Stop - Go: Wayfarers Rides are Stopped Again.

The inevitable has happened! Wayfarers rides are stopped again. Tier 4 restrictions now imposed means we can no longer ride as a cycling group. The Wayfarers Ride Programme is therefore suspended until further notice.

Further details of the Covid-19 Tier 4 Regulations are awaited, but it seems that you can exercise without restriction by yourself - or with someone else from Tier 4 so long as you stay in Tier 4. (It's a big area so don't get lost!). Christmas cycling together is going to be a big disappointment to you all.

We'll be glad to see the back of 2020. What is there to look forward to in the Rides Programme 2021? The Annual Lunch and Hilly 50 in March - unlikely! The curtailed - and real AGM in May - maybe? The Dieppe Raid in June - hopeful! But we have to be optimistic that once vaccinated we'll ride again.

Happy New Year!

Hidden Charlwood ( and Happy Christmas)

 Earlier this week I watched a local Arts Society presentation about various "treasures" of the Mole Valley. Two were in Charlwood and yet I don't ever remember a ride detouring to see them. So this morning after the rain I headed off to find them.

The first is the local lockup - dating from 1792. No frills but I imagine the average occupant would have sobered up by the morning.

The other is rather more impressive. In 1797 during the Napoleonic wars a guard room was built for troops stationed at Horsham. In 1816 it was moved to Charlwood to become an Independent Calvinistic Chapel ( no fun there then). It was at some point renamed the Providence Chapel and continued in use for nearly 200 years though the congregation dwindled in the 20th century and the last member became disabled in 2012. Although put up for sale it was saved by a trust which restored it with a lottery grant. In normal times it hosts occasional events and was open on the Heritage Days in September. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly it is at the end of Chapel Road!

Happy Christmas to all. Lets hope for a better 2021!

A Group 23 December

 Steve's info about the ride and joining instructions are posted quite a way down the blog, here.

B Group - advice for 23rd December

Next Wednesday's ride (23 Dec) is back on (basis is that all riders are living in a tier 3 area) so please email me on kenday06@yahoo.co.uk  by 7pm on Monday if you are able to join us.

Plan is to start from Denbies and finish at the Stoke D'Abernon Patisserie where we can get some food.
We could also stop for coffee and cake at Pinnocks in Ripley if the weather is OK as they have tables and brollies outside.

Denbies Tier 3 update says that the Hatch coffee shop is still open but the toilets are shut. According to the website public toilets in Ripley are open.

The distance is 23  miles with only one significant climb out of Denbies onto Ranmore Common and only a small section of well surfaced track- see route below. If we start the first group at 10.20 we can all be home in the light and hopefully avoid festive fueled drivers. The route can easily be shortened if the weather is bad.

Ken's route

(Zoom in and change the Map Type to see the detail better. Export the TCX or GPX file for your Garmin if required.)

Thanks

Ken
 

Stop - Go : Wayfarers Ride Again!

Following the government's announcement of Tier 3 for Surrey, the same Tier 3 Coronavirus restrictions now apply equally to all Wayfarers. This means that you can all now ride in a group of six or fewer, no matter where you live  - so long as you follow all the relevant up-to-date guidelines on the website. 

Ride leaders for 23rd December have been advised of this latest change, and have rides already prepared. Please check the blog for their announcements. Thereafter Wayfarers rides are planned for 30th December. At this stage it is not known if these regulations will remain in place in 2021.

Have a Happy Christmas!

A London Ride

I had some Christmas presents to deliver, so I rode up to my son's house and then made a loop along the river and back home up CS7 to make a ride of it.  It was quite like some of our London Rides, and I enjoyed it

I noticed a few things along the way.  Firstly, and no surprise, it wasn't very busy, with the majority of the traffic seeming to be delivery vans of one sort or another.  I couldn't easily get anything to eat or drink - the food stalls that were open in a few places smelled enticing, but the queues were long, which put me off.  I guess that it's pretty hard to find your lunch, if you do have to work in London.

Another thing that struck me was the cycling infrastructure.  It has been a while since I rode in Central London, and there have been steady improvements in many places.  There are a lot of segregated cycle lanes, which are very good, and a handful of recently-erected emergency schemes, which are a bit more haphazard.  CS7 has been significantly improved, with plastic posts separating the cycle lane from the cars for most of its length, and with many 'floating' bus stops, where the cycle way passes on the pavement side and the bus stops in the traffic.

To go with all of this were lots of bikes.  The 'Just Eat' and 'Deliveroo' riders often had special purpose electric bikes, with a motor in the front wheel, a box on the back and a large battery in the frame.  But the flagships of the delivery fleet were the danish-style 'barrow' bikes, with a large load compartment in front of the rider.  I saw a few of these, and they're quite imposing coming towards you down a cycleway.  They too were mostly electric, and, like all of the delivery bikes, were being ridden as fast as they would go.

A good run in the sunshine.

Mark

PS - CS7 is Stane Street, of course.  One of the Roman superhighways.

 

Season's greetings....

                                                                      ....from Dorking.

Terry

If you're heading south you ...

......could get refreshments here at 52 The Street, Charlwood (but not on Monday).

You might (or might not) wish to take your children/grandchildren with you.

Terry
 

Wayfarers Rides are Cancelled. Tier 3 Restrictions apply to all rides.

The Committee have decided to cancel all Wayfarers rides following today’s government announcement that London will enter Tier 3 with effect from Wednesday 16th December.

This decision has been reached despite not all members being affected by Tier 3 restrictions. Committee felt that it was against the spirit of the club to allow only existing Tier 2 members to join a ride. And also contrary to the new restrictions to allow mixing of members from different Tiers, or to encourage organised riding outside the Tier where you live. 

Members may wish to decide for themselves whether they wish to ride on an informal basis.

Further information will be provided on the blog when Cycling U.K. has provided guidance, and when the implications of the restrictions for rides for the rest of the year, and for the rides in 2021 are better understood.

B A D N E W S

 London will move into England’s highest tier of coronavirus restrictions from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday, MPs have been told.

 

B Group ride to West End, Bisley 16^th December

 

Calling all B's!  Please let me know (peterjtiller@gmail.com) before 6pm Monday if you want to join the ride.

See Ride With GPS no 34831582 for the full details. 

We'll be going to the Hare & Hounds, West End, Bisley for lunch and then returning to Addlestone for tea if you wish. About 24 miles in total. The start is Churchfields Recreation Ground, Weybridge. The start time for the first group will be 1000. We will be using the canal to by-pass Woking having been through Brooklands first. 

Peter T

A Group 16th December - Weybridge to Puttenham and Effingham. Invitation to Ride.

We’ll be riding south-west from Weybridge, over the Hogs Back, and back to Effingham. Lunch will be at The Good Intent pub, Puttenham, which has nicely-spaced tables in a heated marquee, with tea, for those wanting to stop, at The Coffee Bar, Effingham.

Approximately 23 miles to lunch, with a longish afternoon, for a winter ride, of 18 miles to tea. As such I would like to make an Early Start, with first-comers to arrive at the pub at noon, and ensure as much daylight riding as possible.

My two co-leaders are Hans and Janice, with the following planned departure times from Churchfields  Recreation Ground:-

9.40am Hans

10.00am Janice

10.20am Ged

The planned route includes some limited off-road riding, a good gravel Bridle Path and a short path to take us over the over the R.Wey at Guildford. There is the opportunity to shorten the route in the morning if the weather is grotty: less so in the afternoon.

The Good Intent has requested that we pre-order lunch in order for the kitchen to have things ready. Please make your choice from the attached menu (unfortunately not online) when you respond to this invitation, and I will confirm orders before leaving Weybridge. 

                                                                                         

The routine Coronavirus protocols apply as contained on the website and which you should be familiar with.

Please respond to this invitation by Monday evening 14th Dec. By email; gedlawrenson150@gmail.com, or by the Wayfarers WhatsApp. 

If you are unable to ride after responding to this invitation please let me know before Weds. morning. In the (unlikely) event of more than 15 riders responding numbers will be chosen on a first-come first-served basis.

Further details of groups and departure times will be emailed to you. The .gpx route can be made available to those willing to assist Hans and Janice navigating the route, as they may not have had the opportunity to recee the route beforehand.

Many Thanks

Motivation

Another Book

 CTC has recently published a guide book for its new 'King Alfred's Way'.  It seems pretty handy, with sensible descriptions, useful information, and maps.  It's good to see that Julie Rand, the CTC staffer who supported us with the Tri-Vets is in a number of the pictures, riding her mountain-crushing gravel bike.

I've ridden part of it, and Mike R has ridden some, too. He reports that it's a bit mucky at the moment (no surprise), but it should make a good ride for the Summer.

Mark

B Group - 9th December

On a cold winter morning the station at Claygate turned out to be a great place to meet, the toilets on the platform were open and the coffee from Coco Café was excellent. 

Three groups totalling sixteen departed and made their way towards Leatherhead via Hook. Once there, we started to climb up to Tyrrells Wood Golf Club, and by the time we had reached this point we had certainly warmed up. Beautiful views over the golf club and of the nearby houses, of which I am informed Andy Murray has one.

The climbing had not finished yet though, through Headley Court, then turning at the old forge, no longer a forge but an interior designers shop, something I had missed on the recce. Still not finished, Hurst Lane and up to Walton on the Hill.

Worthy of particular mention was Grant, who flew up the hills, amazing!

From here the hardest work was over, down to the Epsom Downs and to the outskirts of the town. Pete Beyer had suggested at the start that the groups should use The Avenue in Tadworth as it is a quieter road, David’s group did take it, the road proved what Pete had said, but it was steeper and harder work, never mind, fortunately I ignored the advice, next time.

During the ride, we encountered Christina and her group, two plus her, she informed me that sadly Sue had to abandon in Hook due to a knee problem and her husband Steve left with her for an easier ride through Kingston and along the path by the Thames.

We finished at the Old Moat to find two very cold Wayfarers, Pete and David, trying to keep warm by drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Big thanks to Christina and David for sub-leading, particularly Christina who did a recce of the route in the rain last Sunday.

Great company, enjoyed all the banter!

Stay safe

Jennie  

Due to Financial constraints the BBC is repeating weather forecasts these days (Dave C)

A Group Ride 23rd December

I am planning ahead to gauge numbers for this ride, because it is two days before Christmas day and will be the shortest daylight hours. For these reasons I have planned a shorter ride than normal. We will meet at Leatherhead High Street where we can buy a hot drink in either Amici cafe or Annie's or Costa Coffee in the Swan Centre. Toilets are located in the Swan Centre at the main entrance and also in the three cafes. I plan to ride to Cobham, Esher, Hinchley Wood, Thames Ditton and then Bushey Park to Teddington and back to Kingston where we will stop for lunch at 'The Boaters Inn'. I have booked two tables outside with down light heaters built into the canopy covers. The outside space is safe and has plenty of room to secure our bikes and overlooks the Thames and bike path. The route is exactly 18 miles with little ascent. We will arrive at 12 am onwards which will leave plenty of time to relax, eat and make our way home in daylight. I have not planned an afternoon tea stop although Kingston Market Square is not far away. 

As from 4th October Mole Valley council have pedestrianised the High Street in Leatherhead from 10 am to 4.30 pm seven days a week and cyclists are allowed during these hours also. However, bizarrely, cyclists have to observe the One Way regulation, which means you can cycle up from the bottom, but not down from the top. I have posted a comment to the council that this regulation should not apply to cyclists in line with London Borough regulation. Anyway for the time being we will have to walk down the hill for our exit point. I have tried to make the route as interesting as I can, although the first part of the ride is a fast A road.

I know it is a little premature, but I would like to know if you fancy a shortish ride in grey, gloomy, dank, but frost free conditions, with no off road, provided you are able to plan that far ahead of course. My email is steve_duffin@yahoo.co.uk. I am also looking for group leaders who would like to do a recce beforehand, although the route is straightforward enough to read from .gpx. I would be grateful for your replies as soon as you can, but the deadline is 6pm Monday 21st December. Steve D.

The A group heads for the hills - 9 Dec

The recce nearly killed me.   I had thoughtfully put in a few hills to keep us warm on the way to Walliswood:  White Down, Abinger (basically Leith Hill) and Holmbury hill.   On a bright but bone-chilling Saturday, the two co-leaders Janice and Brian were up and at 'em like a pair of gazelles, leaving me, their leader, acting as back marker. 

Wednesday was a bit warmer, thank goodness.  Janice led the first group:

We managed to set off from Stoke D’Abernon on time despite Neil W’s puncture on the way and Dave B having to shove half his mince pie in his pocket. Thanks for organising the mince pies Simon!

Temporary lights just after setting off caused some confusion and also unnecessary irritation in some drivers and we were glad to leave the busy road behind as we were on Lower Road and heading for the hills leaving all that behind.

A cool day was quickly overlooked as we tackled the two climbs before lunch and arrived in Walliswood in good time. Service at the Scarlett Arms was quick, the food was good and the marquee was heated. It doesn’t get much better on a cold December day in 2020!

After lunch it was a relatively flat route to Denbies where Neil stopped for refreshments but the rest of us pushed on home. Indeed I was home by 2.30 with over 50 miles on my garmin, freeing up plenty of time to give my bike a much needed wash.

Thanks to my group (Mark, Neil W, Fiona, Dave B and Mike R) for good company. Also to Simon for an enjoyable route and for ensuring it was so much milder than the reccie on Saturday and that the marquee was heated (Saturday was possibly the coldest I’ve ever been).

My group, consisting of Ged, John B, Steve W, Peter B and Dave V, took a slightly more comfortable (for me) pace.   Nobody took up my generous offer to bypass one or two of the hills so we had to do the whole route, arriving at Walliswood just in time to see Janice's group getting ready to depart.  

They had very kindly defrosted the marquee for us so it was comfortably warm - well, maybe less cold would be more accurate.   It was very tempting to see lovely warm fires burning inside the pub, but sadly, nobody sitting inside.

Out of bounds

We returned via Weare Street, and five of us stopped at Denbies for tea, despite the approaching dusk.  Thank you to my group for your company, and to Dave V for back marking.

 

The final group consisted of riders who I think had less far to travel home, led by Brian:

Our group was reduced to four - just Sue, Alan, Dave and myself. We set off fairly promptly and made steady progress up to Ranmore. While regrouping two young labradors appeared unaccompanied heading west along Ranmore Common Road. Concerned for their welfare and the traffic hazard Sue set off after them hoping to stop them and find a phone number on a collar. Fortunately several cars stopped to help after about a quarter of a mile and we left them to deal with the situation. After that we enjoyed the lanes around Abinger and Holmbury Hill arriving to find a warm ( heated!) tent and Simon's group enjoying their lunch. Our food was quickly served and we were not far behind them leaving. After being almost hypothermic on the recce I was glad I had dressed well. A mere 4degC along Weare Street was even colder than Saturday. No-one stopped for tea and we stayed as a group to Ashtead. Thanks to my group for their company and Simon for the mince pies.

 

In previous years, this has been the week of our Christmas lunch, but not this year.  Roll on 2021.   I am continually surprised and grateful for the willingness of so many people to turn out on rides and brave the outdoors for elevenses, lunch and tea stops, and especially so for all those who offer week after week to co-lead rides so we can accommodate multiple groups of six.  Thank you especially to Janice and Brian for helping make this week's ride go smoothly, and for contributing to my winter training programme on the recce.

Nor'Wester Ham it Up

 6 met at Nauticalia at around 10.00 am for a longish before lunch ride to the Swiss bakery/cafe at Ham.I had planned a devious route, kept them all guessing, with a few lumps thrown in. I won't bore you with the route, see the map. 23 miles to lunch with a not too pleasant climate. We arrived at lunch to find that there was no queue, which made for a pleasantly quick service, the food although limited in selection, was really nice. All appetites sated, a quick photo and we headed for Teddington lock and dispersal as we had not planned to have afternoon tea due to the early onset of twilight.

 Outside the Swiss bakery at Ham

Thank you all for your very pleasant company and a very nice chilly excursion into the depths of Claygate. 

 

Tony..

Mudguards

This stops those behind getting your rear wheel spray! On sale at Sigma👍

 Wayfarers' lunch time photostop