Woldingham Station MTB

Dave E, Paul M and Trevor to Woldingham Station to meet Barry G, Billy and Mick A for Ev's MTB ride. South over the downs, descending and crossing the M25 towards South Godstone. The climbs were tackled at a steady pace but rapid descents with dust flying from the wheels in the arid conditions. After a small circuit without crossing any roads Ev retraced part of the outward journey and headed for the Haycutter at Broadham Green between Tandridge and Hurst Green. A welcome relief after riding for more than 2 hours. The distance was 18 miles but the average speed was only 8mph due to the continual climbing and descending. Then a short ride of 14 miles back to Woldingham. However Ev had arranged a finale to climb the downs off road on a track ascending for 2 miles from 358 to 900 feet through Titsey Park. Excellent ride with routes that no one was familiar with. Dave, Paul and Trevor returned via Purley and suffered the usual consequences.

Mountain Bike Ride 1 August 2010

Seven brave souls met at the rural Woldingham station car park: Ev, Mick Ayliffe, Barry Gregory, Dave Elliot, Paul Martin, Trevor Hughes and Billy, looking fresh after last weeks ride and having been out on the previous day as well.

We headed south, saying hello to the goats, past Marden Farm on the bridle way, saying hello to John and Dennis, the pigs. Instead of climbing up to South Hawke we wheeled into the convent and up the convent road. We crossed the A22, using the bridge, we made our way up Gravel Hill before turning left onto the next trail (and through a thicket of stinging nettles) and wheeled around to the top of Gravel Hill where Paul Martin filled us in on the history of the Pilgrims Fort which used to stand there.

We descended off road towards the M25, almost colliding with some riders heading up the hill, crossing the A25 and heading on the sand based track to Rabies Heath Road. With Paul already asking for a tea break we headed down to do the loop of South Park; a lovely little loop around the fields which gave the chance for Mick to take a pic of us posing a ride past sunflowers! Completing the loop we turned right on the bridle way before Rabies Heath Road and made our way via Tilburstow and Tandridge to the stop at the Haycutter near Hurst Green.

While Paul and I discussed the problems of the world outside, the "commomers" decided to stay in the bar to leer at the barmaid in their infantile manner. Dave had to be dragged out when we set off again! If you like stilton cheese, get the ploughman's there as you get a massive wedge of it!

We headed East for a couple of miles through the pleasant woodland of the Chart before heading North again for the climb of the day up Titsey Hill. For the first time in four years the ford over the River Eden was dry. It was a heroic climb with only Mick and I riding up all of the way. Poor old Trevor got to within 20 yards of the top before being beaten by a rouge rocky bit of surface.

West along the ride to South Hawke before dropping down to Woldingham Station. 26 miles; a good pub stop; warm windless conditions which was overcast with a few sunny spells and no punctures. I do worry though about what Barry was puffing through the tube attached to pack on his back.

And well done Billy! After last weeks ride which took a bit out of him, he rode really well on a ridged bike.

Thanks to all of you for a most enjoyable ride.

Overgrown Bridleways

Bridleways that are overgrown in Surrey can be reported to Surrey County Council at eastsurreyhighways@surreycc.gov.uk

The stingers and blackberry bushes are starting to encroach in the hot weather so please let Surrey County Council know about it.

Guildford Shoreham off road 27 June 2010

Mike Ayliffe, Paul Martin met at Epsom station for the Guildford to Shoreham MTB following the route of the disused railway line. Steve Edgar and his friend, Chris, joined them at Bramley and road to Southwater for some refreshing drinks on this hot and sunny day. Steve and Chris returned and the other three road on in the heat and dust to the pub in Shoreham. Sitting in the cool pub with a beer and sandwich was most pleasant. (See Mick's picture below) Paul and Trevor left Mick at East Croydon and suffered the usual consequences. They know it is so important to rehydrate after exercise on a hot summer's day! Distance was 110 miles and max speed of 95 mph - OK train assisted but cycled miles were 47, average 10 mph.

Sunday 27th June 2010

"Daddy, Daddy, where were you on the day Germany knocked England out of the World Cup in 2010?"
"In the Red Lion in Old Shoreham supping Ropetackle from the Adur Brewery at Steyning at the end of a lovely off-road ride from Guildford along the Downslink on the hottest day of the year, my old son."
Cheers!

Bathwick Hill Stores

All of you who have ridden the Kennet & Avon canal over the last ten years or so will be familiar with the Bathwick Hill Stores, as we used to stop there on every trip for no real reason other than it was an old-fashioned type shop with a real character of an owner, Ken Smith. It was really too early in the ride for a stop but we always enjoyed going in there for the banter.

I do believe that Paul White and I stopped there for the first time when we rode a really horrible version of the ride from Reading to Bristol around 2002. I had a sore arse and Paul was feeling knackered. Ever since then we stopped there on every trip from Bristol to Reading.

There used to be a Jaguar showroom a few doors up which closed. Tesco applied to turn it into a metro and Ken managed to hold them off, with the support of the Bathwick community, for a number of years, but eventually Tesco succeeded and Ken, like so many other small traders up against the big boys, had to close down last year. Sadly he he passed away last September. This is the newpaper write-up:

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Bathwick-mourns-shopkeeper-Ken/article-1321239-detail/article.html

Sunday's Mountain Bike Ride to The Wetherspoons on the Lake, Stockley Park

A fine freezing Spring Day for Rob Starey's flat ride (in deference to Mick's ticker!) from Cheam, Kingston Bridge, Bushey Park, Colnbrook Park, Hounslow Heath, Grand Union Canal to Stockley Park just beyond Hayes, and return through Osterley Park, Syon Park, Richmond Park and Worcester Park. 42 miles at a leisurely pace. Rob Starey, Bob Green, Barry Gregory, Mick Ayliffe and welcome guests Andy, Andy and Keith from the KP's.

Sunday 7th February 2010 - MTB Ride to the Olympic Park.

Fifteen cyclist joined Bob Starey’s ride to the Olympic Park at Stratford The Clarencourt was represented by Steve Edgar, Dave Elliott, Paul Martin, Paul White, Bob Green, Mick O’Brian, Barry Gregory, Paul and Vicky Kelly and Trevor Hughes. Bob lead this wonderful ride through Beddington Park, West Croydon, Deptford, the London Docks to Bow along bye ways and parks. Seldom did we ride on a road. We crossed the river using the Greenwich foot tunnel. Opened on 4 August 1902, the tunnel replaced an expensive and sometimes unreliable ferry service, and was intended to allow workers living on the south side of the Thames to reach their workplaces in the London docks and shipyards then situated in or near the Isle of Dogs. We passed by the new Olympic football/athletic stadium. There was some 24 miles of riding on the flat with no hills and a gentle descent to London. There was a drink and food stop in Bow before the return journey.



The return journey from London to Cheam was via the Millennium Bridge, Clapham Common and Merton for an afternoon drink. Total ride distance for the day of approximately 45 miles.

Off to the Olympics...

Off to the Olympic Stadium actually!

Sunday MTB ride to Oxted

Thanks to Keith Rook for these photos of the 9 hardy souls who braved the cold ride on what Rob Starey prophesied would be a route, "None of them will have ridden before!"

Sunday's Mountain Bike Ride to Sidlow Bridge

Well it was a Starey ride so what else would you expect?

Would you buy a second hand bike from this gang of ne'er-do-wells captured in Norbury Park?

Four Go Mad in Surrey

Jeffrey Hull and Jan and Graham Hewitt

Christina Treacher had a go at the Downs Link on Sunday and talked three friends into going along. Starting at Bramley and turning around at Southwater after a stop, the ride was a great success. Where next?

Summer Lightning

A local legend

Wednesday Night Mountain Bike Ride took place a day early. A couple of guys I used to work with were going out to Leith Hill after work so I tagged along. We basically just mucked about for 2-3 hours riding what looked good and trying Leith Hill's 'Summer Lightning' trail. The trail was good but there is just so much variety on the hill that it never disappoints. A beer in The Star in Dorking rounded off a good night. Thanks for the guidance Neil and well done Jon.

Guildford-Brighton-Guildford

Guildford Station

I nervously met up with Caroline, Mick, Trevor, Bob, Paul and Keith to start the Guilford-Brighton-Guildford. Nervous because there had been reports of herculean sportif riding, racing, and continental trips whereas I had just ridden the odd mountain bike ride and club run. I was also nervous because I was going to do the trip on a single-speed and wasn't sure if I would be holding people up. The saving grace was the distance, around 85 miles - 60 ish of which would be off-road, surely no one would want to start too quickly.

We set off and made our way to Bramley to pick up a friend of mine, Chris, who had done a bit of mountain biking and prepared meticulously by playing golf in Mallorca for a week with his mates. The Downs Link was dry and dusty but mercifully the tree lined route provided a cool avenue to cycle down on what was one of the hottest days of the year. Not too technical, it allowed for riding two abreast most of the time and was more like a road club run. A stop at Southwater outdoor centre for coffee was well timed and we pressed on towards Bramber.

There's always one!

At Bramber we crossed over from the Downs Link to a track alongside the estuary and down to Shoreham. Back onto tarmac for the run into Brighton Chris had puncture, which was ironic after the eight of us had done so much off-road without any problems. As we came into Hove we came across the finish of the 'Capital to Coast' sponsored ride which I hadn't realised was on.

Could be Italy...

Trevor made a dash for the station just in case there was a problem with the trains while we made a dash for a beer. Turning up at the Alfresco Restaurant we obviously impressed because we got a whole section to ourselves!!? After beer, water, pasta and coffee we split up with Caroline and Mick heading for the station, Keith deciding on a different route home and Paul, Bob, Chris and myself deciding to retrace our steps.

The ride back seemed quicker but that was upset when, after stopping to help a family mend a puncture, my rear hub started to ride roughly and sounded like it was going to fall to bits. With the hill approaching I played safe and ran up it (walking more like...), Chris took the honour's by riding all the way up and we all got into Bramley to drop Chris off feeling a mixture of relief, pride and disbelief that we had ridden so far off-road.

The last few miles on the road into Guildford and we said goodbye at the station, a good day and a testing one - whose up for next year?

Steve

Also available in green

Countdown to Guildford-Brighton-Guildford

I went put to Bramley on Saturday Morning to check the state of the Downs Link (and my fitness!) in preparation for the Guildford-Brighton-Guildford ride on the 28th. The ride was dry and dusty with the odd bit of mud under the trees. The old station is now a small business park but you can park there at weekends (although the car park fills up quicker than it used to). This will be the pick up point for those who want to do the ride but don't want to start at Guildford Station. If we start from Guildford Station at 9.00 we should be in Bramley around 9.15, I will liaise with all those who would like to come next week to check who is doing what.

Steve

Saturday's Riverside Mountain bike Ride to Walton Bridge

Linda continues her search for the source of the Nile.

7th June Mountain Bike Ride

A few pictures at Peter the Great statue near Greenwich, a nice little detour on Bobs route last Sunday.

The attached link may be of interest, especially to Steve Edgar, it details some of the routes around Leith Hill and Holmbury. I have tried quite a few of the Redland trails, Summer Lightning is particularly good. Some trails are a bit too extreme for me but many are just good fun single tracks.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/uk/south-east/the-north-downs/

Keith
Note: Click on the photos to go to a larger version.

21st May Wednesday Night Mountain Bike Ride

Not a Wednesday night and not a mountain bike ride!

Oh well, misunderstanding on times/texts... the ride didn't happen in the end. Went out and did 10 miles on the road (?) with some of my neighbours. Maybe some might want to come out with the club one day...

Steve

Kennet and Avon ride 14th-16th May

The crew starting at the Bristol to Bath railway path.

Once again the Clarencourt paid homage to the great industrial history of Great Britain with a ride along the Kennet and Avon canal. A big thank you to Dennis Peacock for acting as support car and transporting all of us fine athletes to the start in Bristol and transferring our gear to the digs along the way.

Riders on all sections: Paul White, Bob Green, Paul Kelly.

Riders for sections of the canal: Mick O'Brian, Dennis Peacock. The sensible one's who stayed out of the rain!

It was overcast and the weather reports were bad for the end of last week, all three days. Both of the full days of riding we got away without any rain before lunch, but after 1315hrs, and yes it was almost as if someone didn't like us to the minute both days, it started raining by the bucket. Naturally veterans of the Kennet and Avon rides just toughed it out knowing the digs had plenty of hot water and beer. Alas the quantity of rain made picture taking a little tough, but here they are.

We meet up with Dennis riding in the opposite direct from the lunch stop at Bradford On Avon two miles west of Dundas aqueduct on the first day. Picture taken at Avon cliff Aqueduct, famous for its sag in the arch. Raining all the way from Bradford upon Avon, a soggy Paul Kelly (weren't we all!) reaches the top of the Caan Hill flight in Devizes. Dreaming of a nice warm bath only fifteen minutes away! (again weren't we all!). The ride the next day started from Devizes overcast and dry, and over the towpath section that's all grass for sixteen miles.



Bruce Tunnel 502 yds, built because the estate owner didn't want his view spoilt. We met Dennis soon after this, (again riding towards us, parked at the lunch stop at Great Bedwyn) then a quick tea stop at Crofton Pumping station. These are the oldest working beam steam engines in the world. After this a quick fifteen minute ride down to our lunch stop at Great Bedwyn.

After lunch yet again the weather let us down and we cycled al the way to Newbury in "Mark's and Spencer's" rain. The big sploshy drops, not the Tesco's light weight drops.

Newbury saturday morning.

You know how hotels love to throw too much toast at you for breakfast, well we thought instead of throwing away good bread in the bin it would be a good way of pulling some birds.

We left in our wet gear from Newbury sure of rain and at Woolhampton I decided to take the gear off. Ten minutes later the rain was throwing it down, just in time for a stop for tea at Aldermaston Lock. Sheltered we let the storm go by and left when it was a little better arriving at our lunch stop in Reading around 1300hrs.

Early September for another Kennet and Avon ride providing there's enough interest.

Paul White (Isambard)

13th May Wednesday Night Mountain Bike Ride

Same ride as last week but the other way round and turning for home further west. Whereas last week ride was dry, this weeks started in drizzle (with the promise of rain and even thunder), making the chalk off-road climbs and descents slippery.

Taking advantage being without gainful employment I met up up with a friend and started the ride at 5pm. Starting from Dorking we climbed up behind Denbies Vineyard up to Ranmore where we picked our way downhill to Abinger Hammer crossing the A25. Climbing our way into the west side of Hurt Wood before descending to Holmbury St Mary along wide, deserted tracks, I was struck by what a good area this was for mountain bikers of all abilities. Taking the road south towards Forest Green we turned left onto a bridleway to a long and steady climb through woods to Leith Hill Tower before descending in the mist on the Greensand Way to miss the sanded track up from Westcott taken the week before. The track lead onto the road to the Wotton Hatch pub where we turned right onto the A25 and a bit of road work home just before dusk.

A great ride when it would have been easy to talk yourself out of it and stay at home (although can anyone recommend mudguards for a carbon bike?). It looks as though I'll have to wait until next week (Thurday night not Wednesday - prior engagement!), to use try the lights off-road, maybe starting at 7pm if anyone is interested.

Steve