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.