HCMF Meet at Upham and Reconnaissance for VCC June Ride

Thursday 27th March 2014.

The phone rang around 9 a.m. It was Simon asking if I'd like to join him for a ride to the HCMF meet at the Brushmaker's Arms, Upham. I jumped at the offer and accepted but I wondered if this was a great decision as within half an hour the clouds had gone really dark and soon it was raining but I decided that wasn't going to be much and joined Simon at his house at 10.30. We decided to go via Kilmeston and Swanmore to enjoy a longer route to the pub.

We headed through Tichborne and as we came out onto the main road by chance we met Sarah and her daughter Chris out on a training run for their big Ride the Night event in May (Click here for Sarah's Link to find out more). We had a nice chat and we agreed to ride with them for a while through Cheriton and across the A272. Near Beauworth we left them when Sarah told us to carry on while they paused to remove surplus layers. I think they really stopped to see if they could spot the skylarks that were singing lustily nearby.

At the Milbury's we turned left to return to our original route to Beacon Hill and thence to Swanmore.
As we continued into Bishop's Waltham there were a few spots of rain but they soon blew over.

We climbed the hill to Upham and arrived at the pub around 12.15 p.m. to find about a dozen other members of the fellowship already enjoying their meal. More arrived soon after we'd ordered our lunch.

The Brushmaker's Arms.

Bob explaining how he got his picture on Face Book while Colin, Charles and Angela think "Oh NO! Not again!

Meanwhile others get stuck into their grub!

I tried to remember who was there after I got home. I managed to name 17 out of 18 present. I've forgotten the gentleman behind Colin talking to Roger. Not bad memory for an old fogey!

Simon suggested an alternative way home and we set off back down the hill to Lower Upham then along the B road towards Fisher's Pond. Next we turned up the lane to Owslebury and thence through Longwood, across the A272 to whizz down to Ovington. One last little climb up to the roundabout on the A31 and we were nearly home.

When I got there I discovered that instead of turning off the camera on my mobile phone I had switched it to video and I had recorded the inside of my bum bag for about 35 mins. Interestingly I had also recorded our chat, the passing traffic and the puffing as we climbed the hill!

I hastily deleted the recording just in case we had said anything libelous!

Our Map and Data for the Day.

Saturday 29th March 2014. 
Due to other commitments Simon and I both decided not to join the Winchester CTC ride to Tangley.
Instead I agreed to help Simon test a route for a ride he is leading for the VCC in June.

Simon had plotted the route on Garmin Connect and  we had both uploaded it to our devices. However as we had discovered before my 200 seemed to be less confusing to follow than Simon's more complicated version. Between us we manged to follow the planned route pretty well apart from Bossy Bryce leading the wrong way from Gundleton to Ropley. Hmm!

Here is our map and data for the day from which you can see that despite only covering 38 miles we did climb nearly 3,000 feet this is our excuse for only averaging a moving speed of 10.4 m.p.h.

En route to our lunch stop at Selborne we visited Chawton where I took these pictures.

They show the Church, Chawton House with its lovely display of daffodils and a couple of views of Jane Austen's House.

From Chawton we took the direct route to Selborne . it was hard work as apart from a few testing little rises the brisk breeze was right in our faces.

The pub was quite busy but we found ourselves a table in the bay window where we could enjoy a quiet chat whilst lunching.

Next came the hardest part of the ride. First we had that steep pitch of nearly 10% out of Selborne then several more steep climbs before we peaked at 829 feet after the climb from Hawkley. We seemed to be crossing one valley after another and the downhill stretches being in narrow and rough lanes could not be taken at speed.

We crossed the A272 climbed another hill and this time had a fast descent into East Meon. here we took advantage of the seat by the river to have a rest and a snack whilst soaking up the sunshine.A large group of cyclists passed while we were sitting here and we exchanged greetings.

The greatly improved surface on the road to West Meon enabled us to make excellent progress for a few miles. We were now on very familiar territory and the last few miles seemed to slip by very quickly, even the last few hills did not delay us much. At the top of the hill from West Meon we spotted this casualty of the storms last month.

Uprooted Beech Tree.

We arrived at Simon's Home feeling pretty tired and we enjoyed a cuppa while regaling Sarah with yarns of our derring do.

Thanks Simon for your company and enthusiasm on two very different but great fun rides this week.

Gridironman.

Frustration!

I had been looking forward to taking pat in the Phil Hampton memorial ride on Saturday 22nd March but was unable to do so because of other last minute family commitments. I hope those who did take part enjoyed it. The weather was certainly much better than it was last year when I did not take part through choice, because of the wintery weather.

However I did manage a decent solo ride on Thursday 20th March to join the HCMF riders at the White Lion, Wherwell.
Simon was unable to join me as he had an appointment with his dentist so I set off in my own time via the south side of the Itchen through Avington and Easton. Then through King's Worthy to Harestock.

As I crossed the Andover road near Harestock I was passed by a BT Outreach van which tooted me in greeting. It turned into the BT yard nearby and I followed to have a chat with the driver, as I knew it must be my good friend Dave. We exchanged news but Dave had work to do and I had miles to ride so eventually we parted company.

The weather was dry and fair but there was a pretty strong south westerly breeze making it hard work at times particularly just to the west of Crawley.

At the RV I was very pleased to see a very good turnout of riders from the southern part of the county. This RV being much more accessible to them. I had not seen most of them for some time. Of course this meant that apart from Richard, David and Roger there were no riders from the north of the county.

Some of the meadows on the edge of Wherwell were still flooded and the Swans and Ducks seemed to be enjoying the large area of shallow water with bottoms up! I tried to take a picture but discovered my battery was too low.

After good craic and a decent pint of ale I headed off homewards through Sutton Scotney where I visited my cousin Janet and her husband. They moved here last year and I was interested in learning how they have settled into their new home. After the experience of the cold breeze I found the house was nice and cosy with a log fire burning.

My route home from here my route was through Stoke Charity, Micheldever and Micheldever Woods to avoid turning into the breeze along "that road" to King's Worthy. However, for a short while from Northington cross roads to the top of "Mollie's Dismount" I had to contend with it anyway! I still thought it was more fun than the B road through Itchen Abbass.

It was another very successful day out and added 40 miles to my annual target, shame I didn't get to add another 50 on Saturday.

Map & Data for the day

Gridironman.

HCMF Meet at The Rose & Crown, Upper Farringdon & Groupetta visit to Boarhunt

Simon and I had a good couple of rides this week. The first on Thursday 13th March.  when we rode to Upper Farringdon to join the HCMF meet. We took a slightly longer route through Ropley, East Tisted & Selborne. This also enabled us to avoid the flooding on the A32 in Lower Farringdon.

It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed the sights and sounds of countryside with the rooks being particularly active. Several tractors with their trailers of manure adding to the smells and the mucky road!

When we arrived at the Rose & Crown we found we were first there. We took advantage of our early arrival to be first to order our lunches. Shortly afterwards Michael and Lesley arrived but almost as quickly disappeared again. Angela, Richard and David were next to appear and told us that a number of other riders had gone to the Golden Pheasant  in Lower Farringdon. It  transpired that there had on previous visits been problems with a rather bossy landlady. Richard went to join the others and after a pint and a chat David did likewise.

It was very pleasant sitting in the sunshine eating our lunch al fresco and we were soon joined by the Fleet group of 8  They had remained loyal to the chosen RV. Here they are enjoying their lunch.

The fleet Fleet Eight.

Eventually Simon and I decided it was time to head home. We chose to go via Alton and Beech to Medstead & then wishing to prolong our enjoyment of the day we continued home via Upper Wield & Armsworth Hill.

Thursday's Route and Data.

We had both decided that for a variety of reasons we did not wish to join the WIR to West Tytherley on Saturday 15th March. We opted instead to head south east towards Wickham.

We left Alresford shortly after 10 and soon found that the floods had abated. The area near the source of the Itchen was still flooded  but only a little over the road. We easily avoided getting our feet wet.

Riding Rooksgrove Hill took 11 mins 49 secs, only my seventh best time. My best was recorded last summer at 9 mins 42 secs. By comparison the best time recorded on RidewithGPS is 5 mins 33 sec. My best time overall is 17th. (This just goes to show nothing other than what a data nerd I am).

We zoomed downhill to cross the A32 near Droxford and turned south through Soberton to Boarhunt. A lovely display of Celendines along the road banks here.

Deciding it was time for a break we popped into a garden  nursery only to discover it was the wrong one without a cafe. The intended one was just a quarter of a mile further on. Here we refreshed ourselves surrounded by lovely pansies of multiple colours. Lovely scent too.

We headed for home through the edge of Wickham and along lanes to Swanmore. Simon's Raleigh had developed a strange tick now, but try as we might we could not find out the cause. As it appeared not to be serious we continued through Bishop's Waltham. The road at the foot of Beeches Hill was no longer flooded but still wet in places.

Half way up the hill we turned left into Ashton Lane as this is less busy and probably easier then the main road. We were rewarded by the sound of a spotted woodpecker drumming not once or twice but three times. Is that lucky? I think it ought to be!

Once we had crested the hill we still had the drag up to The Milbury's to conquer before that fun descent into Beauworth. Top speed of the day here at a shade over 32.6 m.p.h.

We decided to chance our luck and return to Alresford via Tichborne. We found the springs in the village had ceased flooding the road and the mucky overflow from the river further on had receded leaving the centre of the road almost free of water, so no problem with wet feet.

I joined Simon and his wife Sarah in a cuppa before continuing home for a belated lunch and to watch the final two Six nations rugby matches.

A most satisfying ride. i hope the Winchester CTC enjoyed their ride to The black Horse as much as we enjoyed ours.

Map and Data for our Saturday Ride.

Gridironman

Popham Airfield's Magnetic Attraction!

It seems that of late Popham Airfield has been drawing me in that direction. Maybe I just like their reasonably priced coffee and the pleasant relaxed atmosphere there. Whatever, having been there last Sunday I have been there twice more this week.

On Thursday 6th March I enjoyed a solo ride via Popham Airfield to the HCMF meet at The Queen, Dummer. I had ridden from home via my usual route up Mollie's Dismount then through The Strattons and Micheldever Station. After an interesting chat with a young man who was just about to enjoy his first flying lesson I continued through North Waltham to the meet.

Angela was already holding court with about a dozen other members. I did not stay long as I'd mislaid my wallet and thought I'd got no folding dosh. It transpired I'd hidden it in one of my inner pockets! Phew! What a relief, no need to report it lost along with credit and debit cards!

Running Water outside the Purefoy Arms.

My route home was via the flooded Candover Valley. The situation in Preston Candover was only slightly better than last Sunday but having splashed my way through the village I decided to take a closer look at the situation in the other Candover villages.

Between Preston & Chilton Candovers.

I passed the "Road Closed" sign and headed towards Chilton Candover intending to turn back if the water was too deep.

I rode through the first mini lake without getting my feet too wet and as I approached the second one I stopped to take this snap of an approaching car. When he reached me he stopped and told me he could have done a larger bow wave if he'd realised sooner I was taking a picture. 

He told me the road ahead was passable with care, being no deeper than the 6 ins in this puddle.

Notice he had kept to the shallower water on the wrong side of the road.

So I continued through the village and on into Brown Candover. Plenty of spring water here too This lorry driver enjoying making a splash.

Brown Candover awash in spring water.

I was surprised at the rate the water was running as can be seen from this shot of the water coming out of a field along the road and into the brook.

Candover Rapids.

Further along the valley near Swarraton the ground was dry enough for a farmer to be ploughing

Ploughing near Swarraton.

I was nearly home by now and I was glad to get there and remove my rather damp shoes and have a nice refreshing shower.

Here are data and map for the day.

My ride on Saturday 8th March 2014 was somewhat different.

I had ridden in to the start in Winchester and found David our leader for the day with with a large group of riders. A lot of new (to me) members, I can only name 15 out of 20. It was my first ride this year with the Winchester CTC! It was lovely to see so many friends I'd not seen for ages.

It was a lovely sunny day with many birds celebrating the arrival of spring. But we needed to discuss the route in the light of local knowledge of flodding. Also I persuaded David not to have the coffee stop in Alresford. Popham being chosen as the alternative!

Some flooding in Springvale, why else would it be named that? Then a brisk run to Stoke Charity where we regrouped. Through the north end of Micheldever and then just before Micheldever Station we found the road closed while workmen were removing a partially fallen tree. With John in the lead and the rest of us not far behind we bypassed the blockage by taking to the field. Fortunately there was no hedge.

At Popham Airfield we sat in the sunshine while chatting and enjoying our coffee, some riders indulging in a late breakfast! Suitably refreshed we headed for North Waltham. Along the way there were a number of skylarks singing. I did not spot any, it's a bit dangerous looking for them while cycling!

One of the disadvantages of cycling with such a large group is the need to help cars pass on the narrow lanes but by splitting into smaller groups and making use of passing places and other natural gaps we were managed to be considerate.

I was acting as back marker for this section as I knew the way to the Fox at Ellisfield so could sweep up any stragglers.

For a couple of reasons I decided to leave the group at Axford  heading home to Alresford via Preston Candover but his time turning up the road bypassing the rest of the valley.

Thanks David for an interesting ride and to all the others who made it fun!

By the way don't forget if you click on a picture you can see it full screen.

Gridironman.

Two Flood Checking Rides.

Much better weather this week and I managed to pick two of the best for my two rides.

The first on Thursday 27th February was a loop to the east and north. In Bishop's Sutton there was some spring water running along the road but not enough to cause any problems. The lanes through Ropley and into Four Marks were much as normal, a bit muddy in places and plenty of gravel and flints on the road to be avoided. 

After I crossed the A31 I decided to investigate Rumours Cafebar, one cafe I'd not visited before. It was a good decision. Not only was the cuppacino delicious but as I sat enjoying it, in walked my good friend Ray Topley, also out for a bike ride, who I'd not seen for months. We moved outside into the sunshine and had a good session of catching up with our news.

I eventually tore myself away and continued up Lymington Bottom to Medstead Village. A few large puddles and some surface water on this section as well as for the next few miles to Lower Wield, but not enough to cause any concern. My mudguards seem to deal pretty well with these sort of conditions.

Nice dry road for a spell and then I was into Preston Candover where there was still a lot of spring water on the main road. Once again easily dealt with provided passing cars don't go too fast! On the whole the drivers were very considerate.

Chilton Candover Manor Drive.

I paused at the top of the long drive which leads to Chilton Candover Manor to admire the view and I was greeted by a young lady who passed me on a smart hybrid. 

I set off in pursuit, using her as a carrot and hoping to improve my speed. She had a start of about 200 yards and I managed to narrow this to about 75 by the time she crested the hill. When I got there she was completely out of sight! I'd forgotten that in the time it took me to cover those 75 yards at 3 m.p.h she probably would have covered about 375 yards at an average of 15 mph.

I rode down the hill like a demon and just managed to catch up with her as we reached the junction with the Northington Road. Sadly she turned towards Northington while I carried on into Old Alresford and thence home.

Here are my map and data for the day. What a difference the lack of wind makes, an average of almost 12 mph instead of the 10 mph I managed on my ride to Bishop's Waltham when the wind was very strong.

Details for Thursday 27th Feb. 2014.

Saturday 1st March.

I have not yet ridden a Winchester CTC ride in 2014 because of cancellations and my family commitments and I had planned to join them today, but when I heard that the ride was to Alresford I decided to do my own thing.

Having spoken to my Pink Pal about possible plans for the day I decided to check out the lane to Tichborne. As I suspected it was still flooded very much the same as it was when I rode it  a few couple of weeks ago. 

Next I returned to the main road and headed for Easton via Ovington and Avington. Some water on the roads in places as can be seen from this picture near Avington House. 

Flooding across road near Avington House.

However the lake in front of the house did not seem a lot higher than normal:

Avington House and Lake.

Between Avington and Easton the road was closed to traffic due to other drainage works but when  I asked the workmen if I could get through on a bike they said that it was OK.

No problems in Easton so I next went to check on the situation near the King Charles in King's Worthy.

These three pictures illustrate the situation.

Lovedon Lane beside the King Charles.

The King Charles well defended from the floods by sandbags etc.

The Adjacent Field and Farm.

Although the road was closed to cars I was able to get past on the dry pavement following the guy in the red jersey just getting back onto his bike.

Having climbed the hill and taken "that road" to Stoke Charity I paused for refreshment and sat on the seat in the centre of the little roundabout and chatted to a lady who was working in her garden,

Next I explored the lanes through Wonston and Hunton where I discovered there had been many fallen trees;

Some of the many fallen trees across the river Dever.

From here I headed for home via Micheldever where I telephoned Barrie to give him a sitrep on the roads between Easton and Ovington which were on his projected route for the CTC ride,

Quite a lot of surface water in the village here but once again easily navigable. The rest of my ride was uneventful and I was home soon after 1.30 p.m. (Just as the group were starting from Winchester on there own ride to Alresford.)

Map and Data for the Day.

I enjoyed both rides immensely but I do miss my riding pals! Must remedy that soon.

Gridironman.

A watery ride to Bishops Waltham

Sun, 23 Feb 2014 

Yesterday I had a plumbing emergency which prevented me from getting out early in the sunshine and after lunch I wanted to watch the Six Nations Rugby so delayed my weekend ride till this afternoon.

The winds were strong so I opted to ride south into the wind so that I would have it behind me on my return leg. The plan had limited success because by the time I turned for home the wind had moderated.

I eschewed my favourite route to Cheriton via Tichborne as I expected that road to be flooded but soon found that I was struggling to make headway against the strong wind. In Cheriton there was only a couple of puddles of surface water but when I got to the A272 I found it was still closed to the east.

A half mile further on I discovered that the Itchen Source was still bubbling away nicely and still flooding the road for a couple of hundred yards, but not deep enough to cause me to turn back.

My time for the section up to Beacon Hill was much slower than usual and at the top I did consider turning back because of-the wind but decided to carry on. I needed to pedal to make a decent speed down the hill, past the Corhampton Golf Club and down to Dundridge. Here deep spring water running across the lane in two places just before the Hampshire Bowman and I got wet feet.

Outside the pub there was a number of people so I enquired what the lane was like to Bishops Waltham and I was told it was closed because of the flooding, so I took the other option which was to climb Damson Hill. This is fairly short but also quite steep (about 9%) but strangely I quite enjoyed the change of challenge even though I was closely followed by a car which could not pass as the lane is so narrow. I managed to let it pass on a corner where the road was wider,

From the top of the hill the road down through Upper Swanmore was sheltered and I was soon through both Swanmore itself and Bishop's Waltham. More flooding in two places at the foot of Beeches Hill where the stream normally crosses under the road, today it was running along and over it. Happily it was not deep enough to wet my feet any more. Once up the hill I made good progress with the wind now behind me though it had moderated somewhat. I was soon past the Milburys and zooming down through Beauworth to Cheriton from whence I retraced my route home.

Not the best ride I've had but it was good to get out and discover what flooding the rising spring waters are still causing. My feet had almost dried by the time I got home and once inside I enjoyed a cuppa whilst watching the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

I am afraid I took no  pictures today, I'm sure everyone is getting bored with pictures of flooded roads and fallen trees!!!

Here are details of my Data and Map for the day:

Gridironman.

Early Spring 50 (Alresford Groupetta Variation)

Sun, 16 Feb 2014 10:15 

I left home soon after 10 a.m. to follow the course of Early Spring 50,  but I started and finished in Alresford. 

There had been some overnight frost and one or two puddles were icy but the roads were fine by this time.

The official start was at the Queen's Head, Fishers' Pond at 9.30 a.m. and I thought that by 10.15 the first riders would be coming through Alresford so I would be able to ride with some of them. My plan worked. Within a few miles I had been caught and passed by about 15 riders. I rode on the wheel of one of them for a while but as soon as we got to Armsworth Hill I could not keep up. 

Twice as I climbed I heard a woodpecker drumming, from different directions. Was it one or two?
Later I heard a green woodpecker calling. Lots of other birds about enjoying the better  weather.

Many cyclists coming the other way. Two very large groups, I estimated about 20 in one and even more in another. Plenty of solo riders and couples too. Along the way there was much evidence of the recent storms with sawn up fragments of trees littering the verges as well as complete trees lying in the woods and fields. Fortunately the roads were largely clear of debris.

More riders came by and I chatted with some, others were intent on putting in a good time and sped past. At Bentworth three riders asked me where the coffee stop was. I told them there was no official stop but they could get coffee at the Lasham Gliding Club. 

From Herriard I made good progress and as I rode into Preston Candover I was caught by Jim and we had a short discussion about the flooding in the Candover Valley. He told me that the amended route had been further amended to avoid the flooding in Brown Candover, but he did not tell me what the amendment was, so when I got to the junction turning down to the village I decided to stick to Sue's first amendment. There was certainly a lot of spring water rushing across and along the road but it was only a few inches deep and by riding on the right hand side of the road I was able to miss a lot of it. A couple of other riders had also decided to follow this route.

I must say that by the time I got to the top of Mollie's Dismount I was tempted to take the short route home which was now only a couple of miles away, but I resisted. In Itchen Stoke I was even nearer only one mile but still I was determined to carry on. 

Caroline's Ford was not much deeper than normal and I rode through it.

There had been many snowdrops along the way and I paused to to admire them and take a breather by the Bush Inn before climbing Gander Down.

The surprisingly normal looking tributary of the Itchen with snowdrop decoration. 

I met up with more riders as I climbed the down. One had had a puncture and his mates were helping by standing by and not interfering, though they did comment it was taking a long time to fix!

The last few miles to the official finish were soon covered and I was greeted by a surprised Sue as I had not entered officially. I took a break, enjoyed a pint of beer and chatted to John and Madge who were recording the finishers' times. 

Eventually I tore myself away, climbed back on the bike and headed for Alresford and home. For me this was the hardest part of the ride as I was getting tired and suffered from the burn in my thighs.

Near Upham I smelt the sweet smell of pig and as I rounded the corner I was greeted by this view of Pig City with one of the residents enjoying the sunshine.

Pig City

Only a few more miles now and I was home in 5 hrs 25 mins,Hmm! Not good enough to beat the standard allowance of 5 hrs. I blame John for chatting and that tasty refreshing pint! But Hey! I did not wimp out and take the much easier way through Alresford missing the Brown Candover floods, the hills from Totford and Abbotstone and the Ford. I covered 52 miles too.

My map for the day:

Thanks Sue, for organizing such an enjoyable ride once again, and of course to your helpers, especially John and Madge who kept me entertained at the Queen's Head.

Gridironman.

HCMF Meet at Warnford

Thursday 13th February 2014.

Because of this extreme weather I had not been out on my bike since Feb 2nd, but today it was dry and sunny so I thought it was time to get some more exercise and add a few miles to my total for the year.

I set off to check out some of the likely problem areas for Sunday's Early Spring 50. First I headed towards Cheriton avoiding my usual Tichborne route as I knew this would be flooded. When I got there I found the Itchen was mainly contained within its banks except for a small area near the new bridge which replaced the one washed away in the last bad floods of 2001 Here for about 40 yards there was a stream of water about 2 ins deep crossing the road. Easily manageable!

More surface water near the junction with the A272. I noticed too that the A272 towards Petersfield was closed to through traffic, so I guess the road was flooded in Bramdean. 

A mile or so further on the Source of the Itchen was discharging copious volumes across the road to a depth of about 6 ins. Surprisingly the river itself was still within its banks.

Most of the water was beautifully clear indicating that it is from springs and not run off. The usually flooded corner in Kilmeston was dry today. I headed over Beacon Hill and down the narrow lane to Exton, taking care to avoid debris in the road. More surface spring water here but not very deep. The main road (A32) to Warnford was drier than it had been 11 days ago.

When I got the the RV, the George & Falcon, I found Angela in the car park in her car and we joined Charles and Frank in the pub. Later we were pleased to welcome Bob who had walked down Beacon Hill to join us. He had in fact spotted me as I rode past him at the car park at the top of the Hill but I had not noticed him. It was good to see him out and about again. Where were all the other members of HCMF?

All too soon it was time to set off for home. I accompanied Charles, circumnavigating a very large puddle, as we headed for Wheeley Down. There was quite a strong breeze in our faces and we made slow progress up the hill and along to The Milbury's. At the top of Lane End Down we parted company with Charles heading for Owslebury while I crossed the A272 and descended Gander Down to Ovington. No problems with flooding here except I noticed just west of the village a significant puddle in the dip. Fortunately I was not going that way. I did however go through the ford, again to check it for Sumday's 50. It was higher than usual but I rode through it with no problem other than getting me feet a little splashed. The footbridge was well clear of the water. 

I was home by 2.30 p.m. just in time for a slice of pizza which my wife was just taking out of the oven.

Here are my route and data for the day.

Gridironman.

Solo ride to Soberton

Only one ride last week and it's not looking good for many this week. 

On Sunday 2nd February I took advantage of the lovely sunny morning and set off for an amble on my own. I headed out of town towards Bishops Sutton as I wanted to see why that road was closed to cars, hoping it was possible to get through on bike. It was. Here is a picture of the reason why it was impassable to motor vehicles.

Road works between Alresford and Bishops Sutton

The underlying reason for the work being to lay electric cables from the electric sub station on the Alresford side of the bridge to connect with the new solar panel arrays on White Hill.

Once I'd satisfied my curiosity I headed for West Meon via Bramdean Common. Taking advantage of the greatly improved weather were many other cyclists. During my ride I must have passed around 70: one large group of around a dozen passed me going in the opposite direction. 

The roads had been clear so far with much evidence of recently cleared fallen trees in many places. On the floor of the Meon valley there was a lot of surface water in the fields, spilling out onto the roads. I took the back roads through the villages of Exton, Carhampton & Meonstoke fording a number of deep puddles before continuing past the old station at Droxford to Soberton. Here I paused for refreshment in a sheltered spot and to bask in the warm sunshine out of the cool breeze. 

My way home was via Swanmore and Bishops Waltham and I was glad of the tail wind as I was beginning to flag a little. I rode a short way behind another cyclist but couldn't hold the wheel for long. The swoop down to Beauworth is great fun and I achieved my top speed of the day here.

Cheriton was free of any surface water but Tichborne made up for that with two flooded areas. One near the entrance to Tichborne House the other just before reaching the A31 bridge over the lane. Here for about 100 metres the road was up to my bottom bracket. (I.E. about a foot deep). It was necessary to keep pedalling so of course my feet and legs were soaked, but, Hey! I was nearly home so what the heck!

Here is a car coming through that flood:

Yep! It's a road not a river.

I was home and in a warm shower within another ten minutes so did not get cold from my wetting.

For the record here is my map for the day:

Gridironman

Squall like no other and Fallen Trees.

A very exciting and scary end to my week riding back from Lasham Garden Centre on Saturday 25th January. I had been for a ride with the Alton CTC to Dummer and we had tea at the Avenue Garden Centre. As I left the wind had greatly increased in strength and was making it hard work as I pedalled back to the junction to Lasham Village, but this was nothing to what I experienced as I turned the corner. I had to pedal hard to go downhill and almost came to a stop in one gust. It was a litle more sheltered in the valley but as I climbed past the industrial estate at the edge of Lasham the strength intensified. Tremendous noise of banging and crashing coming from the yard as anything loose was blown about. I was showered with broken twigs and had to avoid some serious debris. As I passed a gap in the hedge I was almost blown off Sporty. I sheltered in the lee of a large beech hedge for a while hoping the wind would abate and took the opportunity to phone Jean to tell her I might be late home. I was quite frightened by the strength of the wind (gale force 9?) and did consider abandoning and asking my daughter to come and fetch me in the car, but decided to carry on. A large branch crashed to the road about thirty yards away. (I had taken care not to stop under large trees). I set off again and found the going a little easier in the valley between Lasham and Bentworth. At the top of the hill a car passed me and stopped to allow two men to jump out and remove a large broken branch from the road.

Good Samaritans Clearing Up.

As I rode I kept a sharp eye on the trees beside the road and noticed they were less agitated and concluded it was safe to continue. Half way between  Bentworth and Wield, riding along a road we'd ridden earlier in the day, I came up behind a reversing car. As I rode past the driver said rather crossly "Can't you see there's a fallen tree across the road!" I said "Yes!" and continued. 

The Offending Fallen Tree.

I was able to scramble over the base of it and lug my bike over. I met two more cars shortly after and told them to turn back. The wind had dropped now to a fairly modest breeze but the power of the earlier squall was made evident between Lower and Upper Wield where I had to negotiate another 5 large fallen trees and many smaller ones which had blown down across the road. 

Three of the many fallen trees.

As you can see it was getting dark by now but thankfully the worst was over and I only had a few more partial road blockages to deal with. Near Armsworth I paused to consult with a farmer driving a Land Rover coming the other way and we exchanged details of the blockages ahead. Eventually I arrived home in the dark around 5.30 p.m. Good job I'd taken my lights!

Earlier we had met in sunshine in Alton and 19 of us had set off in two groups. Eight in the fast group led by Frank and eleven in the slower one led by Malcolm.

The Riders at the Start.

 Naturally I was in the latter. Malcolm took us out of the town through a park and along a way I'd not been before. We then rode along the main road towards Odiham for about a mile before turning up a very steep hill towards Shalden. I ran out of puff and had to walk for about 100 yards. 

Here is my map for the day from which you can see we had a very interesting if somewhat tortuous route to Dummer.

Map and Data for the Day.

 We encountered this large puddle near Lower Wield.

Puddle near Lower Wield

As we neared Dummer Malcolm suggested an alternative off road route into the village which several riders took. I said I would prefer to stick to the road and we split into two groups. We arrived in the village near the church almost at the same time, but soon afterwards Richard had a flat tyre. (Was it a puncture picked up on the off road route?)

Malcolm suggested that instead of us all waiting while the puncture was fixed some should continue to the the Garden centre for tea. Three of us did but the others were not far behind.

Many thanks malcolm for a very enjoyable if rather hilly ride and also to Janice for the pictures of the riders at the CC and en route.

Earlier in the week on Thursday 23rd January, I had had a much gentler ride to the HCMF meet at the Hoddington Arms in Upton Grey.

When I got there at 12.20 p.m. much to my surprise there was not a single bike outside. Had I made a mistake? Was the meet elsewhere? Just as I was trying to phone home to find out Roger appeared, shortly followed by seven riders from Fleet. 

Inside we found Angela who had come to join us by car. So in the end a merry little band somewhat smaller than usual with no one from Alton, or South Hampshire apart from Angela and me.

Looking back it was all somewhat mundane compared with Saturday's day out!

For the record here is my map and data:

Gridironman.

HCMF Meet at The Sun, Bentworth and The Departure Lounge with Steve & Co.

Summary of my ride on:

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:17 Western European Time By gridironmanbmActivity Type: Cycling | Event Type: Uncategorized | Course: --Sunshine and showers, some heavy but I managed to dodge those. Strong southerly breeze.

Despite the forecast of heavy showers I decided to take my chances and ride to the meet at Bentworth. As usual for a nearby rendez-vous I opted for an indirect route, heading over the hill past Abbotstone Common and along the Candover Valley. For once I was mounted on Tiny my Giant Hybrid.

It was raining in several places and I saw a couple of rainbows but I only felt a couple of spots of rain. The Candover brook was very full and the roads were puddled in places but the riding was easy as I had a strong tail breeze.

At Axford I turned East to Herriard enjoying a spot of shortlived sunshine. Lots of finches in one area and robins singing in many places. As always plenty of rooks and jackdaws. I spotted a small bird of prey sitting on an electric pole but each time I got close it flew from one electric pole to the next, so I never got really close enough to identify it, it seemed too small to be a kestrel and I have never before seen a kestrel do this. Perhaps it was a male as they are smaller than the female.(Suggestions welcome!)

I was tempted to stop for coffee at the Gliding Club but resisted and continued past the Avenue Garden Centre to Shalden. The very rough lane into the village.and the headwind made progress a little harder but soon I was across the A339 and climbing the hill to the pub.

Janice arrived just as I was locking my bike and we discovered that there were only a modest number of other riders present. including Charles who I'd passed earlier on my ride going in the opposite direction! No doubt he had also ridden an indirect route.

It was great to chat with Janice who I'd not seen for some time and catch up with her news. However, all too soon it was time to get moving again and as we were leaving several more riders arrived from Fleet, also Don the only other rider from South Hampshire.

Wanting to visit Owen's bike shop I headed for Four Marks arriving there at a good time to shelter from the heaviest shower of rain of the day. I popped into M&S too.

Once the rain had ceased I set off for home, choosing another indirect route via Lyeway, Monkwood, West Tisted and Woodlands. I arrived home around 3 o'clock completely dry!

A very satisfying day out despite the showers.

Sunday 19th January I rode to the Departure Lounge Cafe just outside Alton to meet my Son in Law Steve with his two pals, Keith & Pete. 

It was a very good day for riding despite the bright sunshine reflecting from the road making it hard to see the puddles in places. 

Here is my route and data for the day.

Steve and Co. rode from Winchester whilst I rode a different route from Alresford. We managed to arrive at the cafe at almost the same time. 

After toasted tea cakes and tea or coffee we split and made our own ways home.

One of the joys at this time of year on sunny days is the way trees are silhouetted against the bright sky as in this picture taken near Hilltingley. 

Gridironman.