Birthday Week Extra!

Due to unexpected change in domestic arrangements I was free to get out again this morning. Sunday 29th June, 2014 so I was able grab the bike and add to my mileage for the week. (A total of 100 miles for the week rather than the 80 I'd aimed for!) Sometimes luck does go our way!

I set off in much better conditions than yesterday but it was quite cool despite the sunshine.
I took one of my favourite ways out of Alresford via Ovington and Gander Down. I notice that there is a good diversity of crops in the fields at present. I have spotted, in addition to pasture, hay, wheat, oats, barley, linseed, maize, clover, peas, beans, rape (both ripening and two fields still in flower).

The hedgerows are changing too with common hogweed now the dominant plant but there are also some prettier flowers like these rosebay willowherb.

Rosebay Willowherb and Common Hogweed.

Skylarks singing in several places. I'd not heard any recently.

I also spotted in addition to cows and horses these characters:

Alpacas near Midlington House, Droxford.

It was a gentle amble through the countryside compared to yesterday's mad dash in the rain, and I was home just after 1 to enjoy a curry and a beer (or two).

Just for the record here is my route and data for the day.

Gridironman.

My Birthday Week.

Thursday 26th June the day after my birthday.
Unfortunately Simon was unable to join me so I enjoyed a solo ride to the HCMF meet at The Wheatsheaf, Braishfield. I had to go of course as it was my turn to buy the drinks. I was wearing a birthday present from Jean, a KOM jersey! Have I earned it? I'll let you all decide.

I wanted to take a couple of pictures to post on Facebook in the manner set by Simon Hall. To ask "friends" to identify the location.

 Here are the three pictures I took. Kathy has already identified the Pig City and has a good idea as the where the poppies are. Any more guesses? The church is a difficult one but the clue is I took it on my way home.

Pig City

The ? Way through the poppies>

Tucked Away Church in the distance.

I took a the road through Eldon, the first time I'd been along it for years. It was so narrow in places that I either had to ride on the gravel in the middle of the road or get stung by the overhanging roadside nettles.

I arrived at the pub just before noon to discover a couple of riders already there. We were soon joined by more and we had a very good al fresco lunch. I was sporting my new KOM Jersey together with my octogenarians medal given to me by one of my very good friends,

More members arrived over the next hour or so and I enjoyed their birthday wishes and shared a celebratory beverage.
One pair produced a chess set and settled into a match.

The Winchester group arrived as often rather later than the others and after a brief chat with them I set off on my return journey.

Some of the assembled members. 

Chess Players.

The day had started out quite cool but the sun had now come out and it was much warmer. I headed back to through Slackstead to Standon and then up the lane to Sparsholt before cutting across the  edge of the city  via Dean and Harestock.

When I got home I was disappointed to discover that my Garmin file was corrupted and would not upload to Garmin Connect, but for some reason did upload to RidewithGPS. So the map has been produced from that site:

A great way to spend a day out with friends, most of whom I have known since I started cycling again six or more  years ago.

Saturday 28th June 2014.
A rather more prosaic ride today. Due to a number of circumstances I was unable to join the Winchester CTC ride and instead did my own thing. In view of the forecast for rain I got off as early as I could just after 10 o'clock. I decided to do a short training route I'd done several times before via Bentwoth to Lasham.

In Bentworth I discovered a number of scarecrow type figures outside some of the houses. Some sort of competition for the village fete which was taking place this afternoon. Here are some of them:

Bentworth  Characters!

It started to rain as I entered Lasham village so I sheltered in the Lychgate and then in the porch of the church. Took the opportunity to have a look inside the church too. A peaceful but somewhat gloomy interior without any artificial light as the windows are very narrow. A lovely picture of the Madonna and child.

When the rain eased I set off once more intending to get a coffee at the Lasham Gliding Club, but the rain increased once more and I decided that it would be wise to keep going and keep up my core temperature by working hard rather than sitting around getting cold, The tactic worked  for I was soon out of the rain and into sunshine. I took advantage of the improved weather to add a few more miles before arriving home almost on the stroke of one.

Another fast ride thanks to the inclement weather which had spurred me on.

A very good  way to start my 81st year, sadly I'd only managed just over 70 miles in all rather than the 80 I'd aimed for!

I have had a lovely birthday week with a lot of cards and greetings via Face Book from all my friends. Thank you all very much.

Gridiroman,

HCMF meet at The Alresford Cricketers and to Alice Holt Forest with the Alton CTC

Two more fun social rides this week the first on Thursday 19th June.  to The Alresford Cricketers. It was a lovely sunny day, too nice to miss a chance of a good ride. Earlier I'd been to Curry's to replace the DVD player that has been giving problems and had bought an HDMI lead to connect it to the TV. Found I'd already got one so I rode over to Winnall to return it and get my money back. Job done I decided to carry on through Winchester and return to the meet via Twyford. The new path to the Hockley junction is perfect at this time of the year with dappled sun & shade, views of the wild flowers on the old filled in by-pass on one side and the canal and water meadows on the other. Not too many dogs today.

When I got to Twyford instead of turning up Hazeley Lane I continued through Colden Common to Fishers' Pond and turned along Hensting Lane.

The only disadvantage of this route is the climb up to Owslebury which is 14% at its steepest. Today I managed it quite well but was glad when I got to the top.

Next there is a gradual climb to the top of Lane End Down where poppies were adorning the edge of the field of oil seed rape.

After the climbs it was fun to drop down the A272 to Cheriton. Clocked up my fastest time of the day at almost 31 m.p.h. It is humbling to realise that Alex Dowset recently set the new ten mile time trial record at a average speed of 34.6 m.p.h.! Wow!

Arriving rather late at the pub I found the Fleet and Alton group of about 10 just leaving. It was good to see them again after several weeks. A decent number of other riders in the garden. It was Peter's birthday so we helped him celebrate his special 80th anniversary. 

I apologised for being late as I lived almost a mile from the meet!

The craic was so good that it was nearly an hour later when I left to return home for a late lunch.

Map and Data for the day.

My second ride of the week on Saturday 21st June was also a very social one. As evidenced by the "lap" records on my Garmin it was almost 4 separate rides:

 


Lap 1 was my ride from home to the Alton.

Lap 2 The Alton meander to Alice Holt Forest.

Lap 3 The Alton group return to Alton

Lap 4 My dash home to be there by 6 p.m.

I left home at 11.36 and after pausing to visit the "hole in the wall" for some cash I headed through Bishop's Sutton to take the route through Ropley and Lower Farringdon to the start of the Alton easy ride to Alice Holt Forest.

In Ropley I discovered this sad sight:

The burnt out Ropley Church.
(Fire on Thursday 19th June).

I made good time to Alton arriving there in plenty of time to sit in the park and luxuriate in the shade of a tree whilst tucking into my picnic.

At the RV I met with over 20 other riders and was dismayed to hear that the destination was the Lavender Barn in Alresford. It turned out that this was the tea stop for a faster group and the moderate group were going to Alice Holt Forest where there is a cafe in the nearby garden centre. Phew! thought I'd be going straight home.

Eventually Frank led away a large group of faster riders and soon afterwards Diane and Ray shepherded us through the park and housing estates and up the steep hill to the Golden Pot. The ride was a gentle one and it was interesting for me as it took several lanes I'd not ridden before. A little loop through the hamlet of Yarnhans before a fast descent through Lower Froyle to Bentley. We had a mini break near Lower Froyle duck pond to see the ducklings.

We visited the church in Bentley to admire the colossal yews and the little church. A group of young men were busy clearing the long grass in the church yard.

Next we headed towards Farnham along Hole Lane, another new lane for me, and crossed the A31 near The Bull.  A steep climb through the forest took us to the Garden Centre to partake of refreshments.

This was the end of the dawdle "Lap".

The next "Lap" was a quicker one as we returned to Alton. 

Some of the riders on the ride.
1. Janice on her road bike.
2. Diane on her electric assisted hybrid.
3. Bob & Karen on their unusual tandem.

It was getting near five o'clock by the time we arrived back in Alton and seeing that my average for the day was only 10.3 m.p.h I decided to take on the challenge and try to  get that up to at least 11 m.p.h. and set off towards Beech at top speed. As I left the town I passed 4 of the fast group re-entering the town after their ride to Alresford. I struggled up Snode Lane but once I had passed Thedden Grange I managed to gain pace and started to watch my average edge up. The last five miles were nearly all down hill so I really picked up time and was home by ten to six. Job done my overall was 11.2 mph

The Alton Ride.

 A most satisfying and enjoyable ride. Thanks to Diane & Ray for finding an interesting route and leading our little group well.

Gidironman.

Winchester CTC Wintonmediate Event..

A super week of riding this last week, for the first time this year over 100 miles. On Thursday 12th June Simon joined me for a ride to The Watership Down Pub in Freefolk. He was on his light modern carbon Boardman bike testing it in preparation for Saturday's Special Event.

Cleavers.

We had arranged to meet David (Tommy) at the pub as the HCMF venue had been cancelled. We chose an indirect route there via the Candover Valley, one of my favourite routes out of Alresford, then we cut across the ridge to North Waltham from Axford. It was a lovely day once more with lots of warm sunshine. The fields are changing colour quickly with two fields of barley already beginning to ripen; and others different shades of green according to the crop. In the hedgerows one plant seems to be doing very well this year. Cleavers, so called because it clings to clothes and animals, also known as goosegrass. It is prolific in my garden as well as in the hedgerows. It has a tiny white flower which turn into little round seeds which also stick to clothes to facilitate distribution.

We took a loop round through the village of Steventon, the original home of Jane Austin when her father was vicar there. Then on to Overton and along the main road to Freefolk.

We arrived at the pub on the stroke of 12 noon and David  turned up a few minutes later. We had not visited this pub since it was refurbished about 18 months ago and were pleased to find that it was now much smarter than it had been before. There was only a limited selection of snack meals but the ones we chose were both tasty and filling.

We sat outside on the terrace enjoying the sight and sounds of house martins and swifts wheeling around.

River Test in Longparish.

Soon it was time to take leave of David and wend our way homewards. We went through Whitchurch and down the Test Valley before calling on another David in Barton Stacey. Once more we enjoyed the lovely sunny day sipping cool drinks in his garden, admiring his flowers. Thanks David!

As time was now pressing we took the usual route home from here through Stoke Charity.

Here is our map and data for the day.

Saturday 14th June 2014. The Wintonmediate.
The day was warm and humid with a hint of rain in the clouds. I drove to Kings Worthy where I left my car at my Sarah's and rode the 1.5 miles to the King Charles, our Start and Finish location.

Promptly at 9.30 a bunch of us set off with me in the lead until we got to the first hill up to Three Maids' Roundabout. Simon and I found ourselves naturally in a small groupetta with Sarah Marshallsay and Louise. We rode together for the rest of the day.

I seemed to have made a cock-up of setting the route on my Garmin and after a bout 6 miles I gave up trying to follow it on my unit and relied instead on memory from having ridden the route several times before. Sarah's unit worked perfectly and I have used her route and data here:

Sarah's Map and Data for the Wintonmediate.

You will see that the route was a hilly one with plenty of climbing but we managed to clock a decent moving speed.

The hedgerows were once more a picture with lots of both white and pink briar roses. Near the Winterslows we heard a cuckoo, twice. In the fields we noticed crops of Beans and Peas, probably both for animal feed.

We crossed Porton Down and were soon dodging pot holes as we entered the village of Porton. Next a surprise for my friends as we turned left to Gomeldon up a very steep hill. We paused for a drink and for me to phone home to report on our progress. In Winterbourne Dauntsey we took Gaters Lane across a footbridge adjacent to a ford. Then another long but gentle climb before crossing the A345 at High Post. Here we had to stop at the traffic lights! Sarah wished it had been a longer stop so she could get her breathe back. Also felt just a spot or two of rain.

Down into the Avon Valley we sped and turned North along it towards our check point and lunch stop at The Friar Tuck. In Upper Woodford we took another breather and I popped on sun block I'd forgotten before as the sun was now quite strong. Here is a picture of an interesting nearby building:

Barn Conversion in Upper Woodford.

John Spiers joined us here. Having trailed on some of the climbs I seemed to have a new lease of life as we headed into Amesbury but unfortunately here we had our first and only mishap of the day. At a pinchpoint I stopped to give way as required to an approaching car, Sarah stopped behind me but Louise ran into the back of Sarah's bike and took a tumble bruising her wrist.

It was only a few hundred yards from the cafe, so Louise had time to recover while Simon and I tucked into Traditional Breakfast and the ladies enjoyed Tuna Melts with chips. We discovered we were not the last on the road with two other riders and Suntish  coming in while we were eating having lost their way and three other riders arrived just as we were leaving to return to Kings Worthy.

The next few miles were some of the toughest of the day as we were riding along the undulating ranges' road into a strong breeze. I slipped behind the others by some 200 metres but eventually managed to close the gap when we got into a more sheltered area. Next was the clinb out of Tidworth made harder by the thoughtful council who have inserted cobblestones in places! I managed to crest the hill first! Were the others being kind to me? Or were they getting tired too? 

We were getting into more familiar territory now and enjoyed the lanes through Thruxton, Amport and Monxton to Abbots Ann. A comfort break at The Hawk in Amport where the kind landlady topped up my water bottle free of charge. It looked a nice pub and one we should consider for our longer all day rides.

Tired legs and lack of puff now saw us stopping for mini breaks more frequently and we were glad when we crested the hill near the Leckford Hut, only one more big hill now and a couple of little ones.

John Spiers caught us up again and rode with us once more.

Near Crawley I had a phone call from home. An emergency, the DVD player wouldn't work. I'm afraid the online mobile call centre was unable to offer a solution but when the House Elf got home when he discovered it was a blown fuse!

Lousie declined to ride the last mile or two from Three Maids Hill, choosing to return to Winchester along the Andover road.

We were soon back at the start and clocked in having completed the course in 7 hours 11 mins 21 secs.

It had been a wonderful day out for me, recalling some of the past special events riding with Sarah and other mates.

I left the group outside the pub to ride the last 1.5 miles to Mortimer Close even managing to climb Nations Hill!

Thanks to my  three co-riders for a great day and also to John Spiers and his helpers who gave up time to deal with the necessary administration and paper work.

GRIDIRONMAN.

Jean's House Elf enjoys a day out with a friendly Leprechaun & Dobby's* Devious Diversions.

A leprechaun's view of our ride on Thursday 5th June 2014

"A close on 50 mile ride yesterday to the Fellowship meet at the Bear & Ragged Staff near Romsey - rather a challenge on my 77 year old Sunbeam Golden Tourist with close ratio 3 speed derailleur - clear to see why we 'Brits' much preferred the Sturmey Archer 3-4 speed hub gears in the 30's. Pictured here at the Pub is the dynamic duo Bryce Mansfield and myself or is that 'Elf and Leprechaun' - bit late for St Patrick's Day though."

Elf and Leprechaun.

More notes by the Elf:

1. We had planned a roundabout route to the pub through Otterbourne and along Holcombe Road to Ampfield and thence into the Test Valley; with a more direct  return home via Kings Somborne. So I was surprised to discover afterwards that the two segments were almost the same length with the return one actually being longer. It was however faster, a reflection of the fact that we had had a pint with lunch? Or perhaps it was because it was less hilly?
2. When lagging behind the Leprechaun the mischievous Elf took a shortcut through the Potter's Heron car park to come out onto the main road 100 metres ahead of him, much to his confusion!
3. Disappointingly the Hillier's Gardens Rhododendrons and Azeleas had almost completely finished flowering.
4. As always plenty of craic at lunch with a nice mixed if modest group of members.
5. We showed David (Alias Tommy) the back road way through Mottisfont and Houghton to Stockbridge.
6. On our return segment we passed the Winchester Groupetta (Nick, Alan, Rodney and another on their way to the pub.)

The House Elf in his Domestic Environment.

Here are details of our route and data

Don't forget if you click on the pictures they can be viewed full screen.

Sunday 8th June 2014 Dobby's Devious Diversions

The House Elf escaped again! Today's  route was an innovative  one to Bishop's Waltham. 
It was a beautiful sunny day and it was a real pleasure to ride the lanes with plenty of shade. The only draw back being the dappling effect making it harder to spot pot holes.
I paused near Milbury's to enjoy this panoramic view of the Upper Itchen Valley. 

Looking North from the Southdowns Ridge near Beauworth.
(Some sheep for Isabel!)

Lots of other cyclists taking the opportunity to enjoy the summer. I estimate I must have seen at least 100 others. Two very large groups. One from Fareham of about 30. Another 15 or so in B.W. passed by as I chatted to two riders from Hedge End outside the coffee shop.
Unfortunately I had to be home for lunch so had to curtail my ride and return home from B.W. I was pleased that I was able to cover the 11.69 miles home at an average speed of 12.7 m.p.h. arriving there spot on one o'clock.

Here is Dobby's Route map and data.

(* Note for the uninitiated: Dobby is the House Elf for the Malfoy Family in the Harry Potter books).

Enjoy!

Gridironman

Debs's Ride to Monxton

Saturday 31st May 2014.

My only riding day this week as I went to Gloucestershire midweek for a reunion with some old Marlingtonion pals. (62 years since we left school).

Due to time restraints Simon and I decided to join Debs and her group at H's in Whitchurch and then skip lunch and return directly back home from the pub.

Here is Simon's view of the day:

"Today Bryce and I rode to Whitchurch to meet up with CTC ride to Thruxton near Andover. I took the opportunity to try out my Aldi £44 Helmet camcorder - its reasonable - sound not great and close ups look like you are in a goldfish bowl. Its a bit shaky but it is fixed to my cycling helmet! I'll do better next time. Today I was on my 1987 Hetchins and covered 57 miles at an average of 11.8 m.p.h. burning 3,400 calories. Here's my Garmin details

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/510925022.

This is just a 2 min clip the camcorder actually recorded 30 mins filling the 4 Gb memory card. The quality may well be degraded by Facebook reducing its data size - we'll see.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=892934490733534&set=vb.100000509757284&type=2&theater"


Not everyone may  be able to view this video due to privacy restrictions. (Apologies if thatis so for you)

Simon an.d I left Alresford prompt on the dot of 9.45 a.m. and headed to Whitchurch via the Candover Valley and Micheldever Station. Not wanting to climb Mollie's Dismount I chose that route and took the much easier hill from Totford.
We heard lots of birds singing including a couple of wrens. The hedgerows have changed a lot now with many dog roses, both pink and white brightening up the scene. the Cow Parsley is now virtually over being replaced by Common Hogweed. (We used to make pea shooters from the stems of this weed).

When we arrived on schedule at 11.15 a.m. at H's we found it packed with riders;

In addition to Debs, Simon and I were:

Sara, Big Dave, Dave Foster,  Simon Tanner, Katrina Tanner, Simon, Jenny, Alan Gwyer, John Spiers, Graham, Ken, Karen,Li-chun,  Lee Hargreaves & Mark From Alresford.

Soon after we set off again. As usual I forgot to turn on my Garmin so lost the data for the first 1.5 miles! I'm told this error is not exclusive to old codgers!
In St Mary Bourne we almost repeated the  mistake of two weeks ago when we changed direction and the last 6 or 7 riders almost went the wrong way. Fortunately Debs noticed that they had not made the turn and Ken also spotted the change of direction and we were soon all together again.
Debs then  made sure that a rider was posted at each change of direction  thereafter to direct the back markers in.he right direction.

We eventually made it to The Black Swan and we enjoyed a drink and a chat in the garden. One of our main topics of conversation was our concern for Christine M. who was mugged recently and also our support for both Chris and Sarah on their charity ride for "Women v Cancer" on Saturday night. They completed the 61 miles successfully in a shade under 5 hours.

To sponsor Sarah please go to:
 http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Marshallsay

 or to support Christine the link is:
 http://www.justgiving.com/Christine-Marshallsay

Eventually Simon and I took our leave of the others and headed for Alresford. As it was already after 2 p.m. we took what seemed to be the shortest and quickest route over the hill through Abbots Ann and Red Rice and down to Fullerton. From here we went through Chilbolton  and along the A272 to Three Maids Hill.
This is not an easy road as in addition to the fairly steep undulations the road is very rough and Simon was beginning to feel a little saddle sore with his Brooks saddle which needs to be softened some more.

I was home dead on the dot of 4 just in time to honour my other commitments.

My map and data for the day are displayed below You can see that my average moving speed is a little slower than Simon's. This reflects the times he paused to wait for me.

Debs reported:

"Lunch was good and so was the ride back although not far from Crawley big Dave got a puncture and had problems removing the tyre. We ended up leaving him and John Spiers to try and sort it out, there wasn't anything useful we could do! "

Another great day out for Winchester CTC. Thanks Debs and to all who took part.

Gridironman.