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.