Solo Ride to Wherwell, Andover and Egypt.

Sunday 25th August 2013.

Simon had suggested a ride to Hungerford on Saturday but we both had Grandfatherly Duties to perform and the weather was poor in the morning so we decided against it and I decided to ride on Sunday instead. 

I was up early intending to get away by nine o'clock but the rain that started just as I was about to go out the door made me change my plans. Instead I shampooed half of the bedroom carpet! 

However by 11 it was brightening up so I set off via Ovington and Easton to Kings Worthy to attend to my daughter's animals. One cat, one rabbit & one guineapig. Duties done I decided to try a pub I'd not been to before, The Abbot's Mitre in Chilbolton. I made good time along the A272 topping 20 mph at one point. It brought back happy memories of my first Watership Down Ride about 4 years ago, in company with Karen. I'm happy to report the temperature yesterday was about 20 degrees C warmer than on that occasion.

The pub turned out to be a big disappointment, there were only four other customers which did not augur well. I asked if they had a bar snack menu and was told they did not, but showed me the starters menu, suggesting I might like to choose a dish from that. One look at the prices was enough for me and I was off to the White Lion in Wherwell, (The pub of choice for Winchester CTC for last Wednesday's evening ride.).

Here I found a totally different scene, the bar was packed with both diners and drinkers. I enjoyed a bowl of soup and a glass of beer outside in the sunshine. 

Two cyclists from Stockbridge arrived as I was eating and we had a most pleasant chat. He was riding a somewhat dilapidated mountain bike and she was mounted on a very smart electric bike. He complained she was leaving him for dead on the hills!

As I was about to set off again I spotted two cyclists just preparing to set out for a ride. One was mounted on a BeOne bike, equipped with a triple chain ring. An unfamiliar brand but it looked really smart and the guy said he was very pleased with it.

I headed towards Andover but before I got to the A303 I turned up the very narrow Cow Plain Lane which took me to the East of Andover near to Twenty Picket.

I took the B road towards Whitchurch and after a short distance I spotted a lane signposted Longparish. A lane I'd not ridden before. I couldn't resist and discovered it was a very pleasant lane with typical Hampshire farmland interspaced with copses and for the first half mile fine looking bungalows with ample gardens.

Arriving in Longparish I decided to head back to Kings Worthy via Barton Stacey, Sutton Scotney & Egypt!

It appears that Egypt is the name of a house on the outskirts of Sutton Scotney which was the home of Dr. Charles Wickam. (I am still trying to find out who he is or was). 

From here it was a fast penultimate section to Kings Worthy where in addition to putting the animals to bed I had a nice cuppa. 

I eventually arrived home in time to see the rather frustrating end to the fifth test match and to the see the victory of Nicholas Roach in the Vuelta.

Certainly a day with a difference and not at all what I'd expected earlier in the week.

For those who are interested here is my map and data for the day.

Gridironman.

A Veteran Spends a Day with the Veteran Cycle Club!

Wednesday 21st August 2013.

Simon invited me to join him for a Barbeque lunch followed by a ride with the VCC. We were joined by Reg, Dave and Peter and whilst Sarah cooked tasty chicken skewers Simon showed us his collection of veteran bikes. At 1.30 we prepared to ride only to discover that one of the bikes needed  adjustments to the gears. Whilst Simon was dealing with this, a loud bang made us all jump. One of the tyres on Simon's Chilton had exploded in the hot sun. This was replaced and we set off for the RV at the Flower Pots only a few minutes before two. We need not have worried about being late for the start for when we arrived we found about 15 other riders still enjoying a pint and chatting about the various bikes being ridden, sharing the pub garden with about 40 veteran motorcycles and their riders

Some of the Assorted Motorcycles.

Simon had selected his 1978 Rohan for me to ride and I had tried it out on Tuesday and discovered the toe clips were too short for me, but because of toe overlap we could not fit a larger pair. Consequently I was riding without toe clips and this made me realise how much I used them normally. 

Gridironman with Simon's 1978 Rohan.

About 20 of us, including one tandem and one tricycle, eventually left the "Pots" and headed towards Ropley via the site ofhe 1644 Battle of Cheriton.

Riders viewing the Battle Site with the aid of the Infomation Board.

I was pleased with my progress up the lane once I had mastered (?) the art of changing gear with a non indexed derailleur. The lowest of the five gears available was somewhat higher than that on "Sporty" but I climbed the hill quite well. 

After a brief pause we continued through Bramdean Woods and down the hill to Old Park Road I was very cautious going down the steep hill as I found the brakes not nearly as effective to those I'm used to. As we waited by the farm another loud explosion made us all jump. Another tyre had blown in the heat! 

Fixing the flat! Note Bob on his tricycle.

It took about 15 minutes to replace the tube and then we continued  via Parkside Lane to Ropley, we crossed the A31 and looped round via Bowers Grove Lane to Bighton and so into Alresford where we enjoyed tea and cakes at the Railway Station.

Our next challenge was Mollie's Dismount out of Abbotstone. A fair number of the group found it expedient to walk but I was pleased that I just managed to ride it. While we regrouped at the summit we heard buzzing noises coming from a nearby field. I explained to the group that this was from a model airplane flying club who fly their planes there regularly.

As we whizzed down into Itchen Abbass, with open and straight road I was not too concerned about my lack of stopping power; but when we got to the mainroad Simon was concerned about his lack of pedalling power. His freewheel had broken and turning the pedals had no effect! 

He phoned Sarah to come and pick him up whilst the rest of us continued through Ovington and Itchen Stoke then via Tichborne to the "Pots". When we arrived there we discovered that Simon had cycled from home on another of his bikes! (A good reason for multiple bike ownership?).

Of course a post mortem of the day's events then took place over a refreshing pint before we headed home to Alresford.

Reg, Chris, Simon and another rider discuss the day's events.

Here is my Map and Data for the day. I was pleased to note that my average moving speed of 11.3 m.p.h is very near my usual speed on Sporty!

It was a very enjoyable day out with a lot of new friends as well as a number of my friends from theCTC. 

The experience of riding a veteran bike made me appreciate more "Sporty's" indexed gears and better brakes. My neck and shoulders still ache this morning from the different riding position too. 

Thanks to Sarah for a very tasty lunch, to Peter for tea and cake and to Simon for a refreshing pint and to everyone taking part too for a most unusual ride.

Gridironman.

Note: - If you click on a picture it will enlarge.

W.I.R to Hannington & Deane Churches,

Saturday 17th August 2013.

My only ride this week was a very interesting one led by John Spiers. I rode into Headborne Worthy where I joined Jenny while we waited for the peleton. With John were Claire, Alex and new riders Helen and Richard.

We followed the now familiar route along Springvale and over the hill to Stoke Charity. We sped along making exceptional time. I was later to realise this was partly due to the strong SW breeze.

It was good to talk to Helen as we rode hearing about her previous cycling experiences and to meet with Claire again.

We were at Popham Airfield soon after 10.30. Alex suggested that the clubroom might not be open as we were so early! While we were enjoying coffee and most of the riders were tucking into bacon sarnies we were joined by Caroline and Ian from Whitchurch. I had a chat with the airfield manager about some surplus T shirts and agreed to return with my car next Tuesday to take some away for the charities for whom I work as a volunteer.

We took the shortest route from there to Hannington pausing briefly near Ashe church to locate the source of the River Test. A small spring in the middle of a field feeding a small lake.

After climbing the hill to Hannington, (I was Laterne Rouge once more), we regrouped before going into the church to admire the two superb etched glass windows. To quote John "They are wonderful, Whistler followed the Tudor tradition of engraving with a diamond tipped stylus - find the sheepdog facing down the flock in the Downland scene",.  but it was impossible to get a photo that would do them justice. I did however take this one of the traditional stained glass eastern window.

Richard left us before we called at the Vyne Public House for lunch, half an hour early to our scheduled time of one o'clock.. While we were eating there was a heavy shower followed by more intermittent rain which we braved to set out on our return journey. We were accompanied by the sound of the Church bells being rung by guest bellringers.

Fortunately we all had some form of protection though some riders wished they had more. Some of the lanes were well sheltered by trees and high hedges so we did not get too wet before we arrived at Deane church, our next interesting stop. As we took the short side road to the church we passed this impressive home.

Deane church which was built in 1818 is one of the earliest buildings to be built from code stone, a form of reconstituted concrete. The door was locked but we only had to wait a short while before a lady arrived by arrangement with a key and we were able to go inside. We were permitted to climb the narrow stairs into the ringing chamber situated below the 8 bells where John told us more about the art and complexity of bell ringing.

We were now on the home stretch and we soon were in Micheldever where I said farwell to my companions. I decided to return home via East Stratton and along the ridge by Northington Woods. 

One farmer had not only combined his field but had also baled the straw and created this impressive stack.

After climbing the steep pitch from the cross roads in bottom gear I realised how strong the breeze was. I had changed up several times as the slope eased, only to discover as I crested the hill that I needed to change down again to cope with the breeze. As a friend said recently in similar conditions I felt that if I stopped pedalling I would go backwards!

Down Mollie's dismount I achieved my best speed of the day at over 30 mph and was home soon after five o'clock just in time to see, much to my disappointment, Surrey beat Hampshire in the T20 semi final.

Despite the rain it had been a most enjoyable day out. Thanks John for such an interesting, well planned and executed ride.

Here is a map of my route. (Very similar to my ride to Hannington by a variation of the route a couple of months ago in very hot weather)

Gridironman.

HCMF Meet at The Dolphin, Hursley

Thursday 8th August 2013.

A lovely sunny day, just right for cycling. Simon joined me for the ride on one of his special veteran bikes. This time a Carlton.

We left Alresford by the lanes running along the south side of the Itchen Valley thus avoiding the horrible rough surface of the B3407 and most of the traffic. Through the Worthies and over the Andover and Romsey roads we encountered more traffic, but we were soon in lanes once again through the very attractive hamlet of Dean. The lanes are so narrow that I got stung by stinging nettles while being passed by a van. 

Once through Sparsholt and over the hill to Crab Wood it was a very quick descent to the Dolphin.

Here we found a group of about 20 members, most of whom were mourning one of our members, Barbara Braithwaite,  having  just been to her funeral.

Simon's bike attracted much attention. Here is a picture of Simon with Geoff and Norman discussing its finer points of the gearing, a combination of three speed derailleur and a 3 speed hub gear.

After an hour or so, suitably refreshed we decided to return home via Otterbourne, Colden Common and Owslebury. This was a good choice as for most of the way there was little traffic and we were able to enjoy the countryside despite it beginning to look a little scruffy now after the long dry and hot spell.

Our fastest speed for the day was recorded as we descended the A272 to Cheriton. Here we discovered that our plan to pop into the Flower Pots for a swift half pint was thwarted by their having closed at 2.30.

At the edge of Alresford a group of children with their mothers were enjoying a paddle in the ford.

Our data & route for the day:

This will be my only ride this week as on Saturday I am running a stall at Chettle Village fete for Naomi House. 

Thanks Simon for your company on our ride today.

Gridironman.

Alresford Groupetta combine with Barrie's Pedalling and Alton CTC

Thursday 1st August 2013.

Simon, Paddy and I decided to ride to Stoke Charity to join Barrie's group. It was a very warm day and we needed plenty of hydration.

On our way to the start I diverted to Mortimer Close in Kings Worthy  to take care of my daughter's animals, (One rabbit, one guinea pig and a cat.), while Simon and Paddy took Loveland Lane.

I arrived at the RV shortly after Paddy & Simon and we joined up with Barrie, Caroline, Karen, Alan M., Alan G., Bill, Graham, Jenny, Daren & Ninya.

Simon was in the group of faster riders who went on ahead of a smaller and slower group including Paddy and I. Barrie took us through some nice shady lanes out of the hot sunshine and we arrived at Jolly Olly's Coffee Shop at 11.30. 

Unfortunately I needed to be home by one o'clock so I did not stop to enjoy coffee with the group which now included Ian who had ridden there from home. 

Paddy joined me for the return trip via Dummer and the Candover valley. 

I took Paddy via the M3/A30 roundabout. Fortunately there is a somewhat delapidated but rideable cycle path to avoid the traffic. Here are the lovely view from it and also a picture of Paddy riding it.

View from the roundabout.

Paddy on the Cycle Path.

Once we were through Dummer it was largely downhil; except for that climb over the ridge between the Candover valley and Old Alresford. Here there are three alternative routes. I prefer the middle one climbing gently from Chilton Candover up Spiers Lane. The one from Preston Candover has more climbing as it climbs and then dips twice and the other through Northington and Swarraton is longer.

We were eventually home just a few minutes after our one o'colck target..

My map and data for the day:

Saturday 3rd August 2013.

A little cooler with some rain showers around one o'clock, a strong SW wind making it hard work at times. 

I had managed to get Sarah and Simon to agree to accompany me to Alton to take part in the Alton CTC ride to Petersfield. We left Alresford by White Hill lane just after 12 noon and Simon led us over the hill at a decent pace. We rode through Ropley Village to Lyeway and then up Lymington Bottom to Medstead. The wind was behind us at this stage so we made good time and we were outside the Civic Centre in Alton in plenty of time to eat our sandwiches. The Alton riders appeared from all directions and soon there were a total of 17 riders ready to roll. We split into two groups, the fast riders following Frank whilst the lesser mortals followed Diane on her electrically assisted bike.. 

We headed through the underpass under the A31 to Chawton Village to find it crowded as some kind of fete or smilar event was taking place. We wove our way through the crowds and past the church and onto the A32. We split into two groups to give the traffic passing us an easier passage. I headed the second group for a while and then Simon took over. It certainly was much easier riding "on the wheel" than on the front.

At East Tisted we took to the lanes and near Colmore we had more traffic problems when we met two cars and a van in the narrowest part of the lane. The drivers were very considerate and we managed to squeeze past. Just after the pub with No Name, Sarah thought about turning for home as she was finding the struggle against the wind very tiring, However the group persuaded her to continue.

I think she enjoyed her Demon Descent of Stoner Hill which she would have missed had she gone home. 

We all went into Owen's Cycles  to have a look at their latest stock and to regroup, 

I suggested to Sarah and Simon that we should leave the group here to return home via Stroud and the Meon Valley with the promise of Tea & cake at West Meon. We said goodbye to the others and cut across to the A272. Our plan worked well once we had climbed a couple of testing little hills. We passed Frank and his faster group heading towards Petersfield.

Here are my two tired companions enjoying the break while we waited for the tea and cakes to arrive at the Cafe.

Tea break in West Meon.

Fortified by tea the last 8 miles went by quickly with Sarah and I vying to climb the short sharp hills first; despite her protestations that she was whacked, Sarah beat me every time. Simon sensibly didn't enter into such silly games!

When we got to Bishops Sutton I was determined not to wimp out and rode over White Hill with my mates so we finished the ride together.

A good ride which despite being hard at times saw us clock up an average moving speed of about 12.5 m.p.h.

For me it was my best RiTMO score to date at 23.9. (Works like a golf handicap, 0 is the best 30 the lowest.)

Thankyou Sarah and Simon for putting up with me on yet another enjoyable day out and to tha Alton CTC group for their company on part of the ride.

Gridironman

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