Sunday 14 Aug - change of lunch destination

Our lunch destination on Sunday will now be the Rose and Olive Branch, Virginia Water, which gives us a shorter and shady ride, with an option of a detour into Windsor Great Park for those who would like to do that.

Elevenses is still at Shepperton, Nauticalia, as published.   I hope you can join us.

Ride Report - Sunday 7 August (Horton Park and Putney)

 

Quite a few Sunday regulars weren't available today (surely there can be no connection with the challenging ride the week before), but we still mustered a respectable seven riders (Bob, Ed, Simon, Graham, Steve D and I) for elevenses.

Over-familiarity with The Sportsman at Mogador and the related golf club track decided us on a complete change of direction for lunch and we duly set off for Putney!   Bob left us at elevenses and Ed joined us for the first part of the ride only.   Graham kindly piloted us on short detour to admire Pete Mitchell's memorial seat, then we took a slightly circuitous route via Barrow Hill, Green Lane, and Cannon Hill Common towards Wimbledon Common.

The common was busy, dusty and sandy but there was some welcome shade and it made a nice change for a Cheam and Morden ride!     We the drifted down a maze of back streets eventually emerging in Putney High Street right near our destination, The Rocket.

The Rocket wasn't too busy and we were lucky to find a a shaded table with a cooling breeze.   It was difficult to drag ourselves away but from lunch Simon and Graham led a slightly longer route home via the Thames while I took a direct route across Richmond Park on a humanitarian mission to save my tomatoes!   

Many thanks to all for your company!

Author: David W

Ride Report for Sunday 31 August 2022 - a Bridge Too Far?

 

Until now I have never been quite sure of the meaning of the phrase 'howls of execration', but after today's ride I have a much better understanding!   The morning started off peaceably enough with Bob, Simon, Lilian, Ed, Diane, Dave E, Graham, Pam, Geoff G and Ray W joining me for a very pleasant elevenses, al fresco, at Squires, Stoke d'Abernon.

We left Bob at Squires and set off over Downside Common and Wisley Airfield towards Ripley where Lilian and Ed left us.  The rest of made towards Send Church where I thought it would be a good idea to introduce the group to the delights of the footpath to Sutton Green!

The path starts off innocently enough but soon sinks into a deep rut, then nettles close in on either side, then there is a barbed wire fence on one side and the river Wey very close by on the other, but once you have crossed the narrow, awkward, steep-stepped bridge you have passed the worst...until the stile at the top of the steep bank across the meadow!    Anyway, everyone took this character-building, assault course-type route in their stride and there were no visible injuries, or more importantly, damaged bikes!    

From there it was an easy ride through Woking Park to recover in the haven that is Wetherspoons!   After a good lunch we took the usual route back to Walton Bridge via Sheerwater, West Byfleet, Addlestone and Weybridge, no off-road sections by request!

Many thanks to everyone for putting up with my dastardly outbound route, and to Geoff for very kindly back-marking all day.

Author: David W

IMPORTANT - Change to Programme for Sunday 31 July 2022

With regret, Sunday's planned train-assisted ride from Horsham is cancelled as there is national rail strike the previous day and train services early on Sunday morning will be disrupted.

Instead, elevenses will be at Squires Garden Centre, Cobham.   A possible destination is The Herbert Wells, Woking, which we have not visited for some time.   There are some interesting route possibilities!

Author: David W

Ride Report - Sunday 24 July 2021 (Weybridge & Longford)

 

Bob, Tony, Diane, Lilian, Ed, Ray, Graham, Maureen, Pam and I met at Morrisons, Weybridge's least expensive elevenses venue, and duly regaled ourselves with the sundry delights on offer!   Bob, Ed, Graham and Maureen made their own ways home while, once baggage was safely stowed in the overhead lockers and all seatbelts fastened, the rest of us took off for Heathrow!  In a radical break with tradition, our route took us in an anti-clockwise direction!   Some thought they saw similarities to a previous route of Simon Lambourn's - pure, blind coincidence, I say!

There were one or two surprisingly picturesque corners en route to Hatton Cross, after which we weren't sure 'who was zooming who' - as we circumnavigated Heathrow we passed an army of plane spotters  watching the planes, as we, fascinated, watched them and their elaborate equipment!

Our 'refuelling stop', The White Horse, proved once again to an excellent place for lunch, with a very welcoming and helpful landlord, and delightful floral decorations.   Once replete and on the road again we kept the airport on our east side and took a fairly direct route to the end point at Shepperton.   The sky turned increasingly hazy as we travelled south, and the strong, acrid smell of smoke from a large fire on Hankley Common made it a distinctly unpleasant and stifling ride, but we survived!

Many thanks to everyone for your company!

Author: David W

Hot Pursuit to Guildford - 17 July

Hot

A great turnout at The Queen Stage, Effingham despite the amber warning of hot weather (31 degrees).  And not just the ten C&M riders but a constant flow of other groups of cyclists kept the place buzzing.    Great to see Mark back on his first outing after his broken shoulder.  Bob was heading home while Pam and Tony chose to do a shorter ride in view of the heat.   Very sensible.

Missing Pam, David & Tony

There he is!

Chat

The rest of us, not so sensible, headed to Guildford after a referendum chose the higher-level route, involving more shade but starting with the climb up Green Dene.  Once ascended, the only way was Down, along the North Downs Way to be precise.  (What is it called in the other direction?  Surely it can't be Down in both directions?)  We were worried about hordes of walkers but they were strangely absent - perhaps they had heard something on the weather forecast?

Rachel

Pewley Down

Keith left us after admiring the views at Newlands Corner to ride back along NCN22, and we continued to Pewley Down where more views were admired, including a pretty clear view over the whole London skyline from Wembley to Docklands, just near the semaphore tower.   The remaining six of us found a shaded table at The King's Head and had a very enjoyable lunch.  I was half expecting everyone to get the train home due to the increasing heat, but in fact it was quite pleasant in the breeze, and only Mark and David made their own way home. 

Up-market doggy bar

The return route was seeking shade, along the Wey Navigation and north where we were pleased to find that Jacob was in his usual good health - the signs saying Jacob's Well were out as usual.  Does he never have a bad day?  The temptations of Woking station came and went, so we dodged the War of the Worlds fighting machine onto the canal (towpath, that is) to make our way back to New Haw and on to Walton, where Lilian kindly bought Rachel, Graham and myself ice creams - thank you!   In the end the temperature was around 29 degrees at Walton in the shade, with a nice breeze making it bearable.  Thanks to all for coming out on a hot day and for your company.

Ride plan Sunday 17th July

We are meeting for 11s, as advertised, at The Queen Stage, Effingham (just on the corner of the double roundabouts), which has some air conditioning.   I still plan to ride to Guildford, and we can either go across the top (off road but all under tree cover) to Merrow Downs Pewley Hill, or perhaps do a lower-level route.  Lunch destination in Guildford will be by referendum, probably somewhere shady where we can rehydrate.

It's forecast to be 26 degrees at Effingham at 11.00, and 28 in Guildford at lunch time, so please bring plenty of water.  31 degrees by tea time, so the option of returning by train might appeal to some or even all of us by then.