Brockenhurst Blast – 18 October 2013

By on 6 November, 2013   /   Blog posts  

Louise Gagnon writes…

All-day remote start rides always give one that little sense of childhood adventure. And what better way to revert to childhood memories than to start it all with a hot brew made on a Camping Gaz stove. Neil had kindly set up all this logistics and what a surprise to find out that his wife Elaine had baked a delicious apple cake specially for us. Yummy!  Barry then expertly led us on a 40 miler through the New Forest maze of trails, complete with a welcoming lunch break at the Red Shoot pub in Ringwood.  Hearing the thup-thup of a double  puncture was not enough to deflate Peter’s morale, but it was all hands on deck to fix this as the weather was closing in at end of day. A great day out on the MTB and so a big thank you Barry for organising this!

Louise Gagnon, Neil Eason, Barry Rolfe, Peter Chimes and John Child having a fun day on the MTB
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Sunday Ride ~ 20 October 2013

By on 6 November, 2013   /   Blog posts  
Peter Hackman writes….
Despite the forecast five of us had a dry ride, until……(see later!). 
Geoff Smith jnr, Steve, Anne, Clive and I met at Godalming. Stopping for coffee at Petworth, we then made our way to the “The Forge” at Slindon for lunch. This is a new destination, which was only opened in Oct 2012. It is run by the community and seems to be very successful. (http://www.slindonforge.co.uk)
They are very friendly and the food is good.
We then headed towards Midhurst but it was as we crossed the A285 that the storm caught us. We learnt later that Hayling Island had been hit by a tornado earlier in the day.
Paul Holmes, who had met us at Slindon stopped to put on his cape. We didn’t see him again, as he then decided on a different route home. I did worry that the strong wind had caught under his cape and lifted him into a tree!
The rain soon passed and we then had a good, if somewhat damp, ride home.
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Sunday Riders’ 6th October Ride

By on 6 October, 2013   /   Blog posts  

It was a cold start from Guildford Station as we headed south, aiming for Wisborough Green’s cafe, but it slowly warmed up and turned into a fabulous early autumn day – possibly the last warm one we’ll have this year – it’s scheduled to turn colder on Thursday.

A small group of us enjoyed a little more than 100kms (66 miles) following the route shown below for the most part.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/386653652

Here are a few photos from the day:

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Peter Fennermore’s Group in the Surrey Alps (Hindhead) – 29 September 2013

By on 1 October, 2013   /   Blog posts  

No fewer than 17 riders showed up for this lovely ride. After a short Ride Leader briefing where we reviewed 3 or 4 key elements of our Club’s new Group Riding Guidelines, we suitably split into three groups and off we went for a 37 mile scenic outing. The riders had more than they had bargained for as the journey included a bike wash through a 7 inch deep ford just before the Frensham Pond coffee stop. It was a bit of a challenge to manage such a large group but thanks to some precious tips on the “signposting” technique from Helen Juden and Chris Jeggo, we graduated to a more fluid ride – that was more towards the end, mind you, but we got there!

The sun kept us company all day and much laughter could be heard during our “family” lunch at the Devil’s Punchbowl Hotel. Three new and very fit riders had joined us, Gillian from Guildford, and Clare & Allan Gibson from Godalming. We hope to see you again on our next rides. Meanwhile, Peter, a big “job well done” to you for having built up such a lovely group over the years!  (By Louise Gagnon).

Clare Gibson and Helen Juden; the growing presence of ladies on our rides is so refreshing.

Louise Gagnon, our Ride Leader for the day (replacing Peter Fennermore).

“Family” lunch at Hindhead: one of the many joys of cycle touring

Alan Gibson, fighting it out with the salt shaker as Clare looks on.

Thirteen of the seventeen riders having a hot brew at Frensham Pond.
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