have copied our ride leader so he is aware that we are not the only cycle club with a local interest in the subject.”

More at http://www.readingctc.co.uk/rides/

Best wishes

Colin Waters,
Secretary
01252 677909
07703 305745

One of the reasons  I go on the Sunday ride (and there are others such as just enjoying being on the bike and the companionship) is to get over the stresses of the week.  So having to decide whether I was going to go on the Danebury 150 given the weather foreast, which bike to ride and what to wear doesn’t reduce the stress.  And having faffed for too long and driven in the car along the roads I would have ridden – rather than going the car-friendly route – and struggling to find a parking spot I was late. Everyone had set off.    Huge thanks to Nick for registering me at top speed and ringing Peter to say I was chasing behind.  I should catch up at Whitchurch.  No idea why the usual 10min-grace-period-for-a-puncture-on-route delay to the start was not observed.  But anyway I set off in haste and hoped the weather would improve.

Luckily for me, Peter Clive, Ann, Chris and Alan dawdled and stopped for a dropped chain and I caught up with them before Farnham – which significantly improved my mood as I was not sure that I would make Whitchurch on my own if it got any wetter .  But having pushed hard I was now getting cold.  An unfortunate puncture for Alan meant I had time to put on a an extra layer which did the trick.  And as the rain increased I deployed my rainlegs whilst wondering when I became a fully paid up masochist.  Rainlegs are great – they keep an important part of you dry and warm – the downside is the stick that you get from some of your companions – which happened at Whitchurch.  Great cake though – which tasted even better as the rain start to pour down outside.  Our coffee break might have been extended a little bit.

Finally braving the great outdoors once again we set off for Danebury and the weather steadily improved.  The ride was uneventful and taken at a steady pace, held back a bit by the wind.  Danebury was marked by the taking of a photo and a selfie. The less said about both the better.  Lunch in Stockbridge and the food got my internal combustion engine going and warmed me right through.  On to  New Alresford through beautiful countryside and past innumerable thatched cottages that look amazing from the outside but I imagine them to be dark inside and the regular re-thatching a financial millstone.  But what lovely villages and hamlets to live if you want to get away from the city.  The sun came out and it was a lovely ride.  On to new  Alresford and we arrived at the station just as the station master was walking away with his stamp.  Not to worry, tea and cake were waiting.

The final push back to Elstead felt like the end of a long ride and the temperature was beginning to drop.  The new pennant was a welcome sight as we rolled back in the Elstead.  Even more welcome was the tea and food –  huge thanks to Nick and Marion for such a wonderful spread full of treats that really hit the spot. Great end to a great ride.