I have uploaded my photos of this recent cycle tour to flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_jeggo/albums/72157658803960279
Barbara and George of Woking Cycle User Group were able to join me for the first week; I was on my own for the second. You will see some photos of the effects of serious flooding which occured during my trip, but fortunately most of the heavy rain fell overnight, and I only had one wet day, plus a few damp ones.
Louise Gagnon writes…..
What a joy it was to ride the usual Wednesday Midweek Wayfarers G3 ride in such glorious sunshine (cool shades were a must) and replace the traditional pub lunch by a delicious BBQ hosted by Neil and Elaine Eason as well as Laurie Mutch. Chris Williamson did a super job in leading 15 of us though the spectacular Farnham area countryside before returning to Neil’s place just in time as this latter was turning over the last Pirbright’s own butcher sausage on his massive gas BBQ.
The banter and humour were at an all-time high throughout the ride, probably fuelled by the constant mileage countdown by a few of our hungry riders of how far we were from sinking our teeth into juicy beef burgers: 7 miles to go, 4 miles to go, etc.
A fantastic and very inviting spread of food so kindly prepared by our 3 hosts awaited and we had a wonderful afternoon of [more] banter and camaraderie in the sunny back garden.
Laurie had done great work in trying to rally as many G3s: of course quite a few were away on the day but we were fortunate to see a few familiar faces, such as Jane Gillbe, William Boothby and Lee Hereward.
And so a very warm thank you Neil, Elaine and Laurie for organising this very successful event, proof positive that riding with our Club is so much more than just merely “piling on the miles”!
As usual, here are a few pics of the day:
What we had all been dreaming of for 47 miles.
Brian King (on the right) trying to look away from the tempting BBQ food being prepared as John Child and Keith Ricketts look on.
Derek Ridyard, Gill Ridyard and Maggie Daffarn enjoying the feast while trying their best to stay out of the sun.
Laurie Mutch (standing centre) doing great work catering for the hungry crowds. L to R: Alec Mackenzie, Chris Williamson, Lee Hereward, Laurie Mutch and Keith Stainer. Notice Phil Gasson in the background, probably going back for seconds which is entirely legit.
“Maggie, are you happy to be away from all this contractor dust?” “Oh yes I am!”
Our 3 wonderful hosts who made this such a memorable event: Laurie Mutch, Elaine and Neil Eason. Thank you all!
An excellent route, a visit to a place of interest, wall-to-wall sunshine and an excellent tea place.
Many thanks, Hilary
We have received the following request from Susan Keywood, the CTC Cycling Development Officer for Surrey and Hampshire, who is looking for people to help set up a club in the Ash area, would any of our members who live in that direction like to help?:
About me
My role is to set up community cycle clubs in the Blackwater Valley, as part of a funded project and Ash is one of my target areas. I have started to offer taster rides in Ash, to engage with residents and weigh up the interest. Well the interest is definitely present, so the next step is find people to lead the club, lead the rides, etc. As mentioned I have funds to help with start-up costs, for equipment, training people, etc.However, a cycle club needs people to run it, so I am keen to reach out to experienced cyclists who might live locally, who might like to help build a club, coach others to do so, take locals on leisurely and fun rides, etc.
Wanted – Experienced cyclists for NEW leisure cycle club in Ash.
Set up by CTC, the club offers fun, leisurely, social cycling that is good for health and wellbeing.
Rides should be local, off road, on quiet roads – short routes at a slow pace.
This club wants to get people back on bikes and offer family rides too!
In return – I can offer training in leading rides, bike maintenance and much more.
Interested – please contact Susan on:
T: 01483 238 306
M: 077 17 696 672
Susan Keywood
Cycling Development Officer, Hampshire and Surrey
CTC, the national cycling charity
Louise Gagnon writes…
Sipping tea on a glorious September Sunday morning at the Seale coffee shop I met a gentleman who is likely to become the newest member of our Club. Very early in the conversation, Johnny mentioned that after a challenging period in his life he had ballooned to 19 stones (266 pounds). He vividly remembers that fateful morning of May 2014: “I felt awful going up a Surrey hill on my bike. My legs were hurting so badly that I climbed off my bike and had to stop”.
“I was disappointed with myself and knew I had to do something about losing the weight as otherwise I would have to stop cycling. So a few weeks later I exchanged my hybrid for a road bike with drops and got on a strict diet that still enabled me to gradually increase my mileage”. Superbly determined, Johnny kept that daily routine and magically saw the weight come off at a steady rate of one pound a week. The whole time he rode on his own and would have certainly appreciated company but admitted “I wasn’t going to go out with a group until I was satisfied that I could ride at a decent pace”.
After 15 months of training, Johnny woke up one morning in August 2015 and said to himself “this is the day I am going to do it. It just felt right you know”. And so he set off from his house in Woking for the longest ride he had ever done: 100 km (62 miles)… non-stop! No coffee break, just snacks and drinks on the way. Cruising steadily along in the Chobham area he looked down at his GPS and suddenly noted with excitement that he had clocked 105 km (65 miles) at an average speed of 23 KPH (14 MPH). “I just threw my arms up in the air and even rode no handed for about 50 meters: I had done it!!”
Even more amazing than the distance covered (his longest ever), Johnny had also lost a full 6 stones (84 pounds) since April 2014. “I am very proud of this”, he says; “it shows what an older man can do if he pushes his mind to it. I’ve lost the weight and now I can go up most hills and they don’t scare me!”.
After this achievement Johnny felt ready and proud enough to join a group: “Group riding appeals to me. It’s also a chance to meet some nice people. You know it is hard to train on your own, really hard”.
And so he sat as his computer one day and started Googling for cycling groups in his area; the West Surrey CTC link appeared and Johnny clicked on it: this was the start of the watershed. “I’ve cycled 3 times so far with Rico [Signore] and I’ve found this other group on the website: the Woking Midweek Wayfarers which has 3 levels, the 2s, 3s and 4s and rides on Wednesdays. I am very keen to join them in October”. To which I asked “why not meet with them this Wednesday 9th September. They have rides every week you know.”
And so, stand by to meet Johnny in the very near future at a Club ride start near you!
