Into Shorts at Last!

 Thursday 30th March 2017. 

This is the second report for the week for the previous one click here:    https://gridironman79.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/rocket-fuelled-gridironman.html

Freefolk Cottages.

A Modern House created from an old Grain Store.

Simon Relaxes in East Meon before completing the last few miles.

The Fallen Beech Tree March 18th.
and below as it was today.

Gridironman.

Rocket Fuelled Gridironman.

I had a great ride today Tuesday 28th March 2017 with six of my Pedaller friends. I set out to lead the group to Petersfield for our coffee break. Apparently I set a fast pace as I was told by PinkPal at one point that she were going to let my tyres down to slow me up. 

Picture taken today, March 28th 2017.

I was forgiven when we got to the top of Stoner Hill to enjoy a fast descent into Petersfield. I stopped to take a snap of the view to the east across the valley towards Rake.

Picture taken from the same spot May 17th 2015.

When we reached the town centre there was some discussion on which of the many cafes we should patronise before we decided on Heidi's. A good choice as they had a good selection of cakes and other delicacies.

I spotted a artist painting a picture of the statue of William III in the square and had a pleasant chat with him and a young lady artist who was also interested in his efforts. 

Our route home was via the Meon Valley and we sped along the A32 for a short way before climbing Wheely Down. (The second time for me this week). Unfortunately Alan had a puncture at the foot of the climb. He had three ladies for company while he fixed it as the other three men of the group waited at the top of the hill! Was this some dastardly plot?

When we reached Alresford five of my pals joined me for tea, in my garden. They did leave me a very small piece of Belgian Chocolate Cake for later. They insisted it was in my best interest that they had removed most of it from temptation.

Another most enjoyable day done and well and truly dusted.

Here is the map and data for the day.

Gridironman.

Explorations

To round off the week I had an exceptionally enjoyable ride with Andrew. I had planned another ride of exploration, this time to go to the QE Country Park via the new Cycle Path from the Puriton Roundabout, but when I woke on Sunday morning I did not feel at all like riding as I was full of aches and pains after gardening all day yesterday. I convinced myself to go and I am so glad that I did because we enjoyed a lovely spring ride. 
The tree that had diverted us last week near West Meon had been removed. Must have taken a lot of hard work even with modern saws.
The route was a familiar one until we got to near Weston. Along the way we saw a lot of other cyclists out enjoying the spring weather. We saw a brimstone butterfly and heard a green woodpecker calling. 

Our first step into the unknown was into Weston village which is now isolated from Petersfield only a mile away by the A3. We were very fascinated by the approach to the village through an old cutting with large trees growing out of the sides.

There are a couple of footpaths and a bridleway from the village but only the one road in.

The New Cycle Path.

We retraced our ride to the Puriton Roundabout and took the new cycle path. The top of it is some way above the A3 itself but he climb is not hard.

View of the A3 from the path.

There is a good cafe at the centre and I enjoyed a piece of bread pudding and a coffee while Andrew had wild boar baguette! We chatted with some other visitors and then found ourselves a good route homewards. We went under the A3 then along a cycle path to the bottom of the road over the ridge to Clanfield. As we climbed I passed a couple of cyclists chatting by the roadside. I recognized one of them as Dave Pilbeam who is, along with his wife Pam, leading the CTC Holiday I am joining in April, so of course I stopped to have a word with him. We then climbed almost to the top of Butser Hill and paused to enjoy the great views in all directions. The descent of Harvesting Hill is much nicer than the ascent!

To round off our day we climbed Wheeley Down and then in Cheriton we had a couple of pints in the sunshine along with survivors of the Battle of Cheriton. When I asked them why they were not on the battlefield they replied "We have made a strategic withdrawal!"

Thanks Andrew for your company and companionship on a spectacular day.

Gridironman.

My Week

I finished the week with a most enjoyable day out with the Veteran Cycle Club Hampshire Lightweights. As you can see a more modest mileage on fairly flat terrain, but oh! that wind made me use all of my 2 gears! This was Scottie's first appearance on such a special ride with me in the saddle. (Bob may have ridden him there before). Lovely countryside with lots of primroses lining the banks.

The Red Dragon Team on their F.H. SCOTT Red Dragons.

I am very happy that I seem to have coped very well with 4 rides in the week totalling just over 154 miles.  The weather has been a bit grey and windy but that is much preferable to the rain.

Many thanks to all of those who have ridden with me this week for making it all such fun!

Gridironman.

A Hilly Fifty, Another visit to Braishfield & Scottie's Maiden Trip.

Tuesday 7th March 2017.A Hilly Fifty.

I decided to join the Pedallers despite some recent problems with my energy levels. I rode to the start knowing that we would most likely be riding northwards so I could if necessary take a shortcut home. Having decided to head to Overton to start with, I led the group through Hunton and along the A30 towards Popham. We had several hills to climb before we got to Overton and  I drifted to the back. We paused in Overton to decide where to go next and the vote was onwards and upwards to Kingsclere. I set off immediately knowing the others would catch me on the hills. Take a look at the profile and you will see how the route challenged us. However it was a lovely day and the view from the top of White Hill and then a fast descent, (34 mph), made it all worthwhile. A huge kite flew over us as we climbed one of the hills and drifted away in search of other prey!

After a very enjoyable coffee break where the staff made us feel very welcome allowing us to move the tables so we could all sit together. Then we decided not to climb back up White Hill but take the busy main road for a little way and then climb the easier way to Hannington.

In North Waltham Cycmon and I left the others to find our own way home via the Candover Valley. Here we paused for Cycmon to change his library books:

I felt quite tired by the time I got to Alresford but not too much so that I found a creative last mile or too to ensure we had reached the magic 50!

Thanks to my 8 pals for looking after me so well.

Thursday 9th March 2017.

Another visit to the Wheatsheaf, Braishfield.

Having been to the Wheatsheaf last Saturday I suggested to Cycmon that we should find an alternative way to the one we had used then. Here is our map of the day:

Another lovely spring day which brought out a much larger number of HCMF members. It also brought out lots of lovely flowers both in the hedgerows and gardens, celandines scattered like flakes of gold and daffodils everywhere. The birds were singing well too, skylarks, robins and many others. I was so intoxicated by my focus on wild life that I totally missed spotting this magnificent vehicle.

Simon's comment:
Today I thought I saw a Ghost but that was just a Phantom of my imagination. In fact it was a Roll Royce Phantom with its huge 7 litre engine returning about 10 miles to the gallon outside the Bear and Ragged Staff. I had a good chat with the owner - sorry Bryce Mansfield for holding you back. Obviously the human body is far more efficient as I covered another 50 miles on a pint of beer and about the same in water! Today at the Wheatsheaf Braishfield for the Thursday Cycling Fellowship Meet.

Light and shade along the Test vall

My arms were beginning to ache for some reason so I needed a couple of stops to relax including a nice one by Crawley Pond.

Thanks to my pal Cycmon once more for his considerate company.

Saturday 11th March 2017.Scottie's Maiden Ride.

It was time to test Scottie as I will be riding him at a Veteran Cycle day next Sunday (19th March). 

Cycmon came to collect me bringing a saddle bag for me to borrow. He had deliberately chosen a very easy route for me as Scottie only has two gears. This was a good choice as I managed all of the hills

Gathering for the start.

We went to Twyford for coffee and cake at the Bean Below. Visited the Churchyard for a photo shoot too. We then rode to the centre of the City to join Ian and 21 others for the CTC Easy Afternoon Ride. 

I only rode about 7 miles with the group before I suffered what frank Spencer would call a "bit of bother". First my saddle tipped forward when I hit a section of rough road and then the rear mudguard started to rattle. One of the clips had broken. Well it was quite old! My guardian angel Cycmon stepped in and fitted a cable tie to stop the rattled and tightened the saddle clip. His work was not done however as near the ford we met a young lady from Winchester, Michelle, who had loose cleats. Simon was able to lend her a tool to tighten them to enable her to ride home safely.

Cycmon rode on to catch up with the others while I chatted with Michelle until we parted company in Itchen Stoke. I was home in time to see England annihilate Scotland in the Six Nations match. I did feel a little sorry for Scotland who did seem to have more than their fair share of bad luck.

I just hope you all had as great a week as I have had. Feeling much more like my normal self now!

Gridironman.

Pancakes and Windy Days.

Tuesday 28th February 2017.

The Pedallers Search for Pancakes.

Thursday 2nd March 2017.

HCMF Meet at The Royal Oak, 

Goodworth Clatford.

Cycmon persuaded my to take the interesting way to the RV, rather than going along the much travelled B3047. Interesting climb within the first three miles up Mollie's Dismount, with the very strong wind in our faces. It was so blustery at first that I was nearly blown off course as I rounded the bend by the cottages in Abbotstone. Thankfully the hill did provide us with some shelter as we climbed the lea side. Another cyclist who had been just ahead of us turned round and went back to Itchen Stoke. We battled on, taking sheltered lanes as far as possible but I still needed a breather at 11.5 miles, in Stoke Charity. 

The hill out of Barton Stacey was also a real challenge. I struggle on it normally (it is about 8%), but with the wind in my face I only just managed it. Once more I was grateful for a breather. This one on the wooden bench beside the trig point in Memory of Paul Fanes. 

Through Chilbolton and Wherwell we found it much easier as we were more sheltered. We arrived at the pub well after noon to find another six fellows there. Two more joined us later. A somewhat disappointing turnout for a beautiful sunny day. (OK perhaps it was too windy for some). We had a animated and enjoyable lunch with chats about ancient bikes, travel plans and the low numbers attending before setting off to find an alternative route home. Of course, as we know sod's law decreed that the wind would have abated considerably by now and was not even strong enough to wave the tree branches. On the plus side at least it wasn't in our faces. As you can see from the split times we could only just manage double figures for our speed to the pub compared with 11.4 on our way home. I was happy to get home for a reviving shower and a cup Rosie! Thanks Cycmon for supporting me so well when I needed encouragement.

Gridironman Cresting the hill 

between Leckford & Crawley in Bright Sunshine.

Saturday 4th March 2017.
Joined the CTC for part of the ride to Braishfield.

To avoid driving to Winchester I decided that I would instead shorten my day's riding by finding my own way to the Coffee Stop at The Waitrose Farm Shop, Longstock. This also meant I could go at my own pace which seems to have become slower over my last 20 rides.

My plan worked well. I left home around 9 a.m. and got to the cafe at 10:45. I had to wait nearly 25 mins before the Group started to arrive. Here is my summary of the day:

The day was a good one for me as I was able to link up with the CTC riders and enjoy their company whilst for most of the day travelling at my own pace. Of course I know they always accommodate slower riders but it does add pressure to the slower riders to go faster than they would ideally like. 

Gridironman.

Not my finest week ever!

I have had a very poor week this past week with only one ride of 33 miles. I'm afraid I just have not been my normal self, struggling to do anything much and taking time off to just take it easy and regain my normal enthusiasm for my usual round of cycling, gardening, housework and charity support. 

I am very pleased to report that I have had tremendous encouragement from my many friends and family which has helped enormously. I certainly think I should be able to join the Pedallers on Tuesday to hunt for pancakes!

My one ride was last Tuesday 21st February when I led a small group to Petersfield for coffee at The Cloisters Cafe. Here are more details:-

I was interested to find the pile of stones referred to in Ken E.'s report of his recent ride leading Winchester CTC. They are by the side of the A272 near Bramdean at the foot of the hill leading up to Brookwood Park.

We did find them and Simon took some photos. However it was disappointing to discover that they probably are not part of an ancient monument but are of recent origin. More details can be found here: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=14762

The weather was dull but at least it didn't rain. 
I did manage to drive to the HCMF meet at The Fox, Ellisfield on Thursday to enjoy the company of about 20 members. A very good turnout considering the weather which although mainly dry was very windy.

My school report for the week must be "Can do better"!

Grid(not so)Ironman.

Groupetta Fitness Training

Tuesday 14th February 2017. 

Alresford Groupetta ride to the Bat & Ball.

All pictures by kind permission of Cycmon.

Comment by Cycmon:

My cycling at the moment is like one of my old school reports 'can do better'; 27 miles on Sunday 35 miles today. Bit of a difference from the 50-60 I was doing on most outings last year! Ah well at least I'm getting out on the bikes – today PinkPal, Gridironman and I rode to the first Headquarters of English Cricket - The Bat and Ball at Hambledon (well its actually about 3 miles out of the village). 

Thursday 16th February 2017.The Groupetta ride to The Hampshire Bowman to join the HCMF.

Cycmon is beginning to write my blogs for me and supply some great pics of us riding. Here are his latest comments and pictures (Slightly edited):-

28 miles ridden today to the Thursday Fellowship pub meet at the Hampshire Bowman. I must be getting a bit fitter because on a few of the hills I was able to ride to the top first, get my camera out and take a few snaps (but only just!). There were some pretty tough hills today as you will see from the pictures of PinkPal and Gridironman just about keeping the bikes upright at the summit of one climb! 

it was a much milder day but dull at first with the sun coming out nicely later. 

I had planned a short but challenging route to the pub as you can see from the profile below on my map and data sheet.

A log fire greeted us at the pub along with a fair number of our fellowship. Cycmon was "in the chair|" celebrating his recent ? birthday. We had a pleasant surprise. Our recent supremo, Angela, was also there, by accident, having walked there with a group of ramblers. 

We enjoyed a tasty variety of dishes, mine was ham, egg and chips. Ages since I'd had such nice ham. Definitely carved off the bone. Just as we were leaving, Paul arrived having ridden from Andover, 34 miles, well done. 

It was only a modest distance home to Alresford so we added a small diversion to enjoy the views from the ridge near the Milbury's and then descended to Kilmeston by a different lane. A nice fast downhill to enjoy. We easily topped 31 mph. 

It was so pleasant an afternoon that when I got home I washed the mud, accumulated over the last three  rides, off the bike before taking my own shower.

Another very happy day with friends who are now getting back their fitness. Problem for me is are they going to get too fast for me?

Saturday 18th February 2017.Alresford Groupetta "Audax". 105 km.

We had a great day out enjoying the afternoon sunshine after a misty start. Lots of avian activity, apart from the ubiquitous rooks cawing and jackdaws clacking we heard many robins, blackbirds. thrushes, a skylark and many others unidentified. 

Simon's comments:

Simon Turner

18 February at 19:37

With my current level of fitness (still much to improve) I thought today I'd manage 50 miles so the CTC Saturday ride at 33 miles and heading for my home town didn't appeal. So I suggested to Gridironman that we should ride to the Black Swan at Monxton to do a before and after photo as I had found a 1907 photo of this pub with a family of cyclists outside. We then decided to join Laa-Laa & The Flying Scot in Whitchurch so a mere 17 miles before we began. In short I rode 67 miles and Gridironman 66, unfortunately TFS's chain broke north of Andover near Stoke - as it happened by a  pub doing afternoon tea's (I reckon he'd planned it!). Marvellous day still chilly but sun breaking through and towards dusk the sun was setting right over the crest of a hill we were descending almost completely blinding us with its intensity. Not so lucky with the camera today the morning mist did impact the first few photo's. TFS suggested that Gridironman at 83 this year was probably the boy in the original photo!!!

We had a really excellent day. The only downside was a rather substandard lunch at the Hawk Conservancy. they were very busy and their standards had slipped.

We did at least get a picture of the pub. Apologies for the sweat on the lens! (All pictures are Cycmon's. Thanks for letting me use them). After lunch we crossed the very busy A303 to get into Weyhill. A somewhat nervous transit. We got over the first half of the dual carriageway quite easily but had to wait ages for a gap big enough to scoot across the second half. It is a viable crossing but needs extreme care as much of the traffic is moving at 70+ mph. We found a nice route from Weyhill through Penton Mewsey and Little London. The daffodils at the entrance to Andover Cemetery were in full bloom, a lovely splash of gold in the sunshine!

We left TFS at The Oak to enjoy his tea while we rode on to Whitchurch. Laa-Laa returning with the car to pick him up while we helped ourselves to tea before completing our longest ride of the year. 

Cycmon & I have agreed that as we did the same three rides and completed around 130 miles in the week that we should share the Ton Up Kid medal this week, ignoring any small differences in the mileage recorded.

Here are some more of Cycmon's pictures to enjoy. 

What is this world if full of care if we don't have time to stand and stare!

Our last few miles were enhanced by the utilisation of PinkPal's variance of the way from Northington home by descending the speedy hill to Itchen Abbas. Of course I also escorted Cycmon via the ford to Farewell Corner to complete a magnificent day.

 Map and Data  for the day:

 Gridironman.

Two more chilly rides.

Thursday 9th February 2017.

Solo ride to HCMF meet at IBM Clubroom.

Weather rather chilly so I decided not to take too long a route to IBM. I could not persuade any of my Groupetta Pals to join me, but at least that meant I could go at my own pace. I avoided the B3047 by taking the lane through Ovington. When I got there I decided to continue up over Gander Down to cross the A272 and thence to Owslebury and Colden Common. I was a little cautious with Posh but the gears worked perfectly so that was not a problem. However I seemed to have picked up another odd sound when I brake. I paused twice to adjust my brake blocks but this made no difference. When I chatted to other riders at the club they were of the opinion that if there was nothing loose and the wheel was sound I should continue as normal to see if the noise got worse or better! I have examined both the brake and the wheel and can find no explanation. Any ideas?

Near Colden Common as I was riding from Fishers Pond towards the roundabout a car pulled out of a side turning right in front of me causing me to brake very hard to avoid hitting him. He drove off without a care in the world. I was being followed by a large lorry which had slowed waiting for a space to pass and I can only speculate that the motorist "DSM" and thought the truck was slowing to let him out.

Although it was a cold and grey day I was surprised that there were only 8 of us there to share the club with dozens of IBM employees.

I had a most enjoyable plate of fish and chips at a very reasonable price whilst chatting to the others. 

When I left the club I took the drive round to the Northern entrance to explore IBM's beautiful grounds. (Well looked after by Kevin, a friend of mine !)

Back to the centre of Hursley Village and then the most direct route home. 

I was mighty pleased to pop into a hot bath and enjoy a soak when I got in. I stayed in so long I could hardly stand when I got out!

Sunday 12th February 2017.The Groupetta ride to East Meon.

Skipped riding on Saturday as it seemed rather chilly and I wanted to watch the rugby. Don't think today was any warmer, the maximum shown on my garden thermometer was 2º C only 1º more than overnight. However three of the Groupetta planned a ride at 10 o'clock. Sadly Andrew was feeling a tad poorly so wimped out, a wise decision as both Cycmon and I found that 27 miles was enough on such a miserable day. There were plenty of other brave souls out there, we passed a number of small groups, some solo riders and two largish groups. One unlucky guy had picked up a "Hampshire Diamond" and was replacing his tube near Tichborne village. He told us he was fine. I was able to confirm from a local man who was chatting to him that the cows on the farm there are indeed Herefords as I had thought. We got as far as East Meon before we decided to return home. We discovered we could get a coffee in the village shop. There was even a couple of chairs and a table for us to sit at while we warmed up. We were back in Alresford by 1 o'clock, perfect timing for lunch and then another Six nations match to watch. Here is my summary report:

Hardly an earth shattering week, but I did manage over 94 miles Though Garmin/Strava show less as Garmin failed to pick up part of my Tuesday mileage. The "fit" file was "unfit" having somehow been corrupted. This is a rare event, but i have had it happen before. On one occasion Ride with GPS did open the file when Garmin couldn't. Something worth remembering.

Looking forward to some warmer days this coming week.

Gridironman.

Gridironman Takes a Tumble!

Tuesday 7th February 2017.The Alresford Groupetta join the Winchester CTC day ride to Upham for lunch.

A lovely spring like day brought out 17 riders in all. Fourteen started from Winchester and 3 of us joined the ride on the lane to Tichborne near the ford. 

Things started to go wrong almost immediately when my front light fell off. I had obviously not secured it properly. I did not realise I had lost it but fortunately one of the others spotted it and rescued it for me. It appears to be quite OK.

The climb through Kilmeston spread out the group with yours truly helping to bring up the rear. From the ridge we quickly descended Wheeley Down to Warnford. 

As we climbed the hill, more problems, Eileen dropped her chain but Andrew W. always the gentleman stopped to help. This gave the rest of us a breather at the top of Old Winchester Hill. 

Our problems were not over, John punctured about a mile from the Sustainability centre. Knowing him to be very capable the rest of us continued and he soon joined us for coffee.

Andrew captured a picture of us Sustaining Ourselves.

Suitably sustained we returned along the ridge and descended to Droxford before climbing over the next ridge to Dundridge. The lane here was wet like it often is. A couple more hills to climb before reaching our next destination, The Brushmakers Arms, Upham. On the second of these wanting to keep up momentum I stood on the pedals with disastrous results, my chain broke and I came a cropper. Fortunately I fell onto the soft bank under the hedgerow and apart from being both a little shocked and winded I was OK. It wasn't until later that I discovered that my bike had also suffered some damage. The full extent to be checked tomorrow. (It is the first time that I have ever had such a mishap.)

Realising it was only about a mile to the pub I told the others to carry on and they did apart from Ian who stayed with me. I walked most of the way to the pub but was able to freewheel down one hill which made it quicker.

After lunch Andrew very kindly repaired my chain and got me mobile again. The group broke into a number of small segments from here with people dispersing homeward. Fortunately Andrew was still with me as I had some more problems with the chain coming off twice. We discovered the gear changing mech. for the chainwheels had been put out of alignment. Andrew made adjustments and I was able to ride home without further problems.

The left brake leaver has been pushed out of position by the force of my fall but continues to work OK.   

Out of position brake lever.

Andrew is going to replace the chain, re-position the brake lever and check the bike for me tomorrow. How good it is to have such capable friends. THANKS ANDREW!!

Finally just to make the day complete I had problems uploading part of the data of my Garmin Route to my computer, but here are the details.

Gridironman.

Winchester CTC Ride to Preston Candover.

Saturday 4th February 2017.

Only one ride this week due to weather and other Charity commitments. However, it was a very busy and enjoyable week. First at Naomi House, in the finance section, then preparing the Annual Return and accounts for Save the Children, Alresford Branch and last but not least helping with Winchester CTC, first at the committee meeting and then with the use of Face Book.

A chance sighting of a friend running in Kings Worthy and meeting another cycling friend near Oakley made Saturday's ride even more special. At one stage I appeared to have lost my bike!

Picture by Cycmon.

Down the Candover valley the snowdrops are now out in swathes and with so many birds singing can it be long before it is spring.

Here is my summary of the day.

Gridironman..