A group ride from Cobham, 1st May 2019

We will head south from Cobham, taking our frequented route via Effingham Junction, Great Bookham, Chapel Lane (revisiting the scene of Dave Bartholomew's broken pelvis - sorry Dave!) to Westhumble, up Box Hill, down to Betchworth and turning back north for lunch at the Prince of Wales in Reigate (menu here). 24 miles to lunch.

After lunch, a long grind up Wray Lane to cross the M25 (sorry I couldn't find a way around it) then through Banstead and Epsom and finishing for tea at the Old Moat Garden Centre (only about 13 miles after lunch). Total 37 miles and about 2400ft of climbing.

B Group 1st May from Cobham

Lunch is at the Scarlett Arms at Walliswood so we will take the scenic route to see the bluebells and blossom via Whitedown, Abinger Common, Leith Hill and then Mole Street to Walliswood. 16 miles and about 1300 feet of climbing.

The return route is via Weare Street to Capel, Newdigate to tea at Pilgrims Cycles at Westhumble (or Denbies). 15 miles and no long climbs just undulating.

Ken Day

Easy Riders - 24th April

We decided to go to The Wych Elm in Kingston by going over Walton Bridge, along Lower Sunbury Road, through Bushy Park and into Kingston. The Wych Elm made us very welcome and we all enjoyed our food. Tea for four of us was at Woodies.

We don't know what happened to Margaret as she was with us almost to Mole Hall but nobody had seen her after that - a mystery.

Were you aware that Angie Launder had broken/fractured her hip? I don't know any further details.

Regards

John

Head up: A group to St Albans on May 8th

Having ridden this last week I thought I would give a taste of what is planned.

Elevenses at Nottcuts Laleham ( NOT New Haw) to leave at 1100. Then almost due north to lunch at the Greyhound in Chalfont St Peter. Not the most scenic location but the food was fine and altenatives in this area charge close to £10 for a sandwich which makes Surrey look a bargain. Then continuing north mostly across the Chiltern ridges before dropping into Berkhamsted. Those with a need to get home early might think about the 1539 to Clapham Junction though the guard should chuck you off at Kensington Olympia if rules are to be obeyed! For the rest it will be tea beside the Grand Union at Hemel Hempstead and a couple of miles of canal towpath before heading east through the lanes to Gorhambury Park which provides a fine entrance to St. Albans. Then a beer and the train back to London. Only about 50 miles from Laleham but not a fast route so expect it to be about 5pm before we get that beer.

The first Thameslink through train later than the 7pm London embargo is the 1837 to Wimbledon though the 1822 to Sutton might be OK as only St Pancras is before 1900. Also 1842 to E Croydon. However a fast train to St Pancras and Quietway 1 to Waterloo for a 7pm departure is probably quicker.

B Group - 24th April

An elite group of six B cyclists set off from Caterham-on-the-Hill just after 11 o’clock. It had rained heavily while we had our elevenses but we took advantage of what seemed like a break in the rain – actually we were very fortunate and we stayed dry all day. We left the A riders pondering the weather forecast or perhaps having another cup of tea.

Once we had climbed up to Woldingham we had the open road in front of us, rumoured to be the highest tarmacked road in Surrey. Then on the Pilgrims Way we had wonderful views across the wide open Kent countryside.

Lunch was above 600’ in Ide Hill at The Cock Inn and then we had a pleasant afternoon ride across lower but equally open countryside, ending up in Banstead for Tea.

Well done and thank you to those riders who braved the adverse weather forecast and the promise of hills.

J.A.

_________________________________________________

John took us on a fabulous ride yesterday and the price of quiet roads and marvellous rural vistas was of course quite a few big hills. So it was a bit of a gut buster with over 1000 feet of climbing just to get to Elevenses, and then by my very conservative method of harvesting the elevation data, another 2580 feet of climbing during the day, although 2874 feet according to Strava, unlike A Group who appeared to get their hills over with soon after elevenses.

~ Tim

CTC/CUK AGM, 15 June? Yawn.

Dear Fellow Members,

When you get back from an invigorating Easter tour to Canterbury, or a jaunt along the trackways of Surrey or Sussex, a trip to the local or a snooze in the garden with a relaxing aperitif, what better way to finish off the day than to peruse the dusty voting form, languishing in the already forgotten pages of your April/May issue of 'Cycle'. Voting form? What voting form?

Perhaps you are more exercised by Brexit, or Extinction Rebellion, or the putrefaction of Democracy in the UK. Trifles. Might it be that dis-interest in democray at the micro-level is indicative of the decay of interest in democracy at the mega-level? Boring. Will you vote in the local elections next Thursday, 2nd may? As for elections for the EC, heaven forfend. So voting for or against anodyne motions on the agenda of CUK. Why?

Perhaps you have already sent off a blank voting form, for those who know beter than you at the politburo to fill in for you. Have you seen the annual accounts? The Annual Report? Have they been sent to you? Have you been told where to find them? As you may or may not know, I am somewhat old-fashioned. I like to know what I am voting for.

The agenda is more a less a vacuum, apart from the bread and butter motions. The only substantive motion relates to the publication of Key Performance Indicators, that should be normal corporate governance.

As I said, all very boring. It s now just a cycling charity, that used to be our club, the CTC.

Use it or lose it. Perhaps we have lost it already.

Jeff (ex-cyclist)

A Ride - 24 April - Caterham to Lingfield

Just before eleven o'clock, twelve riders were sitting at Caterham expectantly when the first rain for a couple of weeks arrived. The leader delayed the departure and suggested leaving out the big hills and replacing them with a gentle climb. Such was the disappointment of the group that he quickly changed his mind and reverted to Plan A.

Soon the rain stopped and the group set off on wet roads towards Woldingham before turning left up Bug Hill to get the toughest climb of the day out of the way. After passing through Warlingham and Chelsham, the long 400ft climb of Beddlestead Lane brought us to the highest point. Then the sharp descents of White Lane and Titsey Hill, and the climb to Limpsfield completed the serious hills.

From then on it was flat and gently rolling quiet roads to Haxted Mill and on to The Greyhound at Lingfield for lunch. The service was fast, the portions large and the prices reasonable so we were all happy.

Geoff's photo of us in the stands at Lingfield

After lunch the roads got slightly busier as we rode via Newchapel and Smallfield before skirting Horley to reach Lonesome Lane. Then through Trumpets Hill and Betchworth before a quick blast down the A25 to Pixham Lane and on to Pilgrim Cycles in Westhumble for tea.

20 miles to lunch and 20 miles to tea

 

2000 feet of climbing, almost all before lunch

Thanks to all for the company and the corner marking. Special thanks to Geoff for the super-efficient back-marking and Simon for the map and profile.

Next Ripley Jumble......

.....is this Saturday 27th April.

Ian

Bernard visited Ian today and, as his blogging is a bit rusty,  he has asked me to draw attention to his visit. See below.

Jeff

Bernard Brindley has left a new comment on your post "Ian":

I visited Ian this afternoon. His grand-son Adam was there who told me that Ian had Cerebrovascular Disease. Google tells me that there are four different sorts. One of them is stroke. He's in a Stroke ward. Adam also told me that Ian had been falling a lot and one of the falls resulted in a brain bleed. Ian himself seemed pretty vague. No idea what the diagnosis is or what the prognosis is. Nor how long in hospital or how much support he'll need.
I took him some beer, he said he didn't drink much beer! Something's changed.
All in all it was rather a sad occasion.
Best wishes to all
Bernard

Looking for a good home - gratis

Altura Nightvision 3 Waterproof  Over trousers (Large)

When buying new cycle clothing do you know what size you are? I don't, though I think of myself as 'medium'. That is why I have a new pair of large Altura waterproof over-trousers that are a mile too big for me. When I wanted to buy them, the weather was feline and canine. All the local shops had sold out and they could not get new stock from Altura, so I couldn't try a pair on in-store. Some time later they were available online. I used the size guide and bought 'large'. Bad decision. My old ones were "M" and as excruciatingly tight as an intimate below-the waist tourniquet. I could hardly get my leg over the saddle without fainting. Not again, thank you. For their replacement I chose 'large' but should have chosen 'medium'. Hence I now have one pair of 'L' unused over-trousers looking for a long-legged fe/male (I hesitate to say bi-sexual; perhaps today's correct description is gender~ neutral, though that is not me) owner to cherish them and put them to good use..

Expressions of interest are therefore invited from any tall, broad-minded rider with long legs, looking for a pair of waterproof over-trousers to sport on those forthcoming long, cold summer rides.

Confidentiality guaranteed.

Jeff

P.S.  I assume that you know how to contact me.

P.P.S. I have just realised that the correct term is 'unisex'.

A Useful Piece of Trackway

The sun's out, the ground's dry, and I'm riding the trackways of Surrey and Sussex again.  This morning I rode NCN 22 from Dorking to Shere as part of my ride, and was quite impressed. It's generally well surfaced, very scenic, and completely cuts out the grind along the A25.  There is one short section, about 50 yards, of loose gravel.  It is no problem at all with a gravel bike or a mountain bike; you might choose to walk it if you were on 25s.  (But then, the sort of person that does this sort of track on 25s probably wouldn't care).

Terry has mentioned it in the past, and Tim has spoken of it too. I think it's worth a reminder.

Here's the map; basically, you just follow the NCN 22 signs.

Mark

B Ride - Wednesday 24th April

We shall set off from elevenses at Caterham-on-the-Hill and head east into the beautiful open Kent countryside. Our lunch will be at Ide Hill.

The names of these two locations give a clue to the fact that this will not be a flat ride!

Also to note - the afternoon ride to tea (probably Banstead) is 25 miles.

John A.

A Group Ride Report – 17 April

A rare sunny and calm day saw 21 A’s out including welcome returnees Dave Bartholomew and Trevor Chamberlain.

We followedwell known routes to the Windsor peanut roundabout, where we took to the lanes. In this part of the world even the lanes can be busy, but there is also a network of traffic free byways. These are mostly gravel surfaced, mostly maintained in good condition, so we made good use of them for a quiet approach to Binfield, arriving shortly before 1pm

Lunch was a little slow, but thankfully we could sit in the sun for the first time this year. By 2.30 we were on our way, starting with a little more off-road before we took to well-known routes to Virginia Water, which we by-passed by dodging the golf balls at Wentworth, on a route introduced by Simon.

Nine to tea at Squires Upper Halliford, where thankfully they stay open until 5pm.

Note how Tite Hill appears almost vertical, nuch as it felt on the day.

44.3 miles overall, 1,236ft of climbing and a moving average of around 13.5mph.

Thanks to Simon for back marking, maps & stats, and the Wentworth Loop.

Finally, corner marking was superb, but splitting into groups of 6-8 on busy roads was patchy, especially in the afternoon. Please remember it is our responsibility where possible not to cause unnecessary driver frustration, and to do what we can to avoid any unwelcome incident.

Bs out of Hedgerley

Short recovery and regroup. 

'B' Group - Weds 17 April

It was a glorious day for a bike ride (for the first time in ages), so it was no wonder that 30 of us, no less, set off from Walton.   We threaded our way through Shepperton and Laleham to Staines, then on to Wraysbury, next crossing the M4 by a fiendish, obstacle-course style footbridge to take us through Langley.   After that it started to get a bit hilly through Wexham and Stoke Poges but the scenery got better and it was shadier too!    We just reached  The White Horse at Hedgerley by 1.15 pm and they took our orders very efficiently, but thirty is a large number to serve and, while most got their meals quite quickly, just a few of us waited quite a long time for their food.  Nevertheless, it was still difficult to prise some people out of their torpor in the garden some time after 2.30 to tackle the nasty climb out of the village.   I'd hoped to pause at Pinewood for a group photo but our first plague, the plague of the punctures, was visited on us yet again (we'd already had two visitations on the way to lunch), and we pressed straight on via Langley (a different part!),  Colnbrook, and Stanwellmoor to Ashford.   A late train gets later, as the man said, and here we were struck by our second plague, the plague of heavy traffic, consequently not reaching the planned tea stop until after 4.30.    Many chose to ride straight home without stopping, including me - I had an urgent appointment at the allotment with my young tomato plants but, most fortunately, no plague had struck there (yet)!

It's always nice to ride with the 'B's' - they're such easy-going, pleasant company, and today we were joined by some new and newer faces, and some returners.   Before you can ask someone to mark a corner or temporarily take on the back-marking, they've already done it!   Special thanks though to Tim C, Gill, Steph, the two Tony H's, John A, Peter T and Christina, although those only the ones whose names I can easily remember.   Thanks to everyone else for for an enjoyable, if late-running ride!

A Group Ride – Walton – 17 April

Wednesday’s ride will be to the Jack O’Newbury in Binfield.

 

About 24 miles, only Tite Hill to climb. If it stays dry we will do about 2 miles of gravel track. Return to Squires in Halliford, 21 miles and another mile of gravel. 

Let me know if you want a GPX route in advance.