Wednesday 19 November 2014 Ride

Wednesday 19 November dawned sunny and not too cold, resulting in a massive turnout of riders. Yours truly met everyone at coffee at Watts Gallery and reckoned there must have been around 40 of us – I may be wildly out but it seemed a lot. No fewer than four groups headed off in various directions to enjoy the fabulous autumn colours which seem to just get better and better this year. The question is, will we be seeing leaves on the trees at Christmas this year? If we do, then we’ll know for sure that the world really is screwed up – actually, did we ever doubt it!

As usual I was torn between riding with the fast boys and girls in group 4 or whether to have an easier day with the group 3s; I opted for the 3s led today by Chris Williamson. The route was a straightforward one along well known roads, but no less enjoyable for that, and I always enjoy riding through Loxwood (the parentals lived there for 35 years!). Lunch was taken at the Three Compasses at Alfold, which comes highly recommended; the food and drink were good and not too expensive; the welcome was warm and sincere and we even learned how to mix a Jaegerbomb – how useful will that be!

Have a look at the photos of groups below to see if you can find yourself – remember you can always click on a photo to see it enlarged; plus there are the usual ‘on the road’ shots, including one of Chris and his new Cannondale. I should have asked the person asleep in the corner to buy me a pint if I didn’t publish the picture – missed chance there!

An excellent day; long may the good weather continue!Exif_JPEG_PICTURE

Below is the route I recorded but it doesn’t show the full route from Mayford. My total mileage for the day was 37.6. The route may be found here: http://www.strava.com/activities/221235273

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Wednesday Ride ~ 23 July 2014

Our annual trip up the Basingstoke Canal / Wey Navigation to the Thames, then along the river to Richmond took place on one of the hottest days of the year. Very little tarmac was encountered, otherwise it would possibly have been necessary to comment on things like melting tarmac; instead suffice to say that the dust rose as we sped past, first the six members of ‘Group 4’, followed closely by a larger number of Group 3 riders who did more or less exactly the same route. This included a circuit of Richmond Park where the only hill of the day was encountered – two in fact if you look at the profile of the route on Garmin (http://connect.garmin.com/course/7359524). Thanks to John C for this. Rico’s Group 1 members took a different route but we all ended up in the same pub – The Anglers in Twickenham – for an expensive beer and sandwich.

Thanks to John M and Laurie for leading the groups; it’s fair to say, I think, that a great time was had by all.

Route
Ride distance 40 miles

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Wednesday Intermediates Isle of Wight Ride ~ 28 May 2014

The weather didn’t disappoint – it was out to get us from the start! But we still had a great day and it actually stopped raining during the afternoon. Good company, good riding and good food probably sums up the day as well as any other words one could write.

Members present: Chris Williamson, Louise Gagnon, Mark Waters, Steve Bethell (guest), John Child, Alex Nash, Jo Stokes, Hilary Stephenson, Laurie Mutch, Noel Boyd, Brian King & Ian ….

We took the Fishbourne car ferry from Portsmouth at 10am, so it was a relatively late start. The car park opposite the terminal cost £8 for the day. Do book the ferry online in advance to save an ‘admin charge’ which doubles the cost of a ticket – £10.20 return for senior railcard holders.

John was our noble leader and an excellent job he did too! We headed pretty much south to reach the south coast (one or two quite busy roads here) at which point we turned west to follow the coast. Lunch was taken at the pub in Brightstone, after which we had the climbs up on to Tennyson Down to contend with. We then enjoyed a break at Freshwater Bay whilst about three of us dealt with punctures acquired on the Down. The cycle path to Yarmouth followed, after which we headed back into the deep countryside bound for Cowes. Some of the gang continued straight back to Fishbourne, it being relatively late by now; those planning on staying for a bite this side of the water lingered for a spot of tea before taking the chain ferry and riding the last few miles back to Fishbourne where we enjoyed a meal at the pub by the ferry terminal.

Here’s the route we took: http://connect.garmin.com/course/6491608

Map of route

 

Good to see the ladies taking an interest in puncture repairs whilst the men just watch!

Good to see the ladies taking an interest in puncture repairs whilst the men just watch!

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Newtown Old Town Hall (National Trust). Where's the town?

Newtown Old Town Hall (National Trust). Where’s the town?

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Tennyson Down coming up!

Tennyson Down coming up!

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Wednesday Intermediates A Ride to Burnham Beeches

This was the ride done by the Intermediates ‘A’ group, for want of a better description; group participants were: Louise Gagnon, Alex  Nash, Neil Eason, John Child, Keith Ricketts (ride leader), Phil Gasson – one of our newest riders – welcome Phil! – Laurie Mutch and your scribe Mark Waters.

R0014061~tighterAn improving weather picture, forecast earlier in the week, for once met expectations: so we, who were lucky enough to be free to come out and ride today, were gifted a most glorious day – and make the most of it we did!

Chobham was the starting point and we were heading north to Buckinghamshire and Burnham Beeches, via Windsor, Eton, Datchet and Dorney, where we had elevenses at Bressingham Garden Centre.  You can find details of the ride here: http://www.strava.com/activities/141045372

Route Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch was taken at the White Horse in Hedgerley, just north of Farnham Common. Reasonably priced and nicely presented, with the added bonus of beer straight from the barrel. I enjoyed a pint of IPA from a local Marlow brewery. We even enjoyed the extra bonus of an ice cream on the return trip through Windsor.

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The ride was a pleasant 87kms long, with not much wind. Most of the ride was spent warning our fellow riders of imminent deadly potholes in their path and, as is usual in this direction, the roads weren’t quiet.

I shot quite a few photos, including a number of shots of people. I also played around with editing tools to give some of the shots an arty look – principally because the shots weren’t particularly exciting – possibly as a consequence of the scenery not being overly exciting, but a photographer shouldn’t blame his tools!

Some shots taken along the way….

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And now for some group shots!

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And finally a couple of ‘arty’ shots

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Wednesday Ride ~ 9 April 2014

What a gorgeous day! But what a ‘suffer-fest’ too! I grovelled home after doing my biggest distance of the year so far – 146kms. So why didn’t I go round the block to make it up to 150? Hmm, I was well knackered and probably only made it in home in compus mentis mode thanks to Don’s Rich Tea biscuits – thanks, Don! Other than the suffering, it was a truly brilliant day and well done to Nick + son who rode even further than me – back to Haslemere.

RouteThe ride started in Chobham, but the image shows my total trip. For a gpx of the route, go to http://www.strava.com/activities/128522010

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