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.