Fun & Games

Despite my sore side from my tumble two weeks ago I have had a great week. In addition to making great progress in tidying up my garden, with the able assistance of my new under-gardener, Karlene, I have had two excellent rides. One on Wednesday and another on Thursday and then on Saturday helping Andrew and Tricia with running the cycle Jumble event in the village hall at Itchen Abbas. Today Sunday 10th I went to watch the Criterium Races in Winchester.

Wednesday, June 6th, Ride to Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Thursday 7th June, Meet of HCMF at the Dog and Crook, Braishfield.

Saturday  9th June, Cycle Jumble.

Up early and was at the Village Hall, in Itchen Abbas by 7.30 a.m. Helped set up the tables for about 20 stalls selling bikes and assorted cycle bits and pieces. I had taken two of my older bikes, Tiny and Posh to sell as I have hardly ridden either since May last year. It is the second time I've sold Tiny, made another £30 profit! Can't be bad. The good thing is I passed them on to two folk who seemed genuinely keen to ride them. I am pleased to see them put to good use as well as freeing up storage space in my utility room. I also managed to sell some other items and books and with my share of the takings for the day I came home nearly £200 richer.

Tiny with the red label, Sporty with the yellow one.

It was a bit like war, long periods of calm and boredom, punctuated by short periods of excitement and panic! It was, in fact, good fun with plenty of chat with other cyclists and a couple of shared bowls of chips with drinks at the nearby Plough afterwards.

Sunday 10th June.

Enjoyed the afternoon watching the races, some hard racing with several individuals dominating some of the events. Zoe Backstead in particular! (Magnus's daughter I believe). My friend Harvey had a disappointing day being lapped in the Elite Race. 

I enjoyed a number of very good chats with a number of people from Winchester CTC and also others, including one with a guy who knew a lot of my Sotonia pals and also Simon Turner. He also came from the Midlands. Another told me about some of the major tours he had watched over the years and we were not surprised when a rider came a cropper right in front of us as we sat having a pint, he hit the barrier and tumbled but he seemed relatively unscathed and once he had got his chain back on he rode after the others.

What another good mixture of cycling activities! I even managed to dig my veggie patch too. It wasn't quite as bad as Chris's allotment.

Hope you all had as good a week as I did!

Best wishes, Gridironman.

A Great Week Cycling in East Anglia.

I have had a really good week for my second Camper/Cycling tour this year. Here is the overall map of my travels in Dobbin.

My first stop on Sunday 20th was at my cousin's in Hertfordshire. Here after a light lunch we toured the village visiting 5 gardens. All lovely, all different, my favourite was a "green" lovely natural garden, Thrift Cottage, the house roofed with turf and wild flowers. Also a chalet and a small traditional caravan. Scrummy cream scones too.

I continued to Ashwell in N. Hertfordshire where I stopped for two nights at Ashridge Farm Caravan Club site. Very nice rural site on the edge of the town so easy access to the pubs and shops.

On Monday 21st I got down to the serious stuff, riding Paris. I planned to go to Wimpole Hall a National Trust property but as it was only about 8 miles away I decided to take a circular route. Here are my map and data for the day:-

I had a nice lunch at  the Hall and a peep inside before returning to Ashwell. Here I enjoyed a stroll to one of the pubs before an early night.
Tuesday 22nd May.

The next morning I continued on my tour, pausing at Houghton Mill near St. Ives to enjoy a coffee and a walk by the river. Watched the locks at work with a Charity Boat coming through. Plenty of other activity to watch and folk to chat with on the NT camping site nearby. I even had a look round the mill before I was told it wasn't open!!! 

Continued on to Peterborough where I signed into the Ferry Meadows Caravan Club site.

This was in a lovely position by a lake. It was only early afternoon so I had plenty of time to explore on my bike. Wandered around all over the place as you can see from my trail of spaghetti attached:-

Wednesday 23rd May.

Similar bike to David's Tractor.

It weighs a ton!

After a good night's sleep I was raring to go next morning to visit my friends David and Jane. I found my way there with ease. It was a 99% cycle path ride of about ten  miles. After coffee and catching up with the news, David got out his "tractor" to take me for a ride. We went all around the centre of the city, had a look at the lovely cathedral and the square then along more paths and around the lake again and then to the western edge of the city. We had lunch at a pub before I took David to show him Dobbin. Then we parted company. I set off to find Fotheringhay Castle whilst David went home.

My mission was to get a photo of the Castle for Ian. It was the birth place of Richard III and the place where the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots was killed.

 Sorry Ian there is not much to see. The whole castle was demolished about 500 years ago.

The remains of the Castle.

Views from the top.

I went on from the Castle to visit the charming town of Oundle. Managed to get onto a very busy road with lots of traffic but at least it had a cycle lane and I did not feel threatened. I did zip along at a good rate too. Then Garmin ran out so I had to trace my last seven miles on the map. It was early evening by the time I got back so I had supper, listened to the news and then was early into bed  again.

Thursday 24th May.

Next morning I was away before the office opened so dropped my key in the box and made good time to King's Lynn. Here I stopped briefly to fill up. For the last part of the journey to Cromer I used lanes and smaller roads. Went through the Queen's Estate at Sandringham, lovely avenue of copper beeches, then soon afterwards found a small business selling decorative metal fabrications in Shernborne. 

All great fun!

Next I discovered a working windmill at  Great Bircham and popped into their café for a coffee. They had a good selection of cakes so I would imagine it is visited by the local cyclists.

A little later near to Cromer I visited another NT Property. Sheringham gardens, one of the best displays of rhododendrons & azaleas I have ever seen. There is said to be over 80 different varieties there.

Had about a two mile walk around the grounds enjoying the flowers and the views. Well worth a visit at this time of year. Several parties of school children doing nature studies at one of the ponds. 

I had a nice snack there too.

I was at the site in Cromer around tea time, so after setting up and brewing a cuppa I went for a walk to the beach. Masses of "holiday homes" in serried ranks rather spoilt it. The weather had turned chilly by now and the sea looked anything other than inviting.

Back at the site I enjoyed fish & chips and a beer in the restaurant on site. Just as I was finishing around 7.30 it started to rain. I went back to Dobbin in my little quiet corner of the site and set up my bed. Listened to folk music on Radio 2 before settling down to the sound of rain drumming on the roof.

Friday 25th May.

Happily it had stopped raining by the time I got up in the morning, but I found I had left a shoe outside. Paris needed to shake himself free of raindrops before I clambered aboard.

My target for today was another NT property. This one Blickling Estate. 
It was quite chilly at first and I needed my gilet and arm warmers with a sea fret blocking out the views along the coast, however when I turned in land it was much better and I was able to shed the arm warmers and unzip.
Apart from the lovely house and gardens there was a very interesting  RAF museum giving the history of the nearby RAF airfield at Oulton. The house and grounds were used by the RAF. A lot of work was done here during the war on counter measures to block the German radar.

Found another route back via Holt. 
Here are my usual details, recorded in two parts:-

Saturday 26th May.

 Packed up as soon as I'd had breakfast and had covered the fairly short distance to Little Melton quite early in the morning. Chris my host for that overnight stop was not expecting me that early, but he welcomed me and Millie his little dog did too, soon climbing onto my lap to have a stroke! I think she must have remembered me from my last visit. 

When I unloaded Paris I discovered he had a soft rear tyre. Only way we could find the hole was by using a sink full of water. A tiny hole. Could find no obvious cause though there was a small cut in the tyre in the area where it had occurred. I changed the tube with a little help from Chris.

Chris took me round to see their allotment, I think it is really Sheila's project with Chris helping. While we were there a local professional gardener came and rotavated the 3/4 of the plot which had not been cultivated for some time.

 We soon had had enough of gardening and returned to Chris's home, changed and got out on our bikes for a ride. 

The immediate area is quite flat with only a couple of short pitches, so it was easy riding.

Our route took us along mainly quiet roads through farming lane growing barley, wheat, rape, sugar beet and other arable crops. Very few animals, just a few horses and one farm with cows. The spring flowers and fresh leaved trees give us a colourful backdrop.

We managed to get lost once and did a mini circle to get back on track. (See the map).

We stopped for a light meal at a "bus" café. As I pulled up I disgraced myself by tumbling off the bike. Don't know how it happened, but believe my front wheel skidded in loose gravel. One moment I was on the bike, the next on the deck. Got gravel rash to prove it on my right knee and elbow. Three ladies came to help me up. One, appropriately, a vetenary nurse got her first aid kit and helped patch up the Old Donkey! Fortunately I was able to continue with the ride. 

In Wymondham we visited the heritage railway line, but surprisingly no trains were running. Then we went into the priory church, lovely roman arches. Surprisingly it has two towers. Apparently one was for the monks and one for the lay people.

That evening I was once more royally treated with a tasty evening meal. Sheila put dressings on my knee and elbow to try to save messing the sheets. I found my  favourite right side was too tender to sleep on but managed on the left.

Sunday May 27th. 
After breakfast the next morning we once again headed west, away from the city and visited a café run by cyclists in a lovely location, in a field where there is space for camping, a pond which had house martins  dipping low over the water, dragonflies, water plants etc. 

We were lucky it was quiet when we got there as there is often a crowd. I did chat to one couple and when I said I was from Hampshire where it was hillier the young lady said "I'm a Norfolk Lass, I don't do hills". 

From there we went to an airfield, now used by light planes, very like Popham, except they have an interesting museum too. We had a light lunch and a long chat with the owner of one of the aircraft. Very interesting. We watched several planes take off. 

I left Chris and Sheila and family about half past four and drove to Cambridge for my last overnight stop with an old friend. 

  
Monday 28th May.

Left Cambridge at 12 noon and was in Tesco's in Alresford by 14.50! Good journey despite the holiday traffic on the M25.

Other Notes:

1.

My second venture cycling with Dobbin support worked out well. Went mostly according to plan but I still need to adjust how I manage the camping side of things. I took far too much "stuff". Forgot the old advice lay out everything you think you want then reduce it by at least 50%!

2.

Winchester CTC Strava for last week.

Made history !

3. 
Finally a very big thanks to my very good friends and family who made this an exceptional week. It reinforced my belief that relationships with friends and family and the kindness of strangers are far more important than money or posessions. 

Gridironman.

Enjoying the Spring Sunshine!

It has been lovely weather for cycling this week. I just hope it stays like this for next week when I am off on my travels again in Dobbin with Paris strapped on the rear carrier. 

This time I am heading north east stopping at three different Club sites, each time for two nights so I can ride in unfamiliar countryside. 

I'm also visiting friends.

In the meantime here are the details of my two rides enjoyed this week:-

Tuesday 15th May 2018. 

Pedallers Ride to the Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Thursday 17th May 2018.

HCMF Meeting at The Fox, Ellisfield.

My next Blog will be when I get back home.

Bye for now, Gridironman.

Post op pleasure.

I had a small surgical procedure two weeks ago and have now recovered enough to get back out on my bike again. So on Wednesday 9th May I went for a gentle ride with the LoTSW group.

It was a lovely day for it, not too hot not too cold, plenty of sunshine. Enjoyed more flower spotting. 

The following day Thursday 10th May I felt well enough to cycle with Simon to the HCMF meet. Another beautiful day.

Then today Sunday 13th May I started off thinking I was fine, but soon I was having doubts until I discovered the problem was with the Rohan bike I had borrowed from Simon, and not me. I think he should have told me the bike is fitted with an automatic uphill brake. The harder one pedals the more it is applied, presumably to stop one running backwards!

To make my day more complete, en route to The Dolphin I met my good friend Jo and stopped for a natter. Then on the cycle path from Hockley I spotted my grandaughter Zoe with two of her friends, a brief pause to say hello and then in Winchester another friend, Andrew shouted a greeting to me as I rode past him as he walked along the footway.

A pretty good week considering I wasn't sure I'd be riding at all, with 116 miles ridden. Do I get the Ton Up Kid Medal back from Simon?

Gridironman.

My First Camper/Cycle tour of England and Wales.

After nearly a year from the purchase of my Camper Car, Dobbin, I have been able to do what I originally intended; use Dobbin to access other parts of the country for my cycle rides.

I was away for 8 days and 7 nights. In all I drove 550 miles and rode another 107.4. I had 5 rides in all as follows:

1. From the Caravan & Motorhome Camp Site near Carsington Water to the Knockerdown Inn.

2, Two Circuits of Carsington Lake, one on the mountain bike cycle path, one on the roads.

3. From Ripponden a circuit via Sowerby Bridge and near to Hebden Bridge over the hill back to Ripponden.

4. A circuit of Great Orme in North Wales.

5. A beach side and hilly ride from Rhos on Sea to Prestatyn and back.

The detailed maps and data are below with brief descriptions of the rides.

It was a great week, I only slept in Dobbin for two nights. I stayed with my cousin Ann for 3 nights and with my M2M chum Michael for 2. However it was a good test of using Dobbin and I learnt a lot about how best to organise myself in such a small space. I slept well which was the main thing and only had to use my heater for a short time.

The weather was pretty varied with cold cloudy weather a lot of the time and one very hot day of about 25 deg C. There was some brilliant sunshine too on the colder days at times.

The countryside changed a lot in the week and by Sunday Michael and I were able to identify the following flowers:

Bluebells, cow parsley, alexanders (very prolific near the sea), wood anemone, stitchwort, a few late daffodils, dogs mercury, jack by the hedge (also known as garlic mustard), Jack in the pulpit, early spotted orchid, dandelions, cowslips, primroses, herb robert, honesty, violets, celandines, green alkanet, daisies, buttercups and even some mahonia, (no doubt an escapee). I have probably forgotten some others!

The trees greened up nicely too and some of the woodlands had many shades of green and with white flowers of blackthorn adding to the mix.

1. From the Caravan & Motorhome Camp Site near Carsington Water to the Knockerdown Inn.

2, Two Circuits of Carsington Lake, one on the mountain bike cycle path, one on the roads.

3. From Ripponden a circuit via Sowerby Bridge and near to Hebden Bridge over the hill back to Ripponden.

4. A circuit of Great Orme in North Wales.

5. A beach side and hilly ride from Rhos on Sea to Prestatyn and back.

A most enjoyable week in all with friends and family who all treated me right royally. Thanks Ann, Ron, Michael, June and many other nameless passers by.

Now I have to settle and relax as I have just had a small operation and have been advised to take it easy for a week or so.

Gridironman.

A busy mid week.

Two rides in two days but then when I was hoping for another this morning (Thursday 12th) I woke feeling awful, seems I have picked up my first cold in about three years. I guess I have been very lucky. Just hoping I shake it off quickly as I have lots to do next week. Here are my two reports:-

Tuesday 10th April.

Pedallers ride to The Hawk Conservancy Centre.

                                                Wednesday 11th April.

                                 Away day with the LoTSW Group in the New Forest.

Unfortunately things only got worse and I have had to change all my plans just because of a stupid cold. Not having had one for along time I had forgotten how debilitating they can be especially when you spend all night coughing and wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed. 

I have already cancelled my planned attendance at a birthday party and a visit to see my friend Millie and her family.

I am constantly revising my plans for the coming week and still hope to go and visit my family and friends. Dobbin is stamping impatiently waiting to fulfil his function. 

Hope to have more interesting news next time.

Gridiroman.