Two Crunchy Nut Rides

Thursday 25th Sept. began with a good omen. In Alresford whilst shopping I met Mark of recumbent fame from North Hampshire. I had not seen him for some while so we had a good old natter. He must have left home early as it was only a little after nine a.m.

Soon afterwards I too was on my bike, joining up with Simon to go to the Brushmaker's Arms at Upham for the HCMF meet.

This time we chose to do a loop to the south to work up a decent thirst before we got to the pub. Here is our route:

In places the road was littered with the autumn fruits of the fine summer. We crunched our way through  beech mast, conkers and hazel nuts in several places.

When we got to Swanmore we realised we would still be a bit early at the RV if we took the shortest route so we continued Southwards through Waltham Heath to Curdridge before turning back to Bishop's Waltham. I avoided the town centre much to Simon's surprise by taking a little lane past the Bishop's Palace.

At Upham we joined a small group in the garden making the most of the autumn sunshine whilst two more groups of riders remained inside. It was good to see Janice and Dan once more in matching Alton C.C. jerseys as well as Richard, David and Laurence. 

We were also reminded of the dangers to beware of when cycling by Alan, who had come by car, having been another of our members to have been knocked off his bike recently. (Mollie and Sue also having had similar accidents). Fortunately Alan had not had any broken bones or even a badly damaged bike, though he did look a little the worse for wear with grazes on his face and arm.

After lunch Simon and I rode with Richard and David down the steep hill from Upham through more crunchy nut before we parted company at the top of Westend Down. We took the A272 for a fast descent to Cheriton and thence home via Tichborne.

My day was made complete by the discovery that Cycling Weekly had published a letter of mine in this weeks edition. 

Saturday 27th Sept. 2014. Once more the dynamic duo were out to enjoy a social ride. This time for a change to Petersfield, rather than to Popham with the Winchester CTC, as we seem to have been there several times recently.

We left Alresford just after 10.30 and immediately started climbing, over White Hill to Bishop's Sutton. Well it is one way of warming up!

We took a nice meandering route to Petersfield, first climbing Smugglers' Lane to Monkwood then through West Tisted and Privett to High Cross. Next came Stoner Hill, which is very steep in places and with a rough surface and many bends, so is not a hill which one can ride without due care. More crunchy nuts here too. In the aptly named village of Steep we turned off the main road and took a back road through Sheet and rode into Petersfield past the Heath Pond. A nice way of entering the town.

We had a tasty snack lunch at the Cloisters Cafe. We sat with an elderly lady who kindly invited us to share her table and we had a very pleasant chat with her about Petersfield and Lichfield! 

Once suitably refreshed we headed out of town heading south to Buriton before turning towards the Meons and home. Just after Weston I was donged by a conker! 

A mile or so further on we passed this conversion of a oast house into a modern home.  It seems that they have made some progress since mid May earlier this year when I took the second picture below with windows in place and timber cladding and I suspect more progress inside.

Oast House September 27th 2014.

Oast House 11th May 2014

In East Meon we stopped for a piece of cake and for a photo shoot.

Simon with another of his veteran cycles.
This one a Claud Butler.

As usual Simon has chosen his riding clothes with care, matching the colour of the bike.

Gridironman and Posh.

The ride to West Meon was a fast one the worst part of the road having been resurfaced this summer. 
From here we chose to take  the A32 past West Meon Hut as that hill is longer and steadier but less steep than the lane over the hill past Brookwood. From here it was only 7 miles home and apart from the reverse climb over White Hill it was a doddle. From the top of the hill I freewheeled to see how far I could go. A friend of mine claims to have managed to get over the Cheriton Road and onto New farm Road but I could only manage as far as Linnets Lane. I did however have to touch my brakes as I entered Sun Lane.

Another relaxed fun day out.

For those who like to see the route here it is:

Gridironman.

Winchester CTC Intermediate Ride to Hannington

Saturday September 20th 2014.
I had missed a ride on Thursday as I had felt unwell and had stayed in bed till nearly 11 a.m. so I was keen to make the most of the opportunity for an all day ride. Simon joined me at 10 o'clock and we rode to Popham Airfield where we joined the Winchester CTC intermediate riders. Ten had ridden from Winchester and Ian and Caroline had come directly from Whitchurch. 

The day was grey and dull but not cold. The high humidity meant that all the country smells were greatly enhanced. For some smells this was welcome but one or two were distinctly "off". A dead animal in the hedgerow?

Not many flowers out now but here is one I could not identify:

Rose Mallow.

Coffee stop over Barrie chose to return to Winchester with an escort of two lady riders, Lynne and Jocelyn. I was a little disappointed not to have longer to ask Barrie about the Pedalers TdF. 

David led us the most direct route to Hannington along a very gravelly lane and through Ashe. The hill to the village is quite a drag, but at least it is not very steep, the gradient being about 6%.

Four of us had opted to have a picnic on the green whilst the other 7 enjoyed a pub lunch. When we arrived at the green we found Alex who had ridden from Winchester on his own bypassing us at the coffee stop. It was a lovely surprise as Alex has not been able to ride much recently.

Whilst we ate our sandwiches Ian and Caroline told us more about the TdF Pedalers' ride, answering a lot of our questions. It seems that it had been a great success and I for one was quite envious of their experience.

We popped into the pub for coffee and to link up with the others before starting our return journey. David chose a good route and I actually found myself on at least one lane I'd not ridden before.

We passed through Oakley and when we got to North Waltham Ian and Caroline left us to return to Whitchurch.

The descent from Dummer to Axford was a relaxed one and we paused there to regroup. Next we rode along the Candover Valley to Swarraton and over Abbotstone Common Hill. 

I have recently joined the Winchester CTC Strava Group and am having a lot of fun from it. I have set up an auto synchronise  link from my Garmin Connect so I am able to see how well I've done compared to previous rides and compared to other members of the group and the wider cycling fraternity. Being paced by QOM Karen up the mile long hill from Swarraton I achieved a personal best in 6 mins 37 secs (9.3 m.p.h.). Mind you I'm only no 1716 out of 1865!

Final Conference before we went our separate ways home.

We paused in Old Alresford by the church to say our farewells as we began to split up. Several riders opting to have tea at Tiffins whilst others were heading home independently. Karen must have clocked up well over 60 miles by the time she got home.

Alex called into my home to pick up Cycling Weekly and we had a chat and a cuppa before he headed off home with a pot of frozen ratatouille in his bottle rack!.

A most enjoyable day out despite the grey weather.

Map and Data for the day..

Many thanks David for such a good ride and to all who took part for their friendship.

Gridironman.

Fun & games once more!

On Thursday I was joined by Simon and Andrew Wilcox for a sociable ride to meet the HCMF at the King's Head, King's Somborne. Simon had repaired his Yellow Peril Bates and was trying it out again. I am pleased to report it went well.

The weather was distinctly autumnal but it was fine and dry and still warm enough to sit in the garden when we got to the pub.

We started by taking the obvious route over Three Maids Hill and through Crawley but as we approached Little Somborne I realised that we would be at the meet far too early, so I suggested a loop round through Stockbridge and Houghton. Much to Simon's dismay this included one of my nice little hills to test his gears. We did take advantage after the climb of whizzing down into Stockbridge clocking my fastest time of the day at 34 m.p.h.

We enjoyed the quiet lanes through Houghton and past the John O'Gaunt pub before arriving at the RV at about 12.20 p.m. We found a good group of riders there including the long distance riders Richard and David from Tadley. We were also joined by Dan and Janice from Alton.

We seemed to have plenty to talk about so it was nearly 2 hours before we set out on our return uneventful journey.

Another pleasant day and 39 more miles towards my target.

Saturday 13th September Alton CTC Pace Judging and Freewheeling Competition.

I rode directly from home to the location of the competition arriving there at 10 to 2 to find some riders already there for the 2 p.m. start. We were soon joined by others. Ten of us actually took part .

Part one was the pace judging. The  riders ride a three mile circuit at one minute intervals and their times recorded. Then they ride the same circuit and try to match the time taken for the first circuit.

We all did surprisingly well with the nearest time difference, posted by Tony, being only 6 secs and the worst 46 secs.

Tony our Pace Judging Champion. 

In the past we have had minutes of difference. We must be getting better.

For the free wheeling each rider in turn descends a hill without pedaling and tries to see how far up the next hill he or she can ride before coming to a halt.

Mark Heal won this. the theory for this win is that he was sporting a Union Flag. Judge for yourselves:

A determined and patriotic Mark Heal.

When all the excitemetn had died down we repaired to the Gliding Club Cafe at Lasham for a recuperative cup of tea. Here the final placings were announced with Mark Beaumont the overall winner.

Dan presenting Mark with his prize.

Here is the table of times and points.

My own participation evidenced by these pictures.:

Gridironman on the Pace Judging Course.

Urging Posh ever upward!

It was a great day of fun with some of my good riding mates.

The little loop  between Upton Grey and South Warnborough is the Pace Judging Circuit.

A big thank you to Dan and Janice for organizing the event and congratulations to all who took part, In the end it doesn't matter who won!!!!

(All action photos taken by Janice, reproduced here by her kind permission).

GRIDIRONMAN.

Bighton with the HCMF and West Meon with the Alton CTC.

With family matters requiring more of my time I am still managing to get in some good rides. This week a total of over 60 miles in two rides. The first was on Thursday with Simon. We decided to join the HCMF at the English Partridge at Bighton. As this is only 3 miles from home I had sussed out a route which was not too demanding for Simon riding one of his vintage bikes.

We went over the hill from Old Alresford into the Candover valley at Swaraton, then through the Candovers to Axford then turned East towards Herriard. As we crossed the A339 a loud noise emanated from Simon's bike, (His Bates with curly front forks c1952). 

Simon's beautifully restored Bates .

Investigation revealed that the cable to the hub gears was hanging down, the toggle having pulled out of the hub. Simon was unable to fix the problem but fortunately was able to continue in top gear. Luckily this was much lower than my top gear of about 120 and the route back was mainly downhill.

We popped into the Lasham Gliding Club Cafe for a restorative coffee, having been suitably refreshed we continued. As we rode along the perimeter of the airfield a passenger in a passing car hurled abuse at us because we were riding quite legally and safely two abreast. The car was displaying an L plate, so presumably the passenger was the qualified driver instructing the learner how to abuse cyclists!

In Lasham village we paused to admire this lovely garden:

After the test for Simon of climbing the hill to Bentworth we took a loop to Medstead via Wield thus eliminating the climb of Trinity Hill.

We arrived at the pub to find a number of riders sitting in the sunshine whilst a smaller group were inside. As usual Simon was soon into deep conversation about his bike and the technical details. I popped inside to get the beer. (Is this a ploy of Simon's to ensure I get the drinks? I think not he is far to generous for that!)

I had a good chat with Don and others, mainly about racing in Belgium where Don competed in his youth. Meanwhile the technical discussions continued until well after 2 p.m. and then just as we were about to leave for home Mark arrived also seeking technical advice so by the time we had ridden the last three miles I sat down to a late lunch at 3 p.m.!

Our Route for Thursday.

Saturday 6th September 2014.

Simon being otherwise occupied and my being unable to join the Winchester CTC all day ride as I was busy during the morning, I decided to leave home around noon and ride to Alton to join their afternoon ride. I took a musette with a sandwich, banana and cake to eat in the park while I waited for the start of the ride.

I am not certain how many riders there were as we split into two groups, the faster group of 5 (?) led by Dan set off a few minutes before the slower group of 9 led by Richard.

Richard had planned a very interesting route to the tea stop at West Meon. He managed to convince us that the climb of Brightstone Lane was an essential part of the ride. From the top of the hill Richard led us a very winding route through many small lanes I'd ridden before but never in Richard's clever combinations. 

Here is the map for my ride for the day. Note the wriggly route between Farringdon and Privett.

We had a good tea break at the little tea room behind the village shop in West Meon and afterwards I left the Alton riders to return to Alresford via Warnford and Wheeley Down. 

Once through Cheriton I discovered the lane through Tichborne was busy with a two long streams of cars leaving the Alresford Show. Being on a cycle i was easily able to slip past the cars heading towards Cheriton and once through the village I overtook a long line of cars before crossing the ford and thence home.

A very enjoyable day with my Alton friends. Thanks to them all especially Richard for leading our group.

Gridironman.