The Mucky Weather continues & Breakfast in South Warnborough.

Thursday 25th November 2015. A variation of our previous route to Medstead/Four Marks.

Two of the Groupetta, Cycmon and PinkPal, had to cancel at the last minute because of other commitments. I rode alone to Stoke Charity to join four others for our weekly meet, postponed from Tuesday because of the weather. Today it was still grey and damp and we had some light rain as we were returning from "Nosh", our coffee stop for the day.

I decided not to take the lane round through Woodmancott which we took last time as we had found it very rough and gravelly with a lot of potholes. Instead we went via Totford and then up the Candover Valley to Preston Candover. I was pleased to see that some effort had been made to cut back the foliage obscuring the direction signs at Totford. I had reported  to the Council that they were obscured a little while ago.

As two of the group did not want to go too far instead of going to the Tree House Cafe we went to "Nosh" as the way there  was about a mile shorter.

Here we had good coffee and cakes, before splitting into two groups for our return journeys.

As our trio descended through Ropley it started to rain a little. Fortunately it was not very much.

When I uploaded my ride to Garmin I was glad to see that PinkPal had managed to find enough time to do here own training route at a very good average speed of 14.1 mph! A tad faster than my speed of 11.7 mph for the day. Well done!

Saturday 28th November 2015. Breakfast in South Warnborough.

I had originally planned to join the Winchester CTC afternoon ride, but when I saw that the forecast was for a dry morning but wet and windy afternoon I revised my plans. I published my intention to the other Groupetta riders but no one took up my offer. I guess they were all busy with other matters.

I set off for South Warnborough with the intention of having one of their delicious breakfasts and then skipping lunch to allow plenty of space for the curry at Alton CTC skittles evening later today. I had a bowl of porridge as my first course before I started.

It was a lovely bright morning and I needed my peaked cap under my helmet to keep the sun out of my eyes. I had chosen Sporty as my mount for the day. A good choice as the roads were very wet after the overnight rain and also extremely mucky in a number of places where farmers had been tracking mud out of the fields onto the roads.

Trying to vary my route a little I climbed Chalky Hill past the vineyard then I rode through Hattingley to get to Bentworth and then Lasham. I resisted the temptation of The Avenue G.C.'s large Belgian Buns and continued down the main road through Blounce to South Warnborough. A lot of this road has double white lines as it is quite curvy. 100 % of the cars that overtook me on this stretch did so illegally, crossing the double white lines, and motorists complain about cyclists breaking the law! Mind you I'd rather they did that than try to squeeze by without crossing the lines. 

My map and data for the day.
Note the colours of the G & H Cycle Club.

The Village Shop/Cafe was packed. About 25 cyclists from the Godalming & Haslemere Club, resplendant, for the most part, in their very smart club strip. There were also some local villagers and several workmen.

I enjoyed the small breakfast, a slice of toast, one sausage, a slice of bacon, an egg and baked beans accompanied by a mug of very good tea, all for £4.50. Excellent value. There is a very wide range of other tasty foods too.

My return route was via Upton Grey and Herriard, then down the rough surface of the Candover Valley road. 

Apparently I passed Nigel without realizing it was him near Ellisfield. I had seen more cyclists than for a long time today. I estimate I must have seen about 70 including the group in the cafe. Most were on road bikes, some with mudguards, some without, some on hybrids like mine and a few on mountain bikes. Near Upton Grey another large group of about 25 passed me going at a very high speed, one guy in front by about 30 yards with all the others trying to catch him, by the looks of it. Nearly everyone I saw exchanged greetings with me.

It had clouded up by now and just as I turned into de Lucy Avenue a few spots of rain began to fall. It seems that my timing for my ride was a good, for by the time I had enjoyed a relaxing hot bath it was raining and the wind had increased quite a lot. I just hope that Paul and his fellow riders of the Winchester CTC managed to get in a reasonable ride in the afternoon.

Only a four and a bit weeks of riding now before the end of the year, but I have already beaten my target of 4,000 miles in the year. What will my final total be?

Alresford Groupetta News.

Andrew and I  joined the Alton CTC for their annual skittles evening at the Jolly Farmer, Blacknest. We had a really fun time and a good meal. It was great to catch up with old pals I'd not seen for some time and to meet some of their partners.

The Group has been relatively quiet this week and a couple of members have not ridden at all. Here is the leader board.

Best wishes to all my readers,

Gridironman.

Four Pedallers go Forth & a Windy Ride with Winchester CTC.

Wednesday 18th November 2015. 

With a wet day on Tuesday we had postponed our ride until Wednesday. Not wanting to hold the other three back I left home 10 mins or so ahead of them. As I rode up Lovedon Lane I spotted two joggers heading towards me, they were my daughter Sarah and one of her running friends Louise. Naturally we all stopped for a chat, enabling all three of us to get our breath back!

A little further on I spotted another friend in her car, Rosie whose son Harvey is a very keen cyclist.

As I descended towards the King Charles pub another friend appeared from Springvale and disappeared up the hill towards Stoke Charity. I knew I was not fast enough to catch him, so I continued at my own pace, being caught by Cycmon just before the RV and as I arrived I was joined by PinkPal and Andrew too. They had all made very good time from Alresford.

Three other riders were waiting and after a little discussion we decided to head for Jolly Olly's in Oakley for our coffee stop. The day was quite mild but because of the threat of rain later we were clothed appropriately. The wind was quite strong and was coming from the SW so the going was easy at first. 

As usual I was soon trailing the others on the hills but Andrew rode most of the time with me. Every so often we would catch up when the others paused to discuss the route. We took a loop round through Ashe and past the farm with Free Range Children to come into Oakley from the North.

In one place a tractor cutting the hedge blocked our way and when Cycmon, running out of patience, squeezed by the driver got very cross as he thought that was too dangerous! 

As we went under the railway bridge near Oakley the effect of the wind was amplified. I think the wind speed there was about 60 mph and I had great difficulty in even making any progress! Andrew lost his rear lamp cover, did it blow off? It was soon recovered and reinstalled. 

We were soon at the cafe and had a good chat while we enjoyed our C&C. Two other riders joined us there only a few minutes before we left, so I barely had time to day hello. In my haste to leave to join the others I forgot my riding shades and had to go back for them today.

The first part of our return journey was very hard with the wind right in our faces, it was much stronger now than earlier, and when I rounded one corner I almost came to a stop and had difficulty in staying upright. At the next junction I found PinkPal and two others waiting. Cycmon, Andrew and another had gone the wrong way. We decided they would find their way through Dummer while we went via North Waltham. Sure enough as we descended the gentle hill to Axford they caught us. We made good speed along the valley despite the wind thanks to PinkPal, Andrew and Cycmon each taking a spell on the front, after my less effective effort for the first half mile. They agreed with my suggestion to take Spiers Lane over the hill which had the advantage of a half tail wind.

My record of the day.
(Click on it to enlarge).

We were eventually back in Alresford before the forecast afternoon rain arrived. Another few miles added to our respective total targets for the year.  I am now on 3,951 miles, so only need another 49 to reach my twice revised target of 4,000.


Thanks as always to my cycling buddies for their company on the ride.

Saturday 21st Nov. 2015. Winchester CTC Intermediate Ride.

It was my turn to lead a ride. I had planned a fairly hilly route to enjoy lunch at the Izaak Walton pub in East Meon. I was worried by the forecast which had predicted strong winds and early rain. Fortunately the rain had just cleared by the 8.45 a.m. as I set off in company with Cycmon. At the RV we joined Paul, Joanne & Ken.
I led them out of the city via Winnall and the cycle route under & over the M3.  The wind was very strong but fortunately along the valley it was sheltered and the breeze  largely behind us.
In Ovington we were joined by Andrew. 

The Pit Crew get to Work.

As we climbed the slope to cross the A31 Simon discovered he had picked up a thorn and his front tyre was flat. It took a little while to discover the location of the thorn but once it was found and removed we were on our way once more.

The cross wind buffeted us as we climbed Gander Down but thankfully as we turned east it was behind us once more. 

The next test was the climb of Old Winchester Hill where the other five left me far behind when I stopped half way up to tuck away a cereal bar as I was feeling a little peckish. Some how I managed to choose the wrong spot to stop, missed my footing & tumbled into the hedge! No witnesses to my discomfort.

Along the ridge from the top of the hill to the site of the former HMS Mercury the wind was intense across the road and we struggled to keep a straight line. I think if the wind had suddenly stopped we would have all keeled over. It was so strong that even down the hill to East Meon we had to pedal to keep up a decent pace.

It was lovely to get into the pub out of the wind. Here we found "Simon the Late" enjoying his lunch, having once more failed to arrive at the RV on time he had taken a more direct rout to meet us.

Lunch was very good my burger with chips and salad, without a bun by choice, was almost too much for me. The beer was pretty good too.

I made the group work afterwards taking them a hilly way via Coombe  and past the Fishery to West Meon. Andrew left us in Coombe to test himself over the ridge once more and to go to Wickham for an auction preview. We came across a fallen tree with a group of men working to clear it. We scrambled over lifting our bikes over and were soon en route again.

The Group Scrambling over the Fallen Tree.

Through W.Meon I led them via Brockwood and Riversdown back along the ridge to the Milbury's. Here Paul & Joanne left us to take a more direct route home, Simon decided to take his own way back to Winchester where he had left his car whilst Ken joined Simon and I descend to Cheriton and via Tichborne to Alresford. Here we said goodbye to Ken to wend his lonely way back to King's Worthy.

I was home by 3.30 in time to join a party for one of my neighbours' 70th birthday. Here I made a new friend a cyclist from Thornbury in Gloucestershire with whom I discovered I had a lot in common. He came with me to see how my Garmin 200 links to my computer. We actually uploaded my route for the day. Here it is:

As you can see I am now just one mile short of my target of 4,000 miles for the year, so will have to do at least one more ride, even if it is only to the shops!

Thanks all for enduring my windy and hilly test of a ride yesterday.

I think I set a new record for the slowest Intermediate ride for Winchester CTC.

GRIDIRONMAN.

Tea for Two, Coffee for some and a roast lunch for others!

Alresford Groupetta News.

The group have had a rather quiet week because of the rather wet weather we have had. However Andrew has once more been out more than the rest and has won both the awards for the week.

Thursday 12th November 2015. Ride to Wyevale garden Centre Sherfield on Loddon.

I had been lucky enough to be given a voucher by my good friend Ian for two free afternoon teas at a Wyevale Garden Centre. Research revealed that three participating centres were near enough to take advantage of the offer, going by bike. I plotted routes to two of them, dismissing the Fair Oak option as being too close!

As we had just been to Petersfield only last Sunday I also ruled out Rake and my preferred choice of Sherfield was endorsed by Andrew. So I plotted a revised route to avoid Basingstoke and the main roads. Here is my map & record of the ride. 

As you will be able to see from the profile our highest point was right near the beginning of the route at Medstead.  It is about 700 feet there.

The weather was rather mixed with one or two spots of sunshine but also some horrid drizzle for about two miles between Upton Grey and Greywell. Further north the roads were completely dry so it was obviously just a local phenomenon.

We were now onto very unfamiliar roads, though I have ridden most of them at least once before, but some a long time ago. 

When we eventually got to Sherfield just after 12 we had to ride along the busy A339 for a mile or so to the G.C. Not a nice experience with large trucks whizzing by. 

When I first presented the voucher for the two cream teas I was told it was not valid between 1 and 2 p.m.. However we persuaded the young lady serving that perhaps the manager would make an exception as we had ridden all the way from Alresford, about 26 miles, especially to partake. We were successful! The manager said YES!

Tea for Two.

Here are Cycmon and I enjoying our tea, photo by Andrew who had to buy his own scone which can be seen in the foreground!

We had two kinds of sandwich, a large fruit scone with cream and jam and a shared tray bake cake. I had a pot of tea and Simon a coffee.

(Andrew did also have a toasted sandwich!)

While we were eating a couple of Red Kites circled over us.

Our return journey was good too, we found  a lane to take us back into the village and managed to avoid the A339 apart from crossing it. We sped past The Vyne, we were so full we were not tempted to call there for another tea, and were soon in Sherborne St. John. Here we crossed another busy A road. 

We seemed to be in a much busier area now for traffic, no doubt that was partly due to the proximity to Basingstoke and the fact that it was around school closing time, lots of Chelsea Tractors in the lanes picking up the kids. 

Andrew led us along the Candover valley at a good pace, setting a PB, with Cycmon and I "wheel sucking" to keep up and to shelter from the southerly breeze which was quite strong.

I was getting a little tired now and climbed that last hill over Abbotstone Down rather more slowly than my two pals. However as I climbed that last little pitch to the church in Old Alresford I found Cycmon picking up his chain from the road. It had broken as he climbed the slope. Fortunately Andrew had a spare link and a chain tool and between them they were able to repair the chain and enable Cycmon to complete a 60 mile ride. (My miles are 2 shorter as they both had to also ride to and from my home|).

It had been a good ride despite the inclement weather, but because of the delay with the broken chain we did need our lights. My Garmin 200 had functioned perfectly throughout the day following my plotted course.

Thanks Cycmon and Andrew for your company.

Friday 13th November 2015. A short ride to Four Marks.

Pink Pal had suggested a ride but unfortunately she was unable to join us as she had too much else to do. Cycmon and I waited for the morning rain to clear before setting off in sunshine for an afternoon coffee and cake at The Tree House Coffee Shop in Four Marks. 
As you can see we only covered 20 miles, but we did have to work for our refreshments as our route was quite hilly and on the ridge top near Medstead there was a very strong wind of about 25 mph.

It seemed a lot colder than yesterday and I realized that I ought to have added another layer to keep out the chill. Fortunately it was only a short ride to the Tree House and the reward was well worth it!
No dramas and we were home well before dark, the main problem being the setting sun which was right in our line of sight as we dropped down from Medstead to Bighton.
Another good ride.

Sunday 15th Nov. 2015 Lunch at the Izaak Walton, East Meon.

Andrew had posted details of a suggested ride to Loomies to partake of their rather tempting offer of coffee and cake for £3.50. Cycmon and I were both tempted but in the end Simon was unable to join us.
As I set off down New Farm Road I was once more given a cheery wave by PinkPal as she drove by in her car, en route to a Rock Choir recording I believe.

Andrew led me on a merry dance across many of the local climbs. I recorded well over average rate of climbing for the day. Andrew himself set a new PB on the climb of New Road from Corhampton.

We were tempted to stop at the Bat & Ball but not wanting to climb that hill up to the ridge between there and East Meon after lunch I persuaded Andrew to continue to E. Meon. A very fortunately decision as when we arrived there and peered in the window of the Izaak Walton we spotted Stephen and Don of the Winchester CTC Sunday ride. We joined them and discovered that they were accompanied by Sue and Jane. We had a very enjoyable roast lunch at a fair price whilst chatting about CTC matters including some complimentary remarks about Cycmon & PinkPal and their improved riding speeds! After the roast Andrew shared a treeacle pudding with me. (I don't think I would have managed a full one and the ride home.)

The others left us to find their way back to Winchester whilst Andrew led me, through the increasing drizzle, a good roundabout way back to Alresford. 
It had been a good day out despite the weather. Thanks Andrew!

Another very good week for me in particular.

Gridironman.

The Groupetta defy the wet weather!

Alresford Groupetta News.

Despite the rather poor weather this week the members of the Groupetta have managed to complete some good rides. Simon retains the TUK Medal as no one has ridden over 100 miles. Andrew has completed 6 rides and is the first winner of the new KOM Badge. 

PinkPal "played away" on Sunday riding with the faster CTC riders whilst three of us enjoyed a damp ride to Petersfield.

Tuesday 3rd Nov. 2015 Circuit to Tree House Coffee Shop.

I joined 4 other riders at Stoke Charity for a gentle morning ride. For a change we decided to head east  towards Alton. There was a lot of mud, gravel and leaves on the roads in places but we all managed to survive without mishap or punctures despite passing two large tractors cutting the hedges and showering the roads with cut twigs. Here is our route as recorded by me:

 The outline looks a bit like the map of Australia!

When we got to the Candover Valley we agreed to head for the Tree House Coffee Shop in the Garthowen Garden Centre. None of the others had been there before and they were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the coffee and cakes. 

Afterwards we turned back towards Ropley, one rider leaving us in Lymington Bottom to head home in Basingstoke and when we reached Alresford I deserted the other three leaving them to retrace my morning outward route to Stoke Charity.

Sunday 8th Nov. 2015. Rembrance Day Circuit to Petersfield.

Having decided that the weather was too bad to cycle on Saturday a Groupetta Ride was planned for Sunday. Due to domestic circumstances we were quite late in setting off just before 10.30.

I had chosen to ride Sporty, a sensible decision as the roads were very wet, muddy in places and scattered with leaves too. Cycmon was riding his faithful Hetchins and Andrew his touring machine both fitted with mudguards too.

Our route was one we had done before and it proved to be very popular with other cyclists. We saw a lot of solo riders and other small groups and a group of about 25 from Haslemere, all riding road bikes with no mudguards passed us between East Meon and Buriton. They looked pretty mucky and much to Simon's disgust splashed him too!

Simon was lucky not to fall as he skidded on the cobbles in the centre of Petersfield as we turned off the main road. 

The Cloisters Cafe.
(Picture taken exactly a year ago!)

At the Cloisters we indulged in a light lunch which we declared was of better quality than that served at the Black Horse last week.

Our way home was a little shorter, but hillier, via Stoner Hill and the villages of High Cross and East Tisted. We were in the clouds now and surrounded by mizzle so we had our lights on and we were getting quite damp. 

Of course when the lads took to White Hill for the shortest way home I went with them so I would be equal on mileage.

Another good ride despite the poor conditions, however at least it was mild.

 Thanks guys for your company.

The countryside was very quiet, few birds about, probably all walking, as were most of the pheasants we saw. The only animals were a couple of horses being ridden and another in a field also few fields of sheep. 

Gridironman