A Gentle Meander around the Local Lanes

Saturday 23rd November 2013. I feel a bit like Billy no Mates at present. None of my CTC Alresford Groupetta pals was able to join me on my ride this morning.They missed a most interesting ride in the warm winter sunshine. Pity about the North wind which made it feel a little chilly. However, I was well layered up and wore my winter gloves for the first time.

I had no clear plan other than to be home in time for lunch. The bike was pointing west when I junped on, but not wanting to go towards Winchester, I dived down Drovers' Lane and tested myself by taking on Mollie's Dismount. (7.9% gradient). This warmed me up nicely. There had been almost no traffic but near East Stratton I met three cars and was passed by four others. This was the busiest time all day.

The trees vary a lot at the moment. Some leafless, some displaying lovely autumn colours and others still quite green as you will be able to see from this group in Stratton Park.

Ash bare, Beech coloured, Oak still green.

The sun was also making lovely patterns with the light and shade in the woods.

Paterns of light and shade.

I was passed by a truck carrying a load of Christmas trees near the Calvert Centre. They must have just been cut in the plantation near Woodmancott. Arriving in Brown Candover with only just over ten miles covered I decided to loop around through Preston Candover and Wield before heading for home. 

I thought the Shard was in London but I took this picture in Brown Candover!

Hampshire's Shard?

The hill to Upper Wield seemed quite easy, thanks North Wind!

I passed the vinyard on Chalk Hill and turned towards Bighton and here I took the small lane which loops around the farm instead of following the usual road. I rejoined the  normal route at the edge of the village. From here it was an easy ride home where I arrived just in time for lunch and to watch the very exciting Rugby League Semi Final which England lost in the last minutes of the game. 20 - 18. Real rugby to watch later this evening!

Here is the link to my route and data for the day:-

Gentle Lanes

Gridironman.

The Brushmakers Upham Meet of the HCMF

Bad news this week. My good friend Alex has had a spill whilst riding with the WER on Saturday and has fractured his hip. I was not riding myself, as I have been having fun with my two grandsons instead, so know little of the details. I am sure you will all join with me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

My only ride this week was on Thursday when I joined the HCMF meet at the Brushmakers' Arms in Upham. I chose a favourite route  from Alresford through Tichborne, Cheriton and Kilmeston to the top of Beacon Hill, with that nice decent to Corhampton Golf Club to follow. This time I carried on down to Droxford.

In the field on my left a farmer was tilling the land with a cloud of seagulls following him to pick up the worms etc uncovered by the activity.

The scene looking towards Winchester Hill.

From Droxford I headed towards Swanmore past the Alpacca Farm. At the top of the hill I spotted this fantastic display of roses. Not bad for mid November!

November Roses.

The road between Swanmore and Bishop's Waltham was closed for major roadworks but hoping that at least the footpath would be open I took it. My optimism was justified and I was able to get through OK.

As I entered the main street, quite by chance, I encountered Karen and her daughter Jo out for a ride together. I rode with them for a little while up Beeches Hill to Ashton. Soon after I left them to cross the valley to Upham. The NW breeze seemed particularly strong here as I headed directly into it.

Another good turn out of members here. I managed to find a vacant corner and chatted with David while we ate lunch. I then moved to join Janice and Dan who were the sole representatives from North Hants. Don arrived next and the four of us had a very good chat before I decided it was time to get moving again, having been at the pub for over 90 mins.

Outside I found Les feverishly searching his pockets for the key to the lock holding his and Jenny's bikes. I hope he was able to resolve his problem.

The weather had been fine until now but I did feel a few drops of rain as I rode through Longwood Dean. Fortunately the sun was soon out again.

I was home soon after 3 p.m. but already the light was beginning to fade.

For my route map and data go to:

Ride to Upham

Don't believe the average moving speed, I can't understand how Mr Garmin has calculated 4 m.p.h.. I make it a little over 11.1 m.p.h.! 

Another gentle social ride!

Gridironman.

Who's Playing in Whose Backyard!

 Thursday 7th November 

Simon and I decide that a ride to the Tichborne Arms would not test us very much so we decided to go and play in North Hants's backyard. Simon is getting better at plottting courses on Garmin Connect and he had done a good job on this one with only one booboo. More about that later.

We headed up the valley towards Medstead enjoying the relatively mild day and soon after Bighton I stopped to remove my winter jacket. A  number of all terrain vehicles passed us in the lane. looked like transport for the marksmen on a shoot. 

As we passed through the village we met Ray and Diana and shortly afterwards Lesley and Mike, heading towards Tichborne.

We took it steadily down the hill into Beech as the road was wet and there are a lot of manhole covers and other imperfections in the road. As we entered Alton I missed the turn over the hill towards Chawton and we made a minor detour through a housing estate. We popped under the A31 to Jane Austen's House so Simon could check out a route he is planning for the Veteran's Cycling Club.

Back in Alton Simon's Garmin kept telling him to go the wrong way. We soon discovered that Simon had got the 'return home' option enabled and once he had turned this off the instructions were less confusing.

As we neared the crossing over the river Wey we passed Mark Heal who was heading to play in our backyard too.

In Upper Froyle work appears to be in full swing developing the former Treloars School for new homes.

Our wriggly route was also quite hilly and we made slow progress. Simon picked up a flint and had to change a tube and then we had a problem with the course which wanted to take us across fields! It seems for some reason the 'follow roads' option was not working here. We improvised and were soon in Farnham. Here, many drivers seemed to think that cyclists only need a foot or so of road, so we had a number of "Peter Moments".

We found a pub, The Nelson Arms, and we were soon enjoying a pint of Hob Goblin to wash down our delicious Prawn sandwhiches. 

Time was marching on so with the shortening day in mind we soon made tracks over the border into Surrey. We climbed another hill to Rowledge then headed south towards Frensham. We turned for home through Kingsley and Oakhammer and thence to Selborne, (more hills!) Simon suggested a stop for tea, but mindful of the setting sun we agreed it would be better to press on. Between Selborne and Farringdon we saw pheasant shooting going on, looked like the same group we'd seen earlier in the day near Bighton

Just after we had crossed the A32 we met Mark again at the bottom of Brightstone Lane so we paused to exchange experiences of the day. 

Eventually we made it over the hill, through Four Marks. As I descended Swelling Hill I hit a pothole or other obstruction quite hard and I fear that it may have caused a puncture for as I rode the last few miles through Ropley and into Bishop's Sutton my rear tyre felt a bit soft. However thankfully I made it home with a reasonable amount of air in the tyre just before  5 o'clock. 

As we rode into Bishop's Sutton the sky in the west was beautiful, a very deep red with trees outlined against it, however it was so transient that it had gone before I had time to stop and take a picture.

This morning my rear tyre was flat. I have repaired the tube. The puncture seems to have been caused by something with a sharp point, not the bump. We did pass hedge trimming in several places so perhaps I picked up a thorn.

Our Route and Data for the day's Away Play.

Sunday 10th November.
Made the most of the sunshine taking a roundabout route to West Tisted to try and find the hidden church.

I was anxious about my back tyre as I had not found the cause of my flat on Thursday so I opted not to go too far from home. In the end the tyre was fine!

When passing through West Tisted on previous rides I had never seen the Saxon church and decided to find it. It is tucked away behind some trees and bushes with only footpath access. 

This is the view of it from just inside the churchyard.

St Mary Magdalene Church, West Tisted 

A very interesting little recepticle in the wall just as you enter the church. Is it for holy water?

There is also a massive yew tree nearby, another one vying to be the biggest in Hampshire?

It was a lovely day to be out on the bike, warm in the sun but cool in the shade with a small breeze in my face as I rode home.

To see my route for the day go to:

 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/402384856

 Happy Cycling.

Gridironman.

Banishing Monday Morning Blues!

Monday 4th November 2013. 

Took advantage of a lovely sunny morning and headed out towards Swanmore. It was quite cold despite the sun but I soon warmed up climbing up to the top of Beacon Hill & through the village of Kilmeston. The next mile is great fun, a gentle downhill to Corhampton Golf Club where the smell of bacon wafted through the air! Tell me Bill, is that what gets you golfers going?

The road down to Swanmore was a bit tricky. In the sunlight and shadows it was hard to see the rough patches, potholes and leaf litter, so I kept my speed down. 

I still had plenty of time to get home before lunch so I decided to visit the Waltham Chase Bike Shop. A dangerous thing to do when there are sales on. The owner has reduced his 2013 models to try and clear space for the 2014 models. So go and have a look if you are thinking of a new bike. I was very much taken with a Giant Rapid! Perhaps I should put it on my list for Santa. (Note to self: "Beware of the slippery slope of mutiple bikes!")

My route home was the shortest through Bishop's Waltham and up the Beeches Hill past the White Horse which seems to be under major refurbishment.

Near home I rode through Tichborne to the ford to see how the improvement work was progressing. It seems it is just about finished. The entry and exit ramps have been reconcreted and more importantly the footpath/bridge has been greatly improved. Here are a couple of snaps of the ford.

Looking East. Note the wider bridge and tarmacced access.

Looking West.

Barrie's Pedallers/HCMF meet at the Swan, Barton Stacey

What has happened? My weekly mileage has suddenly taken a dip! Only 45  miles  this week after none last week. But I did have a nasty cold and the weather has not been very friendly. Here is my graph of weekly miles todate :-

Notes:

After a slow start where I was constantly behind my target I managed to get ahead a few weeks ago.

1. I have been consistently ahead of last year's actual.
2. I am practically spot on my target line for 3,500 miles in the year but that is assuming I don't continue to slack!

On Thursday 31st Simon and I decided to join the sociable group of Barrie's Pedallers led by David Foster. We left home just on the stroke of 9 and made it to the Stoke Charity Rendezvous in plenty of time. There we joined Caroline, Karen & Bill, Sue Tull, Alan Gwyer and Brenda, a rider I'd not met before. 

David suggested riding to  John Lewis's Farm Shop on the Leckford Estate but he had found out that Sue Reeves was planning taking the Saturday easy ride there. However we all agreed that we did not mind that, so off we set in that direction. 

We headed towards Longparish and the Test Valley but unfortunately David had a flat rear tyre just as we were crossing the bridge over the A303. Simon and Alan both stayed to help him replace the tube while the rest of us carried on. The remainder of the ride to the cafe was uneventful.

The Farm Shop and Cafe are beautifully situated in a very rural area and is very spacious, there are tables and chairs outside too, but the weather was too cold and grey to sit there. 

We enjoyed coffee or tea with a good choice of cakes and scones, not cheap, but very much in line with many other similar cafes.

The other three joined us after about half an hour, it transpired that David had a second flat, possibly due to a faulty valve.

Our journey back towards Stoke Charity which was slightly shorter than our outward one, was via Chilbolton and Newton Stacey. Caroline left us at Fullerton to return home to Whitchurch. 

Simon and I left the group in Barton Stacey, attracted by the Siren Call of the nearby Swan Inn together with the HCMF group who were meeting there. David dropped off near his home too leaving the other five to return to Stoke Charity.

In the Swan we found the usual hardcore of riders together with Alan Burr and his family, others having already departed.

Suitably refreshed we headed home where we arrived at about 4 p.m. having had a most enjoyable social ride. I had particularly enjoyed seeing friends who I'd not seen for a while and making friends with Brenda too.

Thanks David for leading the ride and to all those who took part in making it a very enjoyable day.

Gridironman.

HCMF Meet at Shawford & The Plain Challenge for Naomi House.

Thursday 17th October.

Another fine day for a bike ride. Thought I'd combine a ride to The Bridge at Shawford with a little exploration in preparation for an intermediate ride I'm leading in December. Headed over Gander Down to Owslebury and Marwell. This often seems to be a quite busy route for country roads and Thursday was no exception. I'm pleased to say all the car drivers I encountered were well behaved!

From Marwell I rode to Lower Upham then took Alma Lane towards Durley. There are a lot of small farms along this lane. Does anyone know the history of this area?

I did a circuit of the village and just near the Farmer's Home pub I found Alan Sharpen mending a puncture. I offered help but he told me that he was fine and to carry on my way.

I thought it was time to turn back towards Shawford and took a route Karen had shown me some time ago through Horton Heath, Fir Tree Lane and then a cycle path behind some houses into the centre of Bishopstoke. I didn't quite get it right but did manage to end up where I intended. 

I next climbed the hill past the church and bombed down the other side into Colden Common. From here it was a short way to the pub where I found the usual regulars plus a strong contingent of five from Winchester. I had lunch, very tasty fish and chips, with Mary and Mollie who I'd not seen for some time. It was good to catch up with their news. I also had a long chat with Diana Burr about voluntary charity work and Forever Angels.i 

As I left the pub Alan was mending a puncture, again! Seems he'd not made a good job of it the first time.

The River Itchen in Shawford.

I rode back to Winchester with a small group, pausing to admire the lovely river scene near Shawford Park Farm where my brother worked in the late 40s.

The Winchester Groupetta crossing the busy Hockley Junction.

The Day's Data.

Once in Winchester I continued my way home via East Hill, which I found not as steep as I'd expected, and then via the Alresford Road to Easton. Next I crossed the river by the foot bridge at Chilland and completed the day's ride home along the B road.

A most enjoyable day out at a much more liesurely pace than of late. (My RiTMO score only 25.6 compared to my best of 19.8)

Sunday 20th October 2013.

When I tumbled out of bed at 6.30 in response to the alarm the first sound I heard was the drumming of the rain on the tiles. Forever the optimist I fired up the computer and had a look at the rain radar map. I was reassured that the rain would pass and we would be able to ride the Plain Challenge. 

I left home at 7.40, it was still pouring, however the sky did seem to lighten as I drove towards Tidworth and by the time I got there the rain had stopped. Formalities completed, bacon buttie and coffee duly despatched, Simon briefed us on the route and possible hazards and we were away at 9 with the sun shining.

Our route was the same as last year and the route was well marked so the route on my Garmin was somewhat superfluous, just as well because for some reason I kept getting "off the route" messages. Did Simon omit to tick the "follow roads" option when he plotted the route?

Once warmed up, near Appleshaw, I stopped to remove my jacket.

There is a steady climb from here to Conholt where we joined the Chute Causeway, but it is not steep, so it was not hard, but most of the other riders seemed to have melted into the distance.

As I neared the Western end of the Causeway it started to rain so I popped the jacket on again.  The hill  down to Oxenwood needed to be ridden with care because of the potholes and debris from the overnight rain.

The sun came out again soon afterwards and for a while I headed East and I kept thinking that this can't be right the Plain is West from here. However it was and I was joined by a small group of other riders who had started after me. We rode together for a while but they left me on the climb from Hungerford.

There is a real touch of Autumn colours now in the trees, as evidenced by this snap taken between Hungerford and Little Bedwyn.

Autumn Colours.

This section to Great Bedwyn was harder than expected because although it was very flat there was a strong head wind.
To reach Burbage and the refreshment stop the route looped into the edge of the Savernake Forest where I found this sign, a little premature?

The road was a little slippy but not from ice!

Pam welcomed me at the feed stop where I caught up with the little group from earlier. We had a nice chat while we enjoyed delicious flapjack and jelly babies. I discovered that the one lady rider with them was the unfortunate person who broke a spoke on White Horse Hill out of Pewsey. They set off before me but I was relieved to find that I was by no means the last rider.

Well over halfway round at the refreshment stop.
Note the sunshine!

The ride to Pewsey was uneventfull and I was soon tackling the steepest hill of the day. I could see the tiny dot of another rider near the top as I started the climb and halfway up I nearly caught up with another rider who had stopped for a breather.
Whoever he/she was was too fast for me and I soon lost sight of him/her. 

The sun had disappeared now and ominous black clouds were moving in from the west. Near Eversleigh I caught up with the lady rider who had stopped to don her jacket and I indulged in a little wheel sucking for the next couple of miles as the rain started to chuck it down. I took the lead to give her a little respite but she dropped back and by the time I got near to Netheravon airfield I had lost sight of her.

The rain was now approaching monsoon proportions and I paused under a large tree to eat a banana. It was no help, the rain was so hard the tree merely dripped extra large drops down my neck! The lady missed the turn nearby and did not hear me when I shouted to her she had gone wrong. I was too wet and tired to attempt to chase her, it would have probably taken miles to catch her anyway.

Unbelievably the  rain now came down even harder and roads were inches deep in water with huge puddles appearing everywhere. In several places the road was almost totally blocked and in Tidworth it was. I had to ride through pedalling to maintain momentum so any tiny part of my feet that were not already wet were now completely saturated. I reckon I must have been weighed down by a few extra kilos of water by now!

I eventually arrived back at the finish just before 3 p.m. My Garmin recorded my elapsed time as 5 hr 56 min and 20 secs,

The Finish!

I was extremely pleased that Mr Gramin had kept functioning despite the almost submarine experince. As Pam said when i checked in "Did you need flippers?" I replied that I had thought as I rode those last few miles that they were the one omission from my kit list! An outboard motor would have been useful too.

It was still raining quite hard but fortunately I had had the foresight to bring some dry clothes to change into. I even had the presence of mind to load the bike on the car before changing into my dry clothes.

Of course by the time I'd driven home the sun had come out again.

Once there I discovered that absolutely everything was soaked including the contents of my rack bag despite having a waterproof cover, for the splashing from the road and traffic had penetrated underneath. I don't remember ever having been so comprehensively soaked on a bike ride before.

What an experience. I don't regret for a moment having taken part, it will remain in my memory for a long time as a special day to help those poorly children who are less fortunate than me.

Here are my map and data for the day.

Gridironman.

Crunchy Nut Autumn! & The Gridiron 2013

No Goupetta friends to join me on Thursday 10th October. They were all too busy working or going on holiday!

I left home just before 10 with a book shoved up my winter training jacket. It helped keep the wind off my chest but the real reason I had it was to take it to the PO to post it to an Amazon customer in aid of Save The Children.

It was a very chilly morning and there was a very strong Northerly wind, but I soon warmed up climbing the slope to Bighton.

Here I discovered the pub has had a makeover and is no longer the Three Horseshoes but is now the very smart looking English Partidge. Must visit it to test out the facilities!

The lane leading to Medstead was covered in many places by masses of beech mast and acorns which crunched under my tyres. I kept hoping they were causing no damage but it was impossible to avoid them. I struggled up the hill for the wind was so strong, often one is under the wind in such situations but it was not so in this case. Near the top I was pinged by an acorn dropping onto my helmet!

I had chosen a devious route to get to Upton Gray, not wanting to take the well travelled obvious one. From Medstead I went to Bentworth and then through the village of Shalden. I paused here awhile to have a look at the charming church.

SS Peter & Paul Church, Shalden.

As I neared the Golden Pot I met Janice going in the opposite direction. We had a chat then decided we would both stick to our original routes. 

Soon afterwards I met Lesley and Mike also following Janice's route.

I crossed the main road and about a mile east of it I turned down a very small lane, also heavily covered in beech mast. More crunching!

I eventually came out onto the Odiham road near to the hamlet of Blounce. Next I took a road marked Private which I had ridden before with Ray and the Alton Group. It is a very narrow lane through farmland with good views across the fields and the only other user I saw was Postman Pat. A tractor was working in the fieds and there was good shelter from the wind so I really enjoyed it. 

I arrived at the Hoddington Arms at the same time as Lesley and Mike. Janice arrived soon afterwards having stopped for a break.

A very good turnout of riders including some from Southampton and Chandler's Ford and one new member from Fleet.

After lunch I headed home via Herriard, Burkham and Bentworth flying along at a much faster rate with the wind behind me.

Here is my map and data for the day:

Question for readers to answer:

Where is this very ancient garage? Must be one of the earliest!

Sunday 13th October, The Gridiron Audax. 
Forecast Rain! Unlucky for some?
I just had to ride the Gridiron whatever the weather. First rode it in 2008 with PinkPal and have ridden it every year since, so this was my sixth time. 
Got to the new starting place in Lymington in good time and was on the road by 8.15. A few of us had jumped the gun to make the most of the drier weather. It was grey and misty but there were a couple of short lived blue patches. I passed a few other riders who'd started early too but was soon being passed by others. There was a little mizzle on the high ground so I was glad I had on my rain jacket. 
There was a change in the route soon after Burley because of a road closure between there and Moortown. This added a little to the mileage. 
As we headed north a mini peleton formed and about 20 of us rode together until most of the group took the old route from South Gorley, relying on memory rather than the printed route  I shouted to tell them they'd gone wrong but it was a couple of miles further on before some of them caught up with me, the rest must have continued on the old route. 
We enjoyed the usual break with coffee and biscuits at the Hyde Village Hall. One third of the route completed.
The early mizzle had lifted as we rode along the Roger Penny Way towards Nomansland. I was almost on my own now having stopped only briefly at Hyde but a rider who passed me on this stretch missed the turn to Nomansland. When I called out he turned back and we rode together for a while. He was Cornelius, from Southampton, not a member of a club so I told him about the CTC. After a few miles he rode away from me on some of the hillier parts and I descended towards Cadnam on my own once more. I stopped to take this picture of some small ponies, not the usual New Forest ones.

Ponies on Cadnam Lane.

As I neared Winsor some of the riders I'd ridden with earlier caught up with me and we rode together again. It had started to rain a little now and by the time we got to the second check point at Colbury it had set in for the day.
The scene here in the past has been  one of riders sitting in the sunshine enjoying their break with tea and biscuits. Here is the scene from yesterday.

Only 20 miles to go now so not wishing to delay I filled one of my bottles with hot sweet tea and got cracking once more.
As I neared Beaulieu I passed a number of other cyclists who were taking part in a charity event. One of them turned out to be AJ a friend of mine raising money for McMillan Cancer Support.

Alex Coates.

I rode a short way with Alex before climbing the last hard hill towards Bucklers Hard. I had kept warm despite the rain except for my hands which were now covered in soaking wet mitts. I had forgotten to put my spare gloves into my rack bag at the start, fortunately only another 5 miles to go. 

Once at the finish I signed in, got my brevet card stamped and acquired my commerative 21st anniversary medal and Gridiron Cap. 

Once the formalities were complete I loaded my bike onto the car and headed for home and a nice refreshing shower and to enjoy tea with Jean, Sarah and her two boys, Hugo and Archie.

A memorable day, great fun and companionship despite the wet weather. I was pleased to have completed my sixth Gridiron in my best time ever at a moving speed of a shade over 13 m.p.h. and an overall average 0f 11.7 m.p.h. Top speed for the day down the hill into Nomansland  34 m.p.h.

For those of you who are interested my Garmin record for the day is here:- 
                http://connect.garmin.com/activity/389821289

Gridironman.

In Search of the old CTC Office

Simon and I chose not to ride on Thursday because of the indifferent weather. To make up for our lack of miles we planned an all day longer ride for Saturday 5th October. Simon offered to plan an interesting route and by golly he succeeded. He plotted a hilly route from Alresford to Godalming where the CTC head office used to be situated. We both loaded the route onto our Garmin devices to make route finding easier. My Garmin 200 performed very well but Simon's more comprehensive model was less effective in adhereing to the route.

Here is my recorded map which differs from the original planned route partly by choice and partly because Simon's planned route made use of some bridle ways and private roads!

I left home just after 9.10 and cycled to Simon's just in time to greet Rachel and the now almost 2 year old Alex. He can already count up to three!

Our first challenge of the day was White Hill only half a mile into the ride, one way to get the legs working. The next ten miles were over often used roads and after ignoring Mr. Garmin's suggested route through a farm, we were soon enjoying our fastest descent of the day down the steep hill in East Worldham. (Almost 39 m.p.h.).

Throughout the day I found myself recognizing countryside I'd ridden before with the Alton CTC but not being familiar enough with the area to be able to remember what came next. Near Churt we encountered our toughest climb of the day more than 1 in 7, but fortunately not very long. Simon a had also thrown in a couple of jokers here with a phantom spur and the refusal of his Garmin to recognize a right turn. I shouted "turn right" but he didn't hear me, so I just stopped and waited and eventually he came back. 

The next few miles we had a fast flatter section and by twelve o'clock we were through Elstead and into Milford only a few miles short of Godalming. Here our homeward route was off to our right, but we resisted the temptation to take it and carried on into the very busy town of Godalming. The traffic here was very slow with half of the population of Surrey exercising their rights to go shopping! After several abortive attempts to locate the CTC old HQ on Garmin we carried on through the town and eventually found 69 Meadrow, Godalming which now appears to be a block of flats. What a disappointment Simon had hoped for a plaque!

The Site of the Old CTC HQ

We headed back into the town centre taking the car park access road and then the pedestrianised high street following a bus. This was a good choice as we avoided the heavy traffic. We were getting peckish now so we were on the look out for a pub. Just beyond Milford we came to the village sign for Hambledon. A mile later we were still not into the village centre and then there at the foot of a dip was this pub.

There were a lot of families there and when I asked one of the dad's what was going on he said "Llama Trekking if only we can find a Llama".

Once refreshed with some tasty if rather expensive food and good beer we continued South West over more hills through Haslemere and towards Liphook. Having climbed two fairly steep hills out of Haslemere we had a favourable gentle slope most of the way to Liphook so we made very good time.

Another phantom spur on Simon's route caused a moment's confusion in the Town centre before we headed towards Petersfield. A few more hills but a lot of this sector was dual carriageway which was light in traffic and largely downhill, so once again very fast.

Having decided to stop for a coffee and cake in Petersfield we were sumwhat frustrated. First a Costa Coffee shop seemed to be overhauling their equipment. We waited several minutes then decided use the other facilities and then to cut our losses and carry on, two ladies who had been waiting when we arrived were still waiting as we rode away. We then tried Heidi's who told us they were closing but could do a takeway but then told us the coffee machine had been turned off! Does no one ever use a simple kettle these days? We gave up, had another cereal bar and cold drink before carrying on our homeward trek.

At Stroud I suggested we took a more rural route to East Meon than the planned one so we turned off the A272 and rode to Ramsdean before rejoining the planned route. This turned out to be a good idea as the planned route had taken another bridle way.  

Once through West Meon we began to count down the remaining miles and eventually arrived in Alresford  around 5.30 Despite two more off road sections. It had been a very enjoyable day out once more despite the hills. 

Here are the data for the day:

More climbing than last week and over 4,000 cals used! No wonder I've lost a couple of pounds that I can afford!

Thanks Simon for your hardwork in planning the route and keeping me honest on the ride.

Happy Cycling!

Gridironman.

Hospice to Hospice Charity Event.

Thursday 26th September.To complete my warm up for the main event of the week, the Hospice to Hospice ride,  I planned to ride with Simon to join the HCMF meet at the Rose & Crown, Upper Farringdon. 

However the best laid plans are often thwarted and so it was on this occasion. Simon was unable to come due to other matters, we did however have a practice at loading both of our bikes into the back of Simon's car in preparation for Sunday. Happily they fitted without much hassle.

I left Shepherd's Down at 11.30 and climbed over White Hill to Bishop's Sutton. First test of the day! The route to the meet was very straightforward through Ropley and Four Marks and down Brightstone Lane to cross the A32 and so into the village. As I rode through Four Marks I spotted two riders ahead but try as hard as I could I was unable to catch them. At the pub I discovered it was Geoff and Alan I'd been chasing, no wonder I couldn't catch up.

Another fairly modest number present, but as always very good craic. However an unfortunate incident occurred when the landlady of the pub asked one of our members to leave for abusing her hospitality by eating his own sandwiches in the garden. Self Caterers beware! We should of course eat somewhere nearby either before or after the meet. I think the Landlady was a bit suspicious of me as I did not order any food either, not really fancying anything that was readily available. I bought a sandwich in Selbourne after I'd left the others.

My route home was another ride of discovery. First I investigated Gracious Street from Selbourne and discovered it led to Newton Valence by a much nicer hill than that we had used when we joined the BBQ earlier in the summer. 

I visited the dear little St Mary Church and admired the colossal yew tree in the church yard. I think it might be even bigger and older than the very large one in Bentley. What do you think Diane?

The Massive Yew.

St Francis  Can you spot the  little Stoat?

St Mary Church, Newton Valence.

Not wanting to go directly home I headed towards Hawkley and then turned right to climb over two ridges through Dean to pass the Pub with no Name. I shudder to think what my friends Caroline & Christine would have thought of the state of the roads here, they were worse than the one near Colmore, with a lot of potholes, gravel, sand and other debris. It took almost as long to go down the hills as up them.

I crossed the Petersfield to Ropley road and thence to Privett where I discovered another little gem of a Dual Cabbageway. See picture below. 

My latest discovered Cabbage Way.

From here it was only a fairly short run home through West Tisted and Ropley. A tough day considering it was only 32.2 miles.
Map and data for the day:

Sunday 29th September 2013. The main event of the week. A ride in aid of the two Children's Hospices, Shooting Star and Christophers together known as Shooting Star Chase. This is the second year this event has been run and the second time I've ridden it. The organizer is Emma Willshire, known to many of you, as she used to work for Naomi House.

Simon took Sporty and loaded him into his car along with his Hetchins on saturday night so that when he arrived outside my door at 6.45 on Sunday morning all I had to do was jump into the car and we were off to Painshill Park near Cobham. We arrived there just after 7.30 and we registered, had a drink, unloaded the bikes and received a final briefing before setting off on our adventure just after 8.33 

The first ten miles was through a very urban landscape through Weybridge, Walton on Thames and Shepperton to Shooting Star House. We encountered many other cyclists on our way including another event riding in the opposite direction. We noticed that inside the M25 most cyclists did not greet one, too many others and too busy with traffic? Outside the M25 a large number did exchange greetings.

Refreshments at Shooting Star House.

We had a refreshment break at the House before continuing our Northern route through Bushey Park, a green lung in the urban environment. As it was cloudy and we couldn't see the sun I got disorientated and hadn't much idea which direction we were going.

We passed Sandown Park race course and through Esher before arriving back in Cobham. Here the route split with the 20 milers returning to Painshill Park. The marshall on the corner making sure we went the correct way was Emma's mother Wendy, an ex Naomi House carer. It was lovely to see her.

Our route to Guildford was through the Horseleys and East Clandon. The traffic was building up by now and we were glad that Emma had taken us round some back streets but not quite so glad they included some very steep ups and downs around Castle Hill. We were guided through a crafty short cut over a pedestrian bridge which avoided the very centre before arriving at Christophers having taken less than three hours for the 35 miles. (ONLY HALF WAY!)

Christophers with some of the riders on the 2012 event.

Serious refreshment stop here, bananas and cereal bars and two bottles of water. I sat on the only seat available as I was scared if I sat on the grass I would be unable to get up! 

From here the way was much more rural through the village of Albury to Shere. En route taking another sneaky short cut across a busy dual carriage way. Very well marshalled. 

Our toughest test of the day was climbing to the top of the ridge via Combe Lane. (12.3%). I just managed to ride it by taking the outside lane on the very steep and sharp hairpin bend near the top. I was going so slowly that my Garmin auto paused thinking I'd stopped.  Once over the top I stopped for a cereal bar and for Simon to catch up. (He had walked the steepest part as his bike does not have low enough gears for that type of climb).

From there we had a fast descent down Green Dene where the 50 milers peeled off to return to Painshill. We took a very sharp right and climbed another very steep hill, Crocknorth Road, this is only recorded at 9% but it seemed steeper than that. 

We had a most enjoyable switch back ride through a very wooded area along the top of the ridge. We passed a group of youngsters who were helping the National Trust clear scrub and another group who seemed to be on a Duke of Edinburgh hike.

We then had another super fast downhill section passing a number of riders struggling up. Another short break at the bottom to refuel before heading for Boxhill. Zig Zag Hill was somewhat of an anti climax as we found it much easier than we expected and nowhere near as hard as Shere Hill. The maximum gradient was 7.5% and most of it only 5%. The views however were spectacular. 

View from halfway up, spot the first hair pin of the climb.

There were a lot of other people about enjoying what had now become a lovely sunny day and we were greeted at the top by the support team dispensing water and gel bars to energise us for the last 16 miles to Painshill.

The hard work of climbing is often rewarded by a fast downhill section and this was once more the case and we were soon back down in the valley only a couple of miles north of where we started the Boxhill climb. We crossed the busy A24 and took another well marshalled short cut. This was a bit gravelly and half way along it we came to a temporary barrier across the road. Put there to marshall the cows from the field into the milking parlour. Fortunately we negotiated this easily and did not actually meet the cows. 

The temporary barrier.

Our final ten miles were largely reasonably flat but as we had discovered earlier the quality of the surface was pretty poor in many places with numerous patches and pot holes and very rough tarmac. 

We arrived back at the finish line quite tired but very happy to receive our medals and enjoy a cup of coffee and more refreshments. 

We chatted with some of the other riders and I had the opportunity of talking to Wendy and her husband about the day and Wendy's running.

A fantastically enjoyable day which we hope has contributed to the coffers of Shooting Staf Chase. 

Well done Emma and your team, it must have taken a lot of hard work to produce such a well run and well marshalled event. Thanks!

Thanks also to Simon for doing the driving, it was lovely being driven in his very nice car, and for being such a good companion on the ride.

A very happy guy with his two Shooting Star Chase Medals.

For those who are still interested here is the map and summary for the day.

Gridironman