B Group 19th December

With Christmas lunch awaiting us at Wetherspoon's Kingston a reasonably direct route was required, so with Frank leading the second group (thanks) I led through Ashtead to the outskirts of Epsom. Horton Lane led to Chessington Road and briefly Hook, turning into Clayton Road meant peace and quiet to Long Ditton via the tunnel under the A3. Heading into Surbiton I turned into Seething Wells Road (because I like the name) then we soon arrived in Kingston, where Irene had organised the lunch (thanks).

Happy Christmas everyone - see you at Cobham.

Terry

PS Did you notice the 'Nipper Alley' nameplate on JDW's wall ? Nipper was the dog shown in HMV advertising, and was buried locally - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nipper

B Riders' Christmas Lunch

B Group - 19th December

Terry led B Group to lunch, from Leatherhead to Kingston, over a fairly no-nonsense route which involved no rain, puddles or mud. (12.5 miles)

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Christmas Lunch Wed December 19th

Irene tells me those going direct to Kingston Wetherspoon's should arrive for a 1pm meal - the rest will leave Leatherhead very soon after 11am.

JDW is in Clarence (one-way) Street, opposite Wilkinson's and a cinema. There are plenty of railings to which bikes can be locked.

Terry

B Group - 12th December

Frank led a team of hardy B Group riders from The Dorking Christian Centre to the Edward Rayne in Raynes Park where we all thawed out.

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(Thanks to Jeff for his advice about Latin grammar) 

B Group 5th December

From Cobham a select B group of 7 followed Mark's route, some making a brief stop at East Clandon to admire the unique fence panels above. Look closely ! At the top of Staple Lane we found Simon carrying out roadside repairs - he soon joined us. We decided to miss Crocknorth and carried on to the A246, shortly turning into (now) No Dog Alley, which has recently been nicely resurfaced. Most of the speed humps can be avoided.

Choosing the Lower Road over the A246 gave us a relatively quiet ride to Fetcham, then through Leatherhead Leisure  Centre to the cycle track south, eventually finding the well-hidden William IV at Mickleham.

The A group were already seated, but not eating. The service was a little slow but the food was good -  who's in a rush anyway ?  We left a little after the As to make our separate ways. A nice winter's day run, I recorded 20.69 from Cobham to Mickleham.

Terry

PS At Cobham, Michael told me his partner, Hazel (the small lady who retired earlier this year) is progressing well, and Thelma, the other lady who retired, recently fell and broke a toe !

B Group - 28th November

Twenty two riders left the Elleray Hall for Burrowhill via Bushey Park, along Lower Sunbury, over Chertsey Bridge, then up Holloway Hill and down Staple Hill, thus taking us across the Chobham Ridges to the Four Horseshoes where, due to our large number, John Gould led half of us around the corner to the Red Lion. 
(16.3 miles)

We regrouped after lunch and continued along Red Lion Road and Gracious Ponds, along Stonehill Road and through Homewood Park by St Peters Hospital. Chertsey South, Addlestone and Weybridge brought us to the Riverhouse Arts Centre where the remaining seven of us took tea and cake before finding our various ways home in the fading light. 
(10 miles)

Thank you one and all for being a good group and for not bringing any rain with you. Thanks to Pam for back-marking and to Tim for the maps.

 - Irene

OS 1:50,000

OS 1:25,000

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B Group - 21st November

John Gould led an uncharacteristically small group of a dozen B Group riders from the Day Centre in Claygate, initially down a busy Copsem Lane before diverting through the more scenic Stokesheath Road and Prince's Drive through Oxshott. Then to Stoke d'Abernon, through Cobham Tilt, across the Mole, onto the path which today was a series of water-filled craters, through to Downside and on to join the Horsley Road.

We were made to feel welcome at the Duke of Wellington in East Horsley with a big table laid out in anticipation of our visit. For some lunch was enjoyed all the more with us believing that better weather had been forecast for the afternoon. We ate well but emerged into more serious rain than we had encountered in the morning, and more serious than the BBC forecast had led us to believe.

Ian and Bernard decided to head for home after lunch but Pam had arrived to share lunch and to help us make light of the rainy afternoon ride. We put on all the rainwear we could find; Les unfurled what looked like a spinnaker and we tacked up to Ockham and sailed along Ockham Lane and Plough Lane through to Cobham. Hogshill Lane led to a couple of squishy tracks and to Sandy Lane from which we proceeded north up Copsem Lane and through Hinchley Wood with five of us making it to Squires in Long Ditton for a warm beverage.

Thanks to John for leading and making the best of the grotty weather. We all survived this autumnal day in relatively good spirits and almost made it home before dark.

- Tim

Copyright © 2012 Crown Copyright; Ordnance Survey, Licence Number PU 100034184
Created using Memory-Map digital mapping software,           www.memory-map.co.uk

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   (motto of the RAF)
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   (believed to be the motto of one of Hannibal's less well known battalions)

Wednesday 7 Nov B ride

Cobham – Mayford - Woodham

Decisions, decisions ………

I had spent some time planning a route for the Bs including the long bridleway at Jury Farm (paved), 2 hills (Staple Lane and Guildford Lane) and some suburban roads in Guildford to get to the Mayford Arms near Woking from our start at Cobham.

However I reckoned without the power of my conscience. In the middle of Tuesday night I woke up and was forced to dismiss Guildford Lane with its ramp at the top as just too much. So I substituted a detour via Chilworth in my mind and went back to sleep. This revised route met with hesitant approval at coffee.

We set out from Cobham. There were a lot of us. At Effingham I counted 26 starters, made the call to the pub and set off for Horsely so we could take the path along the railway to Lollesworth Lane and West Horsely.

Time was passing by. An executive decision had already been made to cut out the detour via Jury Farm and a swift consultation then eliminated the climb up Staple Lane. We made our way to Guildford down the A246 via Blakes Lane.

Then it was side roads through Tormead, Merrow and Burpham to Clay Lane and Jacobs Well. We arrived at the pub via Sutton Green and Pyle Hill at about 1pm – just as well we hadn’t tried to do it all! As it was we had done 17 miles.

After lunch with the leader suffering from a slow puncture we covered a further 7 miles via the canal and wonderful autumn colours to the garden centre at Woodham where 8 survivors took tea.

Many thanks to Tim (for the map), Bernard (for the photos) and Terry (tec), congratulations to David and Patrick on their first rides with us and all the Bs for their company.

P.S. I now have ride for the As with no conscience!

B Ride 7 November 2012

Minor excitement at North Cheam.

 

 

A pleasant lunch, albeit slowly served, at the Carpenters' Arms, Mayfield.

 

 

 

 

Peter T Leading us along the Basingstoke Canal.

 

7 November 2007

A-Group 7 November = Unabashed plagiarism!

A mixture of weather, daughter home from uni and a tenacious chest infection had kept me down to little more than 150 flat miles since mid-September. So, not having had the chance to reccy (how does one spell that?) a new route was out of the question, so I pinched the one Mark led exactly 2 years ago. Now, the big advantage was that plugging the route into trusty Garmin and a quick train-assisted rekky meant that pre planning was minimised. The disadvantage was that being Mark's route hills featured large and looming.

A round dozen for a Cobham start to Downside thence on through Great Bookham, with brief stop for me to repair a puncture! First time out for my new gas cannister gadget and used in anger, I heartily recommend one! Past Polsden Lacy and down the hill to the Ranmore turning, where I stopped to shepherd the group through - much to my shock and dismay several members cast doubt on my parentage as they turned past me. Here the lack of miles told and I paid the penalty for plagiarism and had the shame of being ride leader and panting up last! Dorking, North Holmwood and Brockham - past the still smouldering Bonfire from Saturday last! And on to the Dolphin at Betchworth. Classic country local - flagstone floor, log fire, good selection of ales, good food and most often populated by local land workers in for lunchtime pint. On to Reigate, up Wray lane, down and up again to Fanny's for Tea and cake.

A nice 25 mile 11's to 3's winter ride in glorious weather - and dry! Thanks Mark!

Paul K

B Group - 7th November

Peter T's route from Cobham to the Mayford Arms for Lunch and then to the garden centre in Woodham for Tea

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B Ride 31 October 2012

19 of us set out from Addlestone. I forgot to call the register and it would embarrass me to have an incomplete list. We went to the river in Weybridge and then all the way along the towpath to Kingston. There were a few puddles but no mud, the path surface is quite reasonable and it was good to be by the river with no traffic. I'm conscious that going north doesn't suit everyone so we lost a few along the way. We stopped briefly at Hampton Court for a photo:

 

Anyway we got to the Boater's Inn just downstream from Kingston where we had a pretty good lunch at a table looking across the river. After lunch we went to Richmond Park which looked lovely with the leaves just turning We entered at the south-western corner and left by the Star and Garter. Then to a idiosyncratic cafe called "The Original Maids of Honour" (by Kew Gardens) where they provided "delectable pastries":

 

We only had two possible candidates for maids, they didn't seem eligible as maids in the traditional sense so I reckoned they must be old maids:

 

 

We had got down to only five at tea, a rather high wastage rate!

 

 

 

 

B Group - 31st October

Bernard's flat and easy route from Addlestone DC to The Boatman in Kingtson, and thence to Kew via Richmond Park for a very posh afternoon tea

(Sorry about the poor resolution in this map)

B Group 24 October

A good start to the day - notice at entrance to Dorking Christian Centre.

After Jeff kindly set off leading the many As to Root Hill, I led a similar number of Bs eastwards out of Dorking, to be surprised just short of Punchbowl Lane where an incident with the As had just occurred. Realising we really couldn't help we carried on to the hill to find Pete Barnard and some As approaching from the opposite direction.

With Pete 'pushing off' (the competitors) I went first and put a stake in the ground where I stopped. Liz came next, but having been 'carved up' by a car , causing her to brake, didn't go as far as she might. Pam soon appeared and travelled further. Meanwhile my marker was soon passed with Tony just beating Bernard. Stephanie was runner-up to Pam. Soon Grant appeared and travelled much further than anyone.

The As had lunch at The Dolphin, Betchworth and the Bs dined at The Royal Oak, Brockham, where the winners received beautiful unique wooden awards carved by Ed - thanks, Ed. Runners-up received tubes . After lunch the Bs had a ride round the lanes, calling in at The Dolphin to find Maggie, Mark and Luke just about to depart. Most of us had refreshments at Annie's before making our separate ways.

Next year the fwc will be at a different time of year at a different venue - you have been warned!

Terry

B Group - 24th October

Todays ride which included the Freewheel competition and after lunch at Brockham, a nice tour of the country lanes

B Group 17th October

Eleven of us set off for Lingfield  through Marden Park and then down to Godstone where Stephanie punctured. Ed's years of practice made swift work of this and we were soon on the road again along a short stretch of A25 ( with cycle lane) to Tandridge. A swift descent through the village was followed by a left turn into Southlands Lane and a somewhat circuitous route to Lingfield. We navigated the waters of Pope's Lane and continued south through Merle Common to Haxted, then taking Piers Lane to approach Lingfield past the racecourse.

At the Star we found Bob, who had abandoned our meanderings, already well fed. We were swiftly and cheerfully served - a very pleasant pub. Ian left us to catch the train home and Bob headed off at Outwood to ensure he didnt miss the football. We continued to South Nutfield and soon left Peter to make his way philanthropically to Redhill. Eight of us remained for the last climb up Fullers Wood Road to the A25 before the descent to Merstham and tea at Fanny's. 31 miles from elevenses and 55 in total for me.

B Group - 17th October

Maps showing Brian's ride in two parts, the morning ride from Caterham to Lingfield, and the afternoon ride to Fannys Farm for afternoon tea

Most of the Bs would agree that Brian's ride merits a rainbow edition of the route map, courtesy of GPS Visualizer using a Google Hybrid map:

A Group 17 October

Caterham on the Hill - Ide Hill - Carshalton

Bec Hill Climb.

Chartwell - Where's Mike?

Catford Hill Climb

The reward: a feast of cake -  grateful thanks from all to Mrs G

Somebody had to make the sacrifice, so I had the honour of getting to the top of the hills first, to capture on film the happy smiles of the riders as they crested the summit. This did mean that I had to take a rather more circuitous but quicker route!

B Group - 10th October

There really isn't much that I can say about the route is there?  After all, it was very short and non strenuous as Pete 'the pump' can confirm - he thanked me with a kiss because of it :)  Lunch was good at The Twynersh, Chertsey and the staff were most hospitable.  We left the pub at approximately 14.40 after having arrived there before 13.30.  Then as you say Tim, within an hour we were at Shepperton Squires, drinking tea and eating cakes!!
I can only thank all my helpers of the day.....maybe next time I won't be leading a ride straight from two holidays.....but I enjoyed the day and I must add that I thought the AGM was conducted extremely well, thanks to Pete and Terry, and I would like to say that I believe Cliff needs a pat on the back!

Pam