Brian and Jez accompanied Andrew and Caroline on their 1st Rides back after their various injuries and colds. It was eventful! Having swept past the Kingston Phoenix on the way to oxshott they soon swept past us again as Brian's chain snapped and of course when you don't clean your bike in winter it's a very greasy affair. Andrew and Brian then went into the ladies toilets in Coham ( apparently the gents were out of order so they said!) to wash of excess chain oil from their hands.
We eventually arrived at Clandon for a welcome tea and Andrew bought the birthday mince pies to celebrate. Coming home there was a slight hesitation about direction where Andrew turned left and Brian turned right but unfortunately they were on the opposite side of each other so yet another clarencourt tumble to add to the growing list of the past few months. This time however no injuries and we continued home safely. A great fun first ride back . Thanks everyone.
Saturday, 12 December 2009
MTB ride Saturday 12th December. 33 miles.
A few spots of rain as I arrived at The Organ Inn pub our starting point.
The group was lead by Paul Kelly, with Bob Green, Trevor Hughes, Barry Gregory and me following his route.
We left the area via Ewell Mill and soon found some good, heavy mud to clog the bikes up with.
Following the Hogsmill River we arrived in Kingston Upon Thames and then under Kingston Bridge to Teddington Lock and then turned off towards Richmond Park.
We followed the outer cycle path anti clock wise in the park. At this point in the ride we cycled across some pea shingle that added to the mud on the wheels from earlier, and on to Robin Hood Gate, then turned to climb towards the Pen Ponds. On the way to Pembrooke Lodge we added a good layer of sand to our mud and pea shingled wheels. I thought I was getting tired until I discovered, mud, pea shingle and sand - perfect "Wattle and Daub." Consquently, the bike was gradually grinding to a halt with the thick solid building material we had accidentally made over the last 17 miles! The tyres had gone from 2.25 dia to about 4.50 dia with the huge amounts of mud collected.
Direct from wikipedia (Hedumacation and Culture).
King Henry VIII's Mound is the highest point within the park and is located within the public gardens of Pembroke Lodge. It is named after Henry VIII of England.
There is speculation that the mound has an older history, and may have originally been a barrow.
From the Mound there is a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London over 10 miles (16 km) to the east which was established in 1710. (A telescope is installed on the mound, for a better viewing experience.) This vista is protected by a 'dome and half' width of sky on either side. The Mayor of London (Ken Livingstone) sought to overturn this protection in 2005, and reduce it to 'half a dome'. No final decision is yet public. To the west is a panorama of the Thames Valley.
Well you didn't expect me to remember that lot did you!
The view towards Heathrow and Runnymead.
Close.
Closer.
Proper topnotch Heros.
The lock building from the famous sketch between Michael Palin and John Cleese.
The group was lead by Paul Kelly, with Bob Green, Trevor Hughes, Barry Gregory and me following his route.
We left the area via Ewell Mill and soon found some good, heavy mud to clog the bikes up with.
Following the Hogsmill River we arrived in Kingston Upon Thames and then under Kingston Bridge to Teddington Lock and then turned off towards Richmond Park.
We followed the outer cycle path anti clock wise in the park. At this point in the ride we cycled across some pea shingle that added to the mud on the wheels from earlier, and on to Robin Hood Gate, then turned to climb towards the Pen Ponds. On the way to Pembrooke Lodge we added a good layer of sand to our mud and pea shingled wheels. I thought I was getting tired until I discovered, mud, pea shingle and sand - perfect "Wattle and Daub." Consquently, the bike was gradually grinding to a halt with the thick solid building material we had accidentally made over the last 17 miles! The tyres had gone from 2.25 dia to about 4.50 dia with the huge amounts of mud collected.
The mud on the bike was soon removed by Mr kelly's "specialist bike tool", a tree branch!
At Pembrooke Lodge Paul Kelly pointed out King Henry's Mound.
Direct from wikipedia (Hedumacation and Culture).
King Henry VIII's Mound is the highest point within the park and is located within the public gardens of Pembroke Lodge. It is named after Henry VIII of England.
There is speculation that the mound has an older history, and may have originally been a barrow.
From the Mound there is a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London over 10 miles (16 km) to the east which was established in 1710. (A telescope is installed on the mound, for a better viewing experience.) This vista is protected by a 'dome and half' width of sky on either side. The Mayor of London (Ken Livingstone) sought to overturn this protection in 2005, and reduce it to 'half a dome'. No final decision is yet public. To the west is a panorama of the Thames Valley.
Well you didn't expect me to remember that lot did you!
The view towards Heathrow and Runnymead.
Close.
Closer.
Closest, alas my pocket camera isn't able to catch St Paul's very well, but you can see it just about!
From here we dropped back down to the Thames at Ham House, and followed the river up to Teddington Lock. I thought I'd better add to the "Hedumacation and Culture" by stating I thought there was a plaque on the lock building to commemorate the "Fish Slapping" sketch for Monty Python's Flying Circus, so we went to look for it, and sure enough we found it along with some other very interesting historical plaques.
From here we dropped back down to the Thames at Ham House, and followed the river up to Teddington Lock. I thought I'd better add to the "Hedumacation and Culture" by stating I thought there was a plaque on the lock building to commemorate the "Fish Slapping" sketch for Monty Python's Flying Circus, so we went to look for it, and sure enough we found it along with some other very interesting historical plaques.
Proper topnotch Heros.
The lock building from the famous sketch between Michael Palin and John Cleese.
Mr Palin ended up in the lock you may recall.
The Plaque.
The Plaque.
It was then on and across the foot bridge at Teddington to Bushey Park for another bit of "Hedumacation and Culture" in the way of the Bushey Park water gardens. These have just been refurbished.
All that culture put us all in need a coffee and food, so we headed to the cafe in the park for our tea stop.
We headed back towards Kingston Bridge and once across, Paul Kelly left the group heading for Wimbledon, and we retraced our steps to Ewell via the back streets avoiding the mud we'd encountered earlier.
Paul Isambard White
Thursday, 26 November 2009
The future!!!
Great as a product in some ways but when the price comes down (over 5K), what will the roads be like...
Monday, 9 November 2009
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Clarencourt Melbourne and Merstham This Week
Trevor, Paul, Isambard & Ev at the Merstham Beer Festival.jpg)
Jan drags Mick Ward across the line at the end of the Round the Bay RideThursday, 22 October 2009
Cheam to Sumners Pond 18 October 2009
Mick Ayliffe, Trevor Hughes with welcome guest young Chris Green set off from Cheam to Sumners Pond, a distance of some 32 miles. They collected Ev Equistorff at Walton pond and proceeded through the lanes via Rusper and Warnham Station to arrive at Sumners Pond for refreshments whilst sitting outside in the lovely sunshine. Much of the return journey retraced the route out but with a detour through the Dorking gap and back via Epsom. Chris rode well considering his previous rides were of only approximately 25 miles. Late in the ride a twinge of cramp and some tiredness was overcome with an energy gel that assisted Chris in completing the ride. Well done Chris a ride of over 60 miles.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
2009 Freewheel Champion
Six riders contested the freewheeling contest on the Tilburstow to South Godstaone course last Sunday. It was won by a big bloke as usual on a steel bike, because as we all know light carbon bikes do not go down hill very fast at all.
However there were complaints issued regarding the way that Paul White won the contest. This was based on the fact that he loaded his bike up with a handlebar bag to ensure the greatest momentum. I took this into account but dismissed it. This has nothing to do with Paul promising to pay for my drinks at his wife's jazz gig on the following Sunday......
Two riders made it onto the main road with Trevor Hughes joining Paul White in cresting the ridge. Well done to the pair of them. The good folk of Godstaone were not happy though, as they had drained the pond in anticipation of Denbo starting the event and making it (nothing to do with being a fat git) into the village: they didn't want their pond polluted!
However there were complaints issued regarding the way that Paul White won the contest. This was based on the fact that he loaded his bike up with a handlebar bag to ensure the greatest momentum. I took this into account but dismissed it. This has nothing to do with Paul promising to pay for my drinks at his wife's jazz gig on the following Sunday......
Two riders made it onto the main road with Trevor Hughes joining Paul White in cresting the ridge. Well done to the pair of them. The good folk of Godstaone were not happy though, as they had drained the pond in anticipation of Denbo starting the event and making it (nothing to do with being a fat git) into the village: they didn't want their pond polluted!
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