Let’s Be Careful Out Here

Yesterday's ride starting/finishing in Surbiton (where I rode past the  resting Jenny and Dave). Plenty of walkers and cyclists but you'll have ask Mr Gove if they were "exercising". And with car parks closed it seems one can now park anywhere! But I mustn't moan too loudly as my mileage topped 25 miles.

Simon's herd of Belted Galloways looks like the herd I past on Muddy Lane last Tuesday. If there have been changes, I didn't spot f them.

I don't know Simon's route across Boldermere but the byway (Elm Lane?) from Elm Corner to Old Lane is the worst I know and unrideable even in summer.

Author: RaasayWarden

Bicycle Rambling

The C&M blog has become a bit of desert since the lockdown, so here's another attempt to spur some others to write about what you've been doing.  Come on - surely you haven't all been neglecting your daily exercise in such lovely weather?

Since the restrictions on cycling, I have been enjoying 'cycling rambling' on many days.   Rather than a bike ride, which sounds quite purposeful, I've just been setting off to explore areas not too far from home, maybe getting a bit lost, and discovering what's there.  It's been very enjoyable: even the urban rides are interesting but there are loads of parks, heaths and commons dotted around, often very quiet.

Yesterday I was a bit out of my normal area, delivering a Sou'Wester to Bill Squirrell, so I wandered off south to the area of heathland around the crossing of A3 & M25: Wisley and Ockham Common.

Woolly cows (a cross between cows and sheep?)

South along the Wey past Manor Farm with woolly cows...

River Wey by Manor Farm

Then a sort of zigzag of tracks of varying quality on Wisley Common, gorgeous pond there by Pond Farm, then across the A3 on the Wisley footbridge.

Wisley Common

Wisley Common

Farm Pond (near Pond Farm!)

Farm Pond

After several attempts, I managed to find a track taking me to Bolder Mere just south of the A3: it wasn't a good idea, quite muddy and in several places boardwalks had been laid across the mud: I wasn't brave enough to cycle along them.  Putting a foot down in the wrong place would end up with falling in the swamp!  Emerging near Ockham Bites, I then followed a route across Ockham Common that Keith showed me last year, to the semaphore tower on Chatley Heath.  Disappointingly it's covered with scaffolding at the moment.  Then down via Pointers Road to Plough Lane and Cobham, familiar territory.

Bolder Mere

Bolder Mere, adventure playground

Not quite finished with off-road rambling, I set off north-west from Cobham along Hogshill Lane and the more or less straight line of intermittent road and path (another one of Keith's routes) to Fairmile Common and Esher Common, round the back of Claremont and popping out at Claygate.   Most of the time was spent in the woods or on heathland, and the weather in late afternoon was gorgeous.  You could easily spend a few days just exploring all those areas.

Fairmile Common

Pond on Littleworth Common, Esher

Nearly home!

C&M Easter Tour - not dead, just pining for the fjords

Man walks into a shop:  "I want to return this Easter Tour" ... you can fill in the rest yourself.

This weekend, we should have been enjoying delightful company, great beer, lovely cafes, beautiful plumage, sunshine! and a bit of cycling thrown in for good measure, in the delightful environs of Salisbury, formerly best known for Novichok.  Now we have a new worry.  Not only are we not allowed to touch 'items' in case they are contaminated by Novichok; we are also not allowed to go near 'people'.  We have learned some new words: Social Distancing for example.

Last year we saw some terrible examples of failure to socially distance.  Don't do this, folks!

Awful

Disgraceful

Bellyfull (after a prolonged squawk)

The point of this post is partly to remember the good times and look forward to their return, but also to thank Steve and Ann, who did 99% of the work of organising the tour before it had to be cancelled, creating even more work, so they have now done at least 120% of the work required to organise the tour.   With luck and good behaviour by the great British public, the tour will be rescheduled to next year and be even more successful.   Plus, it will only require -20% of the work to organise it...or maybe we could revive it by putting four million volts through it.

Thank you, Steve and Ann, for this year, last year, all the years you have organised this great event.  I'm sure everyone who has been on these tours is extremely grateful to you for what you do.

1 Comment:

Keith 11 April 2020 at 17:29 BST

For a reminder of our last visit to Salisbury for Easter, see attached link

https://cheamandmorden.blogspot.com/2007/04/easter-naked-truth.html

Hopefuly we can all make it next year!

Keith

The Fairfield has spoken (though few are listening)

Author: RaasayWarden

One Less Traveled

Pour encourager les autres

Everything's closed (great!), nobody around (better!), and everything's drying out nicely so all that's needed are a few more off-roaders to flatten out the bumps.

In days gone by I'd noticed a "hole in the fence" at Gaston Bridge and wondered where it led. Well as the map shows to Ash Link nature reserve which straddles the M3 at the end of Nutty Lane (or to the clubhouse opposite the dump).

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A number of (dog) walkers, runners and flying golf ball warnings so the public has I assume permissive access. The nature reserve has been tarted up and is next to garden centre which surprisingly was open today (but for how much longer?).

Author: RaasayWarden

May/June issue of The Sou'Wester

The latest issue of The Sou'Wester is available on the website here.  Thanks to Colin, there is a printed version and over the next week or so, Colin and helpers are using their daily exercise to try to deliver to those who are likely not to get to see a digital version.

Solo ride reports

Anyone been out riding?    There are reports of solo rides appearing on the Beginners blog, and the Wayfarers blog: take a look if you are interested.

If you want to post something on this blog and you're not a regular author, just send an email (maybe with a picture or two) to one of the authors, and we'll try to post it for you.