6 September - the Teddy Bears' Picnic

If you go down to the woods today
you're sure of a big surprise

If you go down to the woods today
you'd better go in disguise

'Cause every bear that ever there was

 

will gather there for certain because

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Picnic time for teddy bears

The little teddy bears are having
a lovely time today (?)

Watch them, catch them unawares
and see them picnic on their holiday

See them gaily gad about

They love to play and shout,
they never have any cares

At six o'clock, their mummies and daddies
will take them home for tea,
'cause they'll be tired little teddy bears.

An off-road ride from Reading?   With various cancellations and train disruptions, I wondered if anyone would turn up, but I was delighted when a whole group of adventurous riders arrived at the Gorge cafe from various directions, including Patrick who rode the whole way to Reading.

The morning ride only had a bit of off-road as we followed the Thames past grand houses, big views and alpacas, crossing the river at Pangbourne.  We loosely followed the river Pang for many pretty miles to our lunch stop at Bucklebury Farm Park.  After lunch, we climbed to the start of the off-road trail, and then descended into the beautiful and varied woods of the Bucklebury Estate, which are criss-crossed by tracks and footpaths, not to mention roots, fallen trees and other obstacles to watch out for.

After quite a few miles in the jungle there was a shout and a sort of crunch.   We went back to investigate and found that Sue's back mudguard had folded itself inside-out against they tyre.   Sue herself was shaken but not stirred.   The wheel was taken off, mudguard removed, (surprisingly looking completely undamaged), and we continued on to tea.  Arriving at Aldermaston Wharf tea rooms, we were welcomed by being told that they were just about to shut (in 25 minutes), but they were definitely not stressed about it.   We knew that because the lady told us quite forcefully that she wasn't stressed.  Anyway we enjoyed tea and cake by the canal before the deadline and continued along the canal back to Reading.

My thanks to everyone who came for taking a risk with our adventure and for your excellent company, to Andy and Ged for photos, to Eric for spotting various train warnings, and to Andy for back-marking.

Plans for 6 September - Gravel ride from Reading

You're invited to do something a bit different on Sunday.   A ride in the beautiful West Berkshire countryside, with a fair bit of gravel riding: on bridleways, through ancient woods and returning along the Kennet & Avon canal towpath.   A third of the ride is unsurfaced, so if you don't like stony surfaces, this is probably not for you.  But if you're confident on loose gravel, it's fine on a road bike.  I've done it twice with 28mm tyres and loved it.

Elevenses at the Gorge cafe, near Reading Station, lunch at Bucklebury Farm Cafe and most of the off-road in the afternoon.   We will hopefully have tea at Aldermaston Wharf tea rooms, which closes at 4pm, before the final nine miles along the canal back to Reading.   39 miles in all and 1400 feet of climbing.

Important - Travel advice

Please be ready to leave at 11, to increase our chance of getting to the tea stop in time.   This post has details of how to get to the Gorge Cafe from Reading station.

There are no trains from Richmond/Twickenham to Reading (there's a replacement bus service).   Options are:

• Elizabeth Line from Ealing/Southall/Paddington/Farringdon etc.  Farringdon connects with Thameslink trains.
• From Surbiton/Wimbledon etc, change at Basingstoke, about 20 mins from Basingstoke to Reading.
• From Dorking Deepdene, direct, takes about an hour

I do hope you can join us!

Sunday 30th August 2026

 

A feature of Summer 2026, the sunflowers as seen here at Shere.

Elevenses (West Horsley, Squires) - Andy C, Keith R, Dave W, Eric G, Sue F, Terry L, Dave V, Caroline & John B + Dawn.

Conventional roads to Farley Green then we took the pretty but still climbing Shophouse Lane & a short off-road exploit which was perfectly rideable even after the recent rain.

A very brief shower just before a cheeky back route through Cranleigh School took us to a quiet B2128 & lunch at Notcutts, Cranleigh

We all went our separate ways in the afternoon but I followed the published route to Ockley then to Broomehall Road to climb up to Coldharbour from the south.

The wiki entry for Broome Hall:

'The actor Oliver Reed bought the 56-bedroom property in 1971, and became the so-called "Master of Broome Hall" for eight years. 

Reed only bought the house because he was looking for a field for a horse he had bought from Johnny Kidd, the father of future supermodel Jodie Kidd, who ran a stud farm in Ewhurst. 

He then spent a fortune renovating it.

The naked wrestling scene with Reed and Alan Bates in Ken Russell's 1969 film Women in Love is said to have been filmed there. 

Reed was banned from his local pub there for descending a chimney naked and shouting out: "Ho! Ho! Ho! I'm Santa Claus'.

Later, the Grade II-listed building was bought by a property developer & converted into eleven flats.

Thanks to Keith for the ford photos & everyone else for your company.

Cycling UK Awards

Two of our longest-serving members, David W and Andy, were presented with awards from Cycling UK yesterday, recognising their dedication and hard work to support the Cheam and Morden section over the years.

In the days when Cheam and Morden had a reputation for hard riding, Andy was Rides Secretary for many years, developing a programme of longer rides to far-flung places, usually with a picnic lunch.   In later years David took over the Rides Secretary role, and Andy has now taken over the General Secretary role. Under their leadership, the Cheam and Morden section is in good health with a combination of quite adventurous rides plus some more local outings to include those who don't want a longer ride.

Both David and Andy are prolific ride leaders, drawing on their long experience of riding to come up with interesting rides, and are very deserving recipients of these Cycling UK awards.   Thank you, David and Andy, for your steadfast and quiet, no-fuss service and dedication, turning out week after week; and creating an easy-going atmosphere where people are welcome and there’s always an interesting ride on offer.

Thanks are also due to Maddie and Alan for their work behind the scenes to make these awards happen.

Doubly-discombobulated - Ride Report for Sunday 23 August 2026

 

We were having a very enjoyable al-fresco elevenses beside the river at Staines when Simon, very ominously, stood up, demanded silence, and began to make an announcement.   Oh crikey, I thought, I've been rumbled at last.  In front of everyone, including our chair and our secretary, my bicycle pump is going to be ceremonially broken in two,  my CTC badge torn off, and I'm going to be formally (and rightly) expelled from the group for disservices to cycling!   And not before time, either, you say!

Imagine my surprise when, instead of suffering this fate, Andy C and I were presented with impressive 'certificates of appreciation' from CUK for services rendered.   Many thanks, everyone, your appreciation is greatly appreciated!

Anyway, somewhat discombobulated, I began the ride I was due to lead to Camberley.   All went without incident until we were near Blacknest, when my chainset decided to spontaneously deconstruct itself!   It is somewhat disconcerting to suddenly find your left foot still connected to a pedal and crank which are no longer connected to your bike!

It could easily have been far worse!  Fortunately, the rest of the group managed to avoid me, and I managed to recover and refit enough parts to get mobile again, if not 100% roadworthy.    My first thoughts were to abandon my ride, and Simon very kindly offered to take over the lead, but, after brief reflection, I saw I had to get home somehow and seemed a good idea to ride along with the group for a bit and see how things went.   

As it happened, there were no further problems, and things worked out better than I had hoped, although I was, by now doubly-discombobulated!   I stopped to check my bolts every now and again, and in the end, was able to enjoy lunch at The Claude Duvall with the group, and then lead them on to tea at Great Cockcrow Railway.  How fortunate for them!   I don't doubt it will be of great comfort to C & M riders in future to know that have two certified people to lead them!

Many thanks to everyone for your company, and for putting up with a more than usually disjointed ride from me, and special thanks to Simon, and to Andy for back-marking, and the usual photo credits to all.

Unpublished photos from the Cambridge ride 9th August...

 

Plans for Sunday 23 August 2026

 

Sunday's ride will be as billed, from elevenses at Staines to lunch at The Claude Duvall, Camberley, and then back to tea at Lyne.  In the event of a wet start, elevenses will be at The George, Staines, but you can safely assume it's at the Little Green Boat Cafe, Lammas Recreation Ground unless you hear to the contrary

As it's a long ride for some from home to Staines, it's a fairly short ride to lunch (about 15 miles), then about 12 miles back to tea at old summer favourite, Great Cockcrow Railway.

The route is here https://connect.garmin.com/app/course/503733675