B Group - 28th January

The weather forecast was terrible: strong and gusty winds from the north west and squally showers. We assembled at The Greeno Centre, Shepperton. The usual suspects turned up, so there was no getting out of it; the ride was on.

The weather was as bad as forecast and 12 riders set off battling against the wind for the most part. We set out for Windsor going via Laleham, Staines, Wraysbury, and Datchet.  Almost at our destination, Pam sustained a puncture (that is to say Pam’s bike did) beneath the walls of Windsor Castle. None of the Royal household came out to help but we all duly arrived at The Windlesora, a J D Weatherspoons pub in William St at about 1pm.

The meals at The Windlesora were well up to JDW’s usual standard. The Wayfarers had been there before a few times previously.

After lunch the weather improved a lot (it was quite sunny even). We set off through Eton, then went back to Datchet,   then to Horton, Poyle, Stanwell Moor, Stanwell, Ashford, Charlton and Halliford where a few of us stopped for tea at the Squires Garden Centre. We had the wind at our backs and we more or less flew along the whole way from Windsor.

Finally, I am very grateful to everyone who backed up the group or did some marshalling throughout the day. Having this kind of support is essential.   

Peter Carpenter
 

Photos of the riders who made it to Tea at Squires after Peter's ride out to Windsor:

A Group 28 January

Shepperton - Windlesham - Brooklands

  Captain Simon with a full team (+ reserve) after lunch, ready for a full afternoon's play

 

Seen at the Mercedes World Centre, Brooklands

 Every one a winner

A group 28 Jan: Shepperton - Windlesham - Brooklands

Well, I would just like to say it was a wonderful day's cycling.  Except that would only be half true.  

We had been promised heavy rain clearing to sunshine and cold winds.  The worst of the rain seemed to happen just before eleven and so fourteen hopeful riders set off in the dry, heading through Chertsey, up Holloway Hill and through Lyne.  Just before crossing the M3, Ralph punctured, and while Geoff and Ralph were attending to the puncture we had a sharp rain shower.  A repeat puncture within a minute of getting started again, and another rain shower, meant that we were getting quite cold, and late, so we took a serious short cut, missing the winding, wooded Wentworth avenues, and heading straight into the wind for several miles to reach our destination, the Surrey Cricketers at Windlesham, a few minutes early.

Generous portions of food arrived promptly although there was a scandalous lack of the advertised salad garnish with the sandwiches.  Apparently the pub had been conducting an experiment, since so many people left the salad garnish, and nobody had mentioned it until we arrived.  As we discussed the pros and cons of garnish, the sun came out and thoughts turned to cycling.

The afternoon was a lot better: well, compared to standing around in the freezing wind and rain on a bridge over the M3, it wasn't difficult.  With the sun shining and the wind at our backs, we breezed south through delightful lanes to West End and on to Chobham, where we had a bit of a blast up the slight inclines of Stonehills and Foxhills Roads.  Across the main road at Ottershaw and down (and up) to Woodham and New Haw, which was a rash of 4x4s, mummies and schoolchildren all over the place. Ignoring the canal towpath, we went the longer way round to the old test track and airfield at Brooklands, where we parked our bikes next to a clutch of Maybach limousines, outside the Mercedes World centre.  Valet parking was advertised but nobody trusted their bikes to the staff.  Inside, an aircraft-hangar sized temple to the motor car - well it could have been a bad choice for cyclists, but it was warm, there was tea and cake, and there were exhibits of vintage cars as well as a Formula 1 car to inspect and admire.

Top marks to Geoff and Dave for back marking, and a warm welcome to Peter Bowles on his first outing with the As.  Good company and bad luck with punctures.  A pathetic 27.6 miles from elevenses to tea, and an unimpressive 1030 feet of climbing (that's just 314 metres), left us all wishing for the good old days when we used to do hills....

Oh, the joy of owning an old banger!

In my last blog (21 Jan.), I mentioned that instead of sailing to Spain on Sunday morning, we were stranded in New Malden due to exhaust problems with our car. 

We now have to apologize to our faithful 15 years' old Honda Accord which has never been much trouble in the 13 years we have owned it and has not yet behaved as a "banger" really.

The problem is not mechanical at all but theft. The catalytic converter, a sensor and part of the exhaust system were dismantled from underneath the car and stolen whilst it was parked right in front of the house. Apparently, according to the local garage and New Malden police, it has become a fairly common occurrence and several such incidents have been reported on various types of vehicles. The pattern for the thieves is to "work" in an area before moving on elsewhere. We thought we ought to share this information with you - although there is not much that can be done to protect cars unless they are locked away in a garage...

For the good news, we are now booked to cross to France tomorrow night and we shall make our way to Spain leisurely.

See you in the spring and "Au revoir"!
F & F

First come first served

I am getting rid of three boxes of old cycling magazines (Cycling plus, Cycling Active and the CTC Cycle). I was going to take them for recycling but thought someone may want to have them for free. Could I ask you to circulate on the blog otherwise it's off to the tip.

Rgds 
Neil

Neil Guild

07768 99 1624

A Group Jan 28th

Read the weather forecast carefully, very carefully, and you will see the icy blast is only going to reach Scotland, and North America, by Wednesday.  We will have mild temperatures, perhaps a little rain, and probably some sunshine.   The As will be wimbling their way to Windlesham, stopping at the Cricketers for lunch, and heading back to Brookwoodlands for tea.   (That's the whole of January without any significant hills.  Something Should Be Done.)

"B" Group - Dorking to New Malden - 21st January 2015

On a dank January morning, I led the B Group to the Watchman in New Malden. My original plan was to go to the Anchor in Hammersmith, but having seen the weather forecast, I thought a shorter ride was in order. Approximately 15 started in Dorking but only 11 of us ended up in the pub.

Leaving Dorking, we climbed little Switzerland and headed towards Headley. We skirted Chessington and Worcester Park to arrive at the Watchman just after 1 o'clock. Although the pub is local to many of the cyclists, most had never been there before. Considering the numbers and lack of warning, we were served promptly whilst enjoying the warmth of the log fire.  It is a relief for the leader that Wetherspoon pubs do not ask for pre-orders (except for Xmas lunches), and usually can cope with any numbers.

The inclement temperatures were not conducive for a long ride and I hope the group still enjoyed a short winter ride. If I lead in June, we shall make up for it as I am thinking of the Little Hatch in Cranleigh via the woods....

Frank H.

PS. Today (Monday 26) by now, we should have been well on our way to Spain but the car's exhaust "conveniently" packed up outside our house just as we were about to depart to catch the ferry to Santander. Oh the joys of owning a 15-year old banger!

 

Important issues of concern

We have learnt very recently that the career of Chris Juden at CTC has ended with redundancy after 31 years first class service and that CTC has made the role of Technical Officer redundant. Chris was widely respected in government and official circles for his understanding of cycle design standards.

Whilst there have been many concerns about the changes in direction and governance of the CTC in recent years, with emphasis drifting away from Cycle Touring, losing a source of such experience has provided a focus for and triggered a new round of discussions from among the national membership. This was launched by an open letter from David Wood and Angela Byrne at West Surrey CTC.

Their letter is available here.

Note that it is not necessary to have a Google account or sign in to read these documents.

Further to a vigorous round of email correspondence amongst your committee members we wrote a letter of support to David and Angela which you can read here.

In a response to the original letter Paul Tuohy has advised, without being specific, that much of the content of the letter is “factually incorrect” and he continues to summarise the recent staffing and other changes along with the rationale for these changes. Read his letter here.

The date of the CTC Council meeting (17th January) has come and gone. Our chairman, Dave Vine had planned to be present but in the event he wasn’t able to be there. However it appears that the business of the meeting didn’t allow time for the discussion these topics of interest, as we understand.

For the most part the continuing conversation is taking place online. If you use Facebook the best forum for further reading is on the public Group called “Where should CTC be going?” It was created by Chris Jeggo of West Surrey CTC.

Apart from being a member of Facebook to read the content you will have to ‘join’ the group to contribute to the discussion. If you are not a Facebook user you can see two of the best articles from the forum here:
From Chris Jeggo of West Surrey CTC
From Mark Waters, former CTC Touring Officer

There are also many contributions to the discussion on this CTC forum, 279 posts at last count.

For a full account of Chris Juden's activities in the CTC see this.

~ Tim, on behalf of the committee
   (CTC South West London)

Tommy Godwin Record

A few days ago Tony put a useful link on the Blog about this record - here's another.  There are three riders bidding for it at the moment:  Steve 'Teethgrinder' Abraham, CTC and AUK member; Kurt 'Tarzan' Searvogel , and William 'Iron Ox' Pruett.  The latter two are American and are accomplished endurance riders, and all are going well.

This link is to an unofficial spreadsheet that shows the daily mileages of the riders, so it's easy to see how they're getting on.  LINK  

What is less easy to understand is how they're doing it ...  Steve's water bottles froze today, which hasn't yet happened to Kurt, who is riding in Florida.

Mark

A Group, 21 January 2015

Iron's Bottom

Soon to be under new management

After lunch the sound of chattering was dental not lingual

'A' Group Ride - 21 Jan 2015

'In the bleak mid winter' goes the carol, which would be a fair description of the grey, raw conditions we met today. At least the wintry showers forecast did not materialise, to the relief of one and all.
Fourteen of us set out, with the welcome inclusion of Ingrid, preventing us being a monopoly of mamils. We headed south through Newdigate and Rusper, before bearing left to Lambs Green. There was a fair bit of surface water here, being in the vicinity of the Upper Mole valley. We passed through Charlwood, before encountering Norwood Hill, where we found the usual freewheeling technique did not do the job at all, a tad more effort being required as we ascended.

After that, a gentle descent took us to our intermediate goal at the Three Horseshoes, Irons Bottom, where Dave V joined us for lunch. Most went for sandwiches, which, with chips and salad thrown in, not to mention a decent range of beers, met with general approval.

The way back took us through Leigh and Brockham, with our by now much reduced number stopping for tea at Annies at Leatherhead.

Thanks to Neil for back marking. I covered a modest 52 miles in all.

Rob

Cycling Colombia - Part 2

After 6 days of hard cycling in Colombia the rest day on Saturday 17th January came as a welcome respite. A group of us set off to downdown Medellin to replenish bike parts, visiting the bike shop established by the famous Colombian climber, Ramon Hoyas Vallejo, now run by his son, who was happy to serve us.
Leaving Medellin was a delight: on Sunday's the main highways in the city are closed to traffic and we joined the throng of cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, and dog-walkers having a car-free fun Sunday. We soon climbed out of the rim of mountains surrounding Medellin, with cable cars whizzing overhead providing access for the ramshackle neighbourhoods clinging to the hillsides high above the city.
The day provided 2,137m of ascent, over 54 miles, reaching the mountain top town of Santa Rosea de Rosas in late afternoon.
Monday saw the greatest descent of the tour, my computer registering 3,531m loss of altitude, (but also accompanied by 1,215m of gain). The descent from the highest point in la Cordilera was exhilerating, my hands aching from braking for over an hour, as I peeled off the layers with the temperature increasing nearly threefold from 12 degrees to 34 degrees.
On Tuesday a change of hotel required a route change, with a bus transfer to avoid the worst of the hot coastal Savannah. Our destination, after 60 miles of cycling, was a lively seaside resort on the Caribbean - dipping my wheels in the sea followed by a welcome swim to cool off.
Our last cycling day was a long hot slog of 113miles to the delightful Spanish colonial town of Cartagena, a World Heritage site. Finishing the tour led to hugs and congratulations all round, followed by a beer or two - most recognising the tour as probably their toughest cycling challenge.
Today was spent boxing bikes and enjoying the hot and steamy ambiance of Cartagena, and preparing        for flights to Bogata, and hence to London.
Bring on the Surrey hills!

Easy Riders - 21st January

Mole Hall, Molesey - Woodies, New Malden

It was a bitter day and didn’t get any warmer as the day progressed, but not disheartened 10 toughies turned up for the day's ride. 

First of all Fuzz had his 84th birthday on Monday to celebrate so Tea and Cakes were the order all round. Thanks Fuzz.

We set off for lunch at Woodies; we proceeded up Central Avenue to Island Farm Road onto Molesey Park Road and Walton Road, turning left over the river Mole to the level crossing in Summer Road and on to Portsmouth Road, turning right at the lights and on to Fleece road. Then we took the first right in to Ditton Hill Road to the A240 where straight over took us to where Lizzie grew up; we even passed her old school  ( I didn’t realise there were buildings that old still standing). We then continued to Windsor Avenue to Woodies where Ron & Doreen joined us for lunch, after which we all made our own way home (and still freezing)  I gathered Pam up at Five at the Bridge where she was having lunch with Liz and off we went home.

Thanks everyone for a lovely day and CONGRATULATIONS to Lynda for becoming a GRANNY to TWINS.

~ Irene

B Group - 21st January, 2015 (map)

Frank and Françoise took us to The Watchman in New Malden. A very convenient destination for some of us and strangely enough it is the first time I have ever been to this rather good JDW pub which is only half a mile from home.

~ Tim

A Group 21st January

A ride appropriate to the season from Rob today - not too far, not too hard and home in the light.  31.2 miles from elevenses at Dorking to tea at Annies; lunch at the Three Horseshoes, Iron's Bottom.

A cold day, though, lowest temperature 0.6° at Blackbrook, highest 1.7º at Leatherhead.

Mark

ONE YEAR TIME TRIAL

Starting on January 1st 2015 Steven Abraham commenced an attempt to beat Tommy Godwin's record set in 1939.   He has to cycle more than 75,065 miles in 365 days. That is an average of over 205 miles a day, every day, for a year. 

You can track his progress here. Steves Progress  

Peter Betts - exercise bike?

I visited Peter today who is recovering well, but slowly, from his broken leg after taking a tumble on the way home from a ride in November.   He is able to walk without crutches now but his consultant has helpfully advised him to 'avoid falling off' until the bone has regained its original strength, which might take 12 months.

So Peter's involvement in cycling will be limited this year, and he's hoping to borrow an exercise bike so he can do some safe indoor exercise.   Does anyone have an exercise bike they would be prepared to lend him, either now, or during the summer months?   Please contact Peter or myself, details on the contact list.

"B" ride - 21st January 2015

Due to the inclement forecast for tomorrow, I shall lead the "B" group from Dorking to The Watchman (Wetherspoon) in New Malden for lunch.

No tea stop is planned.
Frank H.

'A' Group Ride - 21 Jan 2015

This Wednesday's ride from Dorking is the latest in our series of Winter pootles, designed to keep us ticking over, pending the looming brutality of our Spring training regime.
The plan is to meander through Newdigate, Rusper and Charlwood to lunch at the three Horseshoes, Irons bottom, near Reigate, with tea at Leatherhead - pretty much a hill free ride (the Appeals Committee discounted Norwood Hill). 29 miles from elevenses to tea, with wintry showers a possibility, so snow tyres are optional.
We should be able to manage at least some of our homeward journey in the light, for the benefit of those who haven't eaten enough carrots to keep their night vision up to scratch.

Rob

Easy Riders - 14th January

It was a strong wind getting to Walton Day Centre but we were rewarded on our return trip to the Cap in Hand at Hook for lunch with a tailwind. Sonia joined us; Mark had a puncture on his way to the day centre but came in to see us at lunch. Fuzz made his own way to lunch, missing the hills.

Judy, Jane, Les and Sonia rode back to Cheam then three of us tried the new Crepe café in the village.

~ Lynda

Cycling Colombia

One week into my trip to Colombia and I'm finally getting to grips with cycling on an epic scale. The first serious ramp-up from the Bogata Plain (2,625m), left me light-headed, heart-racing and gasping for breath and wondering what I had let myself in for! Climbs totalling 1,300m up to 3,000m were more than enough for the first day. There followed over 40km of descent to the Magdalena Plain with temperatures in the mid 40's on day two.
 This so-called two-day gentle introduction was a primer for Andean road riding, with an ascent of the Alto de Letras - one of the so called 3 Mythical Mountains of Colombia, featuring in the Vuelta a Colombia. My bike computer read 3,739m altitude gain and though a relatively modest average climb of 5 per cent, over 7 hours of constantly ascenting totalling 54miles was physically draining. Half of the group of 14 were swept-up by the support bus before the summit and only one rider managed to descend into Manizales before dark. My new Enigma Etape - with lower gears than most, performed brilliantly all the way to the summit.
The rest of the week has been exhilarating, coping with altitudes of over 2,500m and descents sometimes lasting over 40km. The mountains are often lost in mist and cloud  but when clear the views are stupendous. Thankfully the roads are good but often unexpectedly turn to gravel where storms have swept them away.
The first week finished with a climb of the Alto de Minas - again an almost permanent feature in the Vuelta a Colombia; my computer recorded 2,641m gain. However the descent into Medellin (still at 1,500m), was nerve-racking, with 12 miles of manically fast traffic changing lanes at will and trying to split the group up on the way to the hotel.
Saturday has been a well-earned rest day.enjoying the delights of a transformed city from the dark days of the drug cartels. Thereafter the second week of the trip finally descents from the Andes to Colombia's hot Caribbean flatlands. More to follow!

A Group - 14 January

Walton-on-Thames - Buckland - West Humble

The weather forecasters were predicting armageddon, but Wayfarers at Walton Day Centre were undaunted; of course, the sky did not fall in. A hardy 18 'A's then took to the road. Our precautionary route through Hersham and West End was more arterial than usual, as we mingled with all shapes and sizes of combustion engine. Grey skies gradually melted into blue as we pressed on SSE to Leatherhead. A pot-hole or two past the Leisure Centre and beside a turgid and swollen Mole led us to the cycle track and Dorking Road. We passed through Mickleham and Pixham chapelry, with barely a glance at the unassuming church of St Mary, designed by Edwin Lutyens in 1903.

A disappointed spurt along the A25 revealed no horse-drawn carriages, but the Old Dorking Road brought some respite from the emanations of CO and noxious particulates. Betchworth led to Buckland and a final thrust to the Jolly Farmers. Our table awaited, though one place short; ambience bright and humming, food good though service restrained in the interest of serving all together. At departure, nearly all were presented with an unexpected dessert; a 'bombe surprise' in the shape of a 10% service charge. The street-wise had ordered food and drink at the bar, not at table. Beware! The times, they are a'changing.

With our departure delayed, we had a little time to sally south and burn off a few calories, before a volte-face to take us to West Humble for tea and cake at Pilgrim Cycles café. We admired the touring bikes and departed, leaving only Neil to mull over what might be possible in the best of all possible worlds. Our Garmin guru Simon advises 29.6 miles and a breathtaking 1,477 feet of ascent. Well, it is winter.

Jeff 

 

B Group - 14th January

What a glorious day for a cycle ride!  About 20 riders set off in B Group from Walton today, heading to Old Isleworth for lunch.  The route was out through the back of Molesey before turning down to the river and joining the towpath (known as Barge Walk here) at Molesey Rowing Club.  We continued on the towpath from Hampton Court to Kingston, crossed the bridge and, staying on the road, cut across to join Lower King's Road which then became King's Road and took us all the way to Kingston Gate into Richmond Park (passing Robin's Italian cafe tea place on the way!).  After a 'comfort stop', we cycled along the road through the Park to Richmond Gate.  A short way down Richmond Hill we turned off into Nightingale Lane dropping steeply down to the Petersham Road from where we were soon able to access the towpath as far as Richmond Bridge.  Having crossed the bridge, we followed the part road/part path route of Ducks Walk and Isleworth Prom. to The Town Wharf pub.  (For those who are interested, this is now a Samuel Smith (Yorkshire) Brewery pub.)  Service was a little slow but we were made welcome, the tide was higher than on past visits and the view over the river in the sunshine  from the upper storey was very pleasant.

We were on the road again by 2.15 p.m. retracing our route to Richmond Bridge but staying on this side to take the Warren Footpath to Twickenham and on by road to Teddington Lock.  Crossing the river here, the last lap was along the towpath and back into Kingston Market Place where we had tea at Dotty's Tea Rooms, upstairs in the old Town Hall building, our bikes resting on the astroturf in the foyer below.  (The cafe said we could bring them inside.)  Thanks to John A. for being back-marker and to everyone who came out for the ride.  (Gill Finlay)

Thanks, Gill

Wednesday's 'A' Group Ride from Walton-on-Thames

The Plan

The good intent this Wednesday is to head due south from Walton Day Centre via Leatherhead, to renew our acquaintance with the gentle clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages on the rustic A25. Lunch is planned for The Jolly Farmers at Buckland, between Dorking and Reigate.  Distance is about 18 miles with no hills. A short-circuit after lunch should take us to Dorking or Leatherhead for tea.

However, the faint-hearted should not look at the weather forecast for Wednesday. The Met Office has issued three yellow warnings for Surrey. One is for snow and ice a.m. until 12.00, followed by squally rain from 12.00 and then strong winds gusting up to 65mph from 3.00p.m. Please choose your wardrobe accordingly.

Needless to say, the forecasters admit to some uncertainty; nonetheless it might be wise to take the plan with a small pinch of salt. I'm sure that a consensus will quickly emerge.

Jeff

Letter from Janet Mitchell

 Janet Mitchell, Roger's wife, has sent this letter to Lynda. I'm sure that Janet will not mind that it is shared with all Roger's friends on the MWW blog. I hope that Fuzz doesn't blush!

Hi Lynda,

Sorry I’ve not been in contact with you for a while but pc not always working how it should do. Anyway the money collected from Roger’s funeral for cancer research came to £310. I wrote a cheque out to them and our doctors and nurses did a midnight walk in aid of cancer research, so the cheque went in with the money they had collected; they got £420 from people at the surgery which was very good. I didn’t count it up until just before Christmas as I had been busy with the bank.  Now my solicitor is doing everything for me, but I still have papers to sign from him; he is very good and we keep in touch with each other.

So please can say a big thank you to everyone who came and put money into the lilac box for me, and also for the large support of you all for coming on your bikes to see Roger off. You and his friends from the Kingston wheelers cycling club really all did him proud.

Tell Fuzz I’ve not forgotten him. I will always love him for the lovely smile he gives out, not just for me but everyone else he comes into contact with, he is a lovely man, yes this is you Fuzz. A big thank you for all the cards I have from everyone.

I hope you all had a very good Christmas and a Happy and Better New Year to everyone.

Love from Janet.

Easy Riders - 7th January

We were a small group on Wednesday. Mike W and John C decided to go back home having just got over illness. I led Sandy, Liz and Les, and Fuzz made his own way. From Cobham we went towards Esher, then Thames Ditton to East Molesey. We had lunch at The Albion. After we made our way to Ewell Park and continued home. It started to rain a little so didnt want to get caught.

Lynda

A Group, 7 January 2015

After lunch at the Barley Mow, Englefield Green

Tony's well-rounded group of plum puddings, eager to shed a few pounds on the first MWW ride of the year

A group ride 7^th Jan 2015

The crowd at Cobham was substantial and cakes and tea/coffee were courtesy of David Vine as it was his Birthday, not that we needed any more festive treats! Thank you David and sorry you couldn't join us on the ride due to your cold. While at 11's I had a text from Pete Betts saying he could not make the ride that he was recovering abet slowly and wished everyone well. Best wishes Pete and hope to see you back on the bike PDQ.

Being the first ride for the A's of 2015 I was not sure how to judge what was required. Did they want to belt it out to burn off Christmas excess or roll into 2015 sedately? The general murmurings suggested the later. 20 of us rolled out of Cobham and headed for Ockham and across Wisley airfield heading for, eventually, Englfield green and the Barley Mow pub. I had said the the route was not hilly but with an occasional bump but as most had had a sedate Christmas break even the little bumps were found challenging!

On through Pyrford and West Byfleet Woodham and New Haw, Adlestone and Lynne to Virginia Water and a right up Callow hill, half way up some young cyclist came flying past and Mark G took chase and easily got on his wheel.

A slightly roundabout way to the Pub and reserved tables. Lunch was served in reasonable time considering numbers, around 17 actually had lunch.

Off to afternoon tea at Squires GC Upper Haliford via Tite hill and back roads through Egham where some started to take thier leave for a quick route home and then through Chertsey, Shepperton and to tea. Between lunch and tea many had taken leave to get home before rain/darkness had descended so only 7 plumpted for the oogling of the great range of cakes on offer and even less consumed said cakes!

The weather brightened from early on and the temperature climbed to around 9c so a pleasant days outing. Thank you all.

Tony H.

Dorking...

....being the 'Cycling Capital of England' is living up to this claim by having a cycling display at the museum from Jan 8 until May 9.

'The display explores the history and development of cycling in the area, as well as featuring contemporary material provided by the club' (Dorking Cycling Club).

'Exhibits range from an early penny-farthing bicycle to a shirt signed by Sir Bradley Wiggins when he was training in Dorking for the 2012 Olympics road race....'

The museum is at The Old Foundry, 62 West Street (the narrow, one way street coming in from the west !) and is open between 10am and 4pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, admission adults £2, concessions £1.

Terry

Pam....

....wishes all a Happy New Year and thanks everybody for enquiring after her and wishing her well.

'Thanks to Tim for your kind words alongside your route map and many thanks to Vic for making the ride so interesting with your knowledge of the area - far more than you would have got from me.'

She hopes to be riding next week but we won't see her on Wednesday.

Attendance sheet for 2013/4

For those who need copies of the sheet to provide to Terry the link is:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7fLurFHZIWsSEU3R1VadlU1WTQ/view?usp=sharing

Attendance Record

Happy New Year all,

Would you please send your attendance record for Oct 2013 - Dec 2014 to:  terrylowe36@gmail.com or give me your paper copy sometime ?

The record sheet for 2015 can be found at http://drive.google.com/file/d/OB7fLurFHZ1wsVksxMG51YV9hdHM/view?usp=sharing  or look at Brian's blog entry on December 6.

Thanks,

Terry

Mileages 2014

New Year's Eve

With no more than four hours left in 2014, (well, there were when I wrote this), now may be the time to tot up your annual mileage cycled from 1st January to 31 December 2014. Mileage after midnight will count for 2015. Most of us take more than a passing interest in the number of miles that we cycle.  If you would like your distance pedalled to be added to our DA spreadsheet, please let me have your mileage for 2014 and it will be added to the record on the MWW blog. No metric distances please as I am an imperial man, however much Herr Junker or Señor Barroso may splutter.

The most widely travelled lady and gentleman might win a New Year's Honour if they top the list. There will also be an award for the rider with the greatest increase in mileage over the previous year. So get out you Cateye or abacus or whatever advanced technology you use and let me have the result. This need not be accurate to 0.01 of a mile, but in the event of a close call, validation may require enhanced interrogation techniques. The gongs will be presented at our annual lunch on the first Wednesday in March.

Thanks to our leaders for revealing to us pastures new over the past year and thanks to all for your fellowship and good company.

Happy New Year and safe cycling to all.

Jeff

P.S. Email address is: jeff.tollerman@lineone.net

B Group Ride 7th January 2015

In the absence of Pam, who stayed at home to nurse a cold,Vic led 17 riders from Cobham. On  a day blessed with unseasonal weather we set off along Dorking Road through Effingham Junction to The Drift,where the leader exercised his penchant for dispensing gratuitous information on the passing scene to point out North Forest Lodge, another of Lord Lovelaces architectural triumphs. Up The Street the short Pincott Lane led us to the beautiful gate of Dean Place and the yet more attractive. Ripley Lane down which we rattled to Ripley itself. Newark Lane and its recently rebuilt bridges was followed by Church Hill at Pyrford to open the post-Christmas pipes. After re-grouping a short acquaintance with British East Woking led to Basingstoke Canal and the safe way to Horsell,whence Chobham Road and Horsell Rise got us to The Plough for lunch dead on 12.30. With two hours of daylight left some of the party made a bee-line for home, while the rest of us crossed Horsell Common to Philpott Lane and Stonehill Road,Holloway Hill and Green Lane to Addlestone for tea.

B Group - 7th January

Our chairman Dave Vine provided morning tea for everyone in a packed RBL to mark his birthday which had actually happened just before Christmas. Happy Birthday Dave! 

It was sad to arrive at Cobham and learn that Pam is still unwell with a persistent cold but Vic did a good job of leading us all to The Plough in Horsell (13.9 miles) then back to Addlestone for Tea (7.3 miles). Peter C stayed with John Scott who punctured early on in the day but arrived for lunch before we had all finished

We were looked after very well at The Plough with a great assortment of sandwiches. I went for the mushroom risotto which was rather tasty. John Brooks, who is now a frequent flyer with B Group, treated us all (18 of us I think) to our beverages at lunchtime to celebrate his recent birthday. Happy Birthday John!

And, best wishes to Pam for a speedy recovery.

New Year ... New Subscriptions

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas, building up a bit more, er, inertia to help roll down the hills.  (Going up is another matter.)  We can look forward to another year of enjoyable company and cycling in 2015.

It's also time for annual subscriptions to the Wayfarers, so I will be even more eager to see you on Wednesday.   This year the subscription has been temporarily reduced to £1 as we work off a little excess in our bank account.   I will also be collecting deposits of £2 for the annual Wayfarers lunch and DA prize-giving, which is on Weds 4th March at Prezzo, Cheam.

If you can bring exact change, that would be a big help.

~ Simon

The A group ride on Wednesday the 7th Jan

This Wednesdays A ride from Cobham will head to the Barley Mow pub at Englefield Green and tea at Squires GC Upper Halliford.  A reasonably flat(ish) ride.

Tony..

BIKE BOX WANTED

Very many thanks to Ed Sharp for our celebration on New Years Day

With the superb buffet lunch he again laid on at his home in Chessington.

In three weeks time I am flying to Cuba with Virgin Atlantic.

They require my touring cycle packed in an approved bag or box 

which I must buy, hire or borrow

I would be very grateful if anyone has one I could loan/hire for the trip.

rmcjo2@yahoo.co.uk   Home 020 8994 5583  Mob 07957 445540

Best Wishes for the New Year,

Robin Johnson.

New Year's Day ride to Ed's for lunch

On New Year's Day a very large number of us piled into Ed's house for lunch after a pleasant meander through Richmond Park to Ewell. Many thanks to Ed for leading us to elevenses in the park and to Graham for leading to lunch at Ed's.

Thank you Ed for having us all to lunch and to Maureen and Jake and everyone who provided so much good food for us all.

Happy New Year to All

~ Tim

The link below is an interesting film and worth a look

How a Bicycle is Made (1945)
From the British Film council

                                                         (click on the image)

Midweek Wayfarers CTC: A Group Ride 31 December

Midweek Wayfarers CTC: A Group Ride 31 December



A most enjoyable ride to end the year - despite the shunt in Castle Road. (One of the few Roads in the area with two single chevrons - not a descent for the faint-hearted with black-ice lurking!). Hope everyone's recovered from the tumble, and apologies to Ray for running over his back wheel, causing it to buckle.



Happy New Year to all Wayfarers.