Unpublished photos from the Cambridge ride 9th August...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

Plans for Sunday 16th August – Ride to Hayling Island

You are invited to join this week’s ride from Tilford to Hayling Island on an undulating route via Rushmoor, Headley, West Liss and Petersfield (where will stop for lunch). Our afternoon route is via Buriton, Idsworth, Rowlands Castle, Havant and Langstone to Hayling Island.

The return journey will be by train from Havant back to London.

The route is around 42 miles in length, which includes the route around Hayling Island and back to Havant. 

The ride will start at The Little Latte Coffee Shop in Tilford. Lunch will be at Petersfield with the lunch venue to be decided by the group. Petersfield has numerous pubs, coffee shops and cafes to choose from. Tea will be at Langstone overlooking the Harbour.

The route has two hills plus a gravel section on Hayling Island between Langstone and the Sea Front. This follows the disused Hayling Billy railway line and is loose gravel and stones.

Dave has kindly offered to lead a group from West Byfleet station to the Little Latte Coffee Shop to arrive in time for Elevenses. He will be leaving West Byfleet station at 8.30 sharp if you would like to ride with this group. There is a connecting train which leaves Wimbledon and Surbiton and arrives at West Byfleet at 8.24 if you were considering this option. Alternatively, the closest stations to Tilford are Milford or Farnham stations.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Alan

The GPX file of the route has been sent by WhatsApp.

Remembering Ken Day 😢

Ken nearest camera - April 2015

Pondering over the map with Jeff T - August 2015

Ken Day

I have received the very sad news that Ken Day died yesterday, at home with his family.   Ken was a regular rider with the Wayfarers over many years and perhaps even longer riding with the Cheam and Morden, often with his son Paul.   He was a very accomplished racer and rider and a captivating story-teller, having toured in some of the world’s most inhospitable places, including Iran and the Himalayas.   Despite his many achievements in cycling and at work (chemical engineering in oil refineries) he remained a quiet, humble man, but his natural enthusiasm could be sparked by a question on a topic that interested him.   I remember a lengthy and animated discussion resulting from a simple question “what does octane mean?”

In the last few years Ken’s health suffered, first with untreatable prostate cancer and later with Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.   He also suffered a complicated ankle injury when a driver drove into him while he was cycling.  Despite all this he was determined to keep cycling as long as possible, riding an e-bike for the last few years until his doctors told him very clearly that he must give up cycling.

Cycling in Ladakh, in the Himalayas

Many in the club will have fond memories of riding and conversing with Ken and he will be very much missed.  We send our condolences to his wife Maggie and their family.

Funeral details are not yet known but will be posted later.

Details for Sunday 9th August

I do hope you can join me for a Tour of Essex, Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire!

Aiming for the 09:23 Departure from Liverpool Street Station arrive Sawbridgeworth 10:03 

Suggest Super Off Peak Day Return (Route Any Permitted £16.70

Elevenses at The Shed Coffee House

Then 19 Miles through the lanes of Essex (plus a small bit of disused railway - Flitch Way)  to Lunch in Stansted Mountfitchet at Yeomans Cafe

After lunch 19 miles mostly following National cycle route 11 towards Cambridge to tea at Cafe 19

.

Then 10 miles to Cambridge where we will explore some cycling provision (including a Dutch style roundabout),

We will pass the Station on the way into Cambridge if anyone needs to get an earlier train.

Faster trains available to King's Cross or Thameslink to Blackfriars (change for Thameslink or short ride to Waterloo)

Then I have planned a short 5 mile sightseeing loop with a short riverside pub refreshment stop!

Total 53 Miles: GPX Route

A Towering Success? 2 August to Leith Hill

Well, people can't say they weren't warned.  But still they came, for a ride that was a bit different, braving the parched heat even at elevenses to sit outside at the the Tiger Lily Bus Cafe.  No tigers were in evidence, nor, for that matter, any buses.  Just a lot of sunshine, coffee and chat, and not a lot of shade.  Terry set off for home while ten of us headed for the shady lanes and the hills.

Enjoying the shade

Leith Hill is a serious hill, the highest in the south of England, and must be treated with respect.  So we respectfully approached it via Shere, Peaslake, Holmbury Hill and then Pasturewood Road.  Diane decided she'd had enough excitement on her first group ride with us for a while and peeled off around here - it was great to have your company, Diane.  By the time we arrived at the bottom of the track up to the tower, we knew we had climbed a big hill. 

Shere

Pond Lane

Radnor Road

Everyone seemed to manage well on the half a mile of stony track to reach the tower, and we found an idyllic picnic spot, in a glade of large trees within sight of the tower.   Andy and Christina climbed to the top of the tower (at a bargain reduced price of £4.05 during the August VAT holiday) to enjoy the amazing views.  A guide lent Andy his binoculars, through which he could see a wind farm on the Channel.  Andy was planning to take a photo of the rest of the group assembled down below but this didn't go as planned.  For one thing, it was like herding cats trying to rouse the group from their shady position to stand in the heat for a photo, and for another, Andy found that he got vertigo looking down from the tower, so the guide eventually attracted our attention and took a photo of us.

After all the climbing, the descent of the Leith Hill Greenway was even more of a test.  We skipped the first very rough section, instead going round on the road to Coldharbour.   Then we descended a long section of the off-road Wolvens Lane down to Wootton, about three miles but it seemed longer, with a few more sandy stretches than when I recced it a month ago.  At Wootton, Niall opted to take the road home while the rest of us headed for a bit more off-road across the valley and zigzagging up the other side towards Denbies.  Unfortunately I missed a crucial turning half way - or possibly fortunately, because it got us back to the road more quickly near Deepdene station, and we completed the ride along the road.   Most people headed for home and Rykas was packed with long queues for service, so Martina and I had a quick drink in the Stepping Stones pub before heading home.

Thank you everyone for coming on this adventure, for surviving and even perhaps enjoying the heat, the hills and all the off-road, and thanks for all your lovely photos.  It's nice to have some willing friends to try out "new" places and routes, even though as Andy reminded me, the C&M has had lunch at Leith Hill Tower before, under Graham Hill's leadership.

C&M's last visit