Mince Pie Ride

We had a very pleasant post-Christmas ride.

The day started badly for me as I overslept and found I had just 20 minutes to do my 40 minute ride to Horsham, however, Val saved the day and gave me a lift. We were the only two riders at the start and so we set off and arrived at Barbara's a few minutes later. Along with Barbara and her mum, we launched into some very nice mince pies and, in the words of Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks, damned fine coffee. Ros then arrived thus giving us an excuse for second helpings all round. Ros was on her way by train and bike from East Grinstead to Winchester and it was good to see her.

Eventually we ventured back outside, Ros headed for the station, Val and I back to where her car was parked. 

Rendezvous Ride

A rendezvous ride is one where there is no defined start, start time or route, just a destination and time. The rendezvous point in this instance was The Wheatsheaf at Plummers Plain.

I was unable to take part and I've not heard from anyone else who did. If you took part, please let me know and give me something to write about.

Christmas Dinner

Guess what?  It's that time of year again. This year we decided to have our Christmas Dinner at a pub we've never visited before, the Holmbush at Faygate. Two groups of riders set off, one from Horsham (Barbara, Pete, Norman, Mick and Sandra) and one from Crawley (Val and Bob). We were met at the pub by John C, John V, Michael, Ken and Anton and four of our WAGS. The beer was good, the food was excellent with ample portions and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Our next ride is on Sunday 22nd December and is a Rendezvous Ride. This means that you all ride your own route, starting at whatever time you want, and just meet up at the lunch stop, The Wheatsheaf at Plummers Plain at 12:00 midday. After lunch you all ride your own route back home. If you want to ride with someone on the way there, I would suggest trying to contact them and arrange a place and time to start....

Unfortunately I will have to miss this ride, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas.

Mince pies at Gordon's

As Christmas is approaching, Gordon kindly volunteered to lead a ride to his house where he would treat us to refreshments. There were five people waiting for me at Horsham Pavilions - Gordon, Jacqui, Norman, Val and Sandra.  This was flagged as an easy ride, but that rating was based on the short mileage and not on a lack of hills. The route chosen involved Hammerpond Lane and, as any fool knows, it does have a couple of hills I'm afraid! There wasn't too much moaning from the assembled crew and everyone managed the hills, each in their own way, and we were soon at Slaugham. Here we took the Bridleway, north out of the village and up to Handcross. On the way we had to pull up and stand to one side as a tractor came down the track carrying a twenty foot Christmas Tree. We also pumped a bit of air into Jacqui's decidedly flat looking rear tyre.

Once in Handcross, Gordon went on ahead to get the heating on at his house, leaving me to lead everyone else in his wake.  I thought we could take the short detour over the two bridges crossing the A23 but having crossed the first bridge and continued west for another half mile I realised I'd got it wrong and had in fact only crossed the second bridge and we would have to turn around (or end up back at the bridleway we'd left two miles away!).  At this point we noticed that Jacqui's rear tyre was completely flat and we couldn't get it reinflated so changed it instead - thanks to Val for providing a spare. By this time Gordon was wondering where we were and phoned me, I let him know and assured him we'd only be about ten minutes.

Sure enough, ten minutes later we pulled up at Gordon's and stepped inside to be greeted by a roaring fire and a table full of mince pies, cakes and other delights. We all sat around eating, drinking and chatting. Topics included the number of words that a dog is capable of understanding. Some of us thought it was somewhere around ten, others thought it must be many more than that. Later on someone looked it up on t'interweb thingy and came up with a figure of over a thousand!

Eventually it was time to head back. Norman was volunteer leader for those going back to Horsham and he decided to go down Grouse Road and then Hammerpond Road back to Horsham - I understand he almost had a rebellion on the way back (eh, ladies?).

Many, many thanks to Gordon and Jacqui for hosting us - it made for a very enjoyable day.

The Plough at Leigh

Anton led us out on a cool but not cold December morning. The climb through Pound Hill warmed us up and the run down Old Hollow cooled us down. Copthorne Bank was quiet and Smallfield quieter still. Heading West we crossed the motorway and then headed North, skirted Redhill Aerodrome and East Surrey Hospital before crossing the A23. Anton next took us along the Woodhatch Road but then nipped through some residential roads for an easy crossing of the A217. Heading west on Slipshatch road, we'd passed a "Road Closed" sign but had been assured it was passable by a cyclist coming in the opposite direction and so it was - bikes and pedestrians could get through, but not anything bigger.

We were now close to the pub but half an hour early, so Anton took us on a little loop north and west of Leigh before taking a couple of left turns and pulling up at the pub with just enough time to lock up the bikes before the doors opened.

The four of us having enjoyed our lunch headed back home, due south to Charlwood and then through Ifield Wood. Barbara now turned right to ride back to Horsham via Lambs Green leaving Anton, Val and myself to go through Ifield, West Green and Southgate to finally clock up a total of about 33 miles.

South to Wiston

This was down as a 40 mile, medium rated ride but I had a nice easy route prepared just in case. That was what we used. It was quite cold, but dry and there were just four of us - Pat, Frank, Val and myself. Val was worried about the prospect of 40 miles and Pat and Frank, having been abroad for a few weeks, wanted an easy reintroduction to the saddle. Me, well I just like riding my bike, so any ride is good for me. My easy route was designed to have as few hills as possible but I couldn't avoid at least one: heading south from Horsham means climbing a ridge within the first mile. Having reached the top of Tower Hill, most of the rest of the route was slightly downhill if not level. We went via Bax Castle, Dragons Green and Ashurst and arrived at Wiston Tea Rooms just before 11:30.

There was plenty of choice on the menu and having ordered we settled down to chat and observe the chickens, ducks and geese wandering around outside. I was expecting a contingent of Bognor and Chichester riders to turn up as this was also their destination today but there was no sign of them even once we'd finished our lunch and were setting off for the return journey. 

No one fancied my slightly hilly return route so we retraced our outward journey which, although it felt slightly downhill on the way out, also managed to feel slightly downhill on the way back. How's this possible?

Anyway, arriving back at Horsham, everyone had enjoyed the ride and they were all still talking to me. We'd only clocked up 27 miles but I reckon it was just about perfect: nice weather, nice countryside and nice company - thanks everyone.

Next weeks ride will be another fairly easy one. We'll start from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and head up to the Plough at Leigh for lunch. Hopefully the weather will be OK again and we'll have another enjoyable ride.

Horsham at Arms Length

The weather is getting colder but we still had five riders out today. Barbara, Gordon, Ken, Norman and myself. The idea of today's ride was to set off from Crawley and do a clockwise loop around Horsham and back.

We set off through Furnace Green and Tilgate then used the underpass into Broadfield. Next was the climb up Tollgate Hill (I reckon it's harder than Pease Pottage Hill - but safer). Then, having passed through Pease Pottage, we turned into Grouse Road. At this point Barbara left us to head for home via Colgate. Grouse Road was really enjoyable as it is about three miles of generally downhill . Hammerpond Road unfortunately has a couple of hills but we soon passed them and turned left at Doomsday Green before crossing the A281 onto Sedgwick Lane. We were using familiar lanes today but not in a sequence we'd used before. The strangely named hamlet of Newfoundout led us to Southwater from where we headed to Bax Castle and then Barns Green. Looking at the clock, I reckoned we could just make the pub at midday, so I kept us going with no stops, up Valewood Lane then New Road to the A29. A driver kindly let us out onto the main road and we next turned into Okehurst Lane where we encountered a Jack Russell dog running along the road - we couldn't see an owner, but the dog had gone by before we could do anything about it. A couple of miles later we arrived at the lunch halt, The Blue Ship, where we were met by Pete who had ridden over from Horsham. Anton also arrived in spite of suffering from a cold - he drove over. I recommend the Blue Ship as the beer was very good and they do sandwiches at a very reasonable price compared to other pubs. 

After a very convivial break, supping ale, eating and enjoying the warmth of the open fire, we decided to get going again. It felt colder and we decided to head directly home via Slinfold and Broadbridge Heath. Once in Horsham, Pete and Norman peeled off leaving Gordon, Ken and myself to head back to Crawley via the Forest road. Getting back to Pease Pottage I realised that my speedo wasn't working. In spite of this I know the mileage was about 40 odd when I got home.

Next weeks ride will be a 10:00hrs start from Horsham Park Pavilion and head south to lunch at Wiston tea rooms where we may well rendezvous with Bognor and Chichester. It should be a medium rated ride but will be about 40 miles long.

AGM at Pulborough

'Good-morning; good-morning!' the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line.

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of 'em dead,

And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

'He's a cheery old card,' grunted Harry to Jack

As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

Siegfried Sassoon.

Today's ride took us to Pulborough for the DA AGM. 

I met up with Anton, Norman, Val and Ken at Horsham Park Pavilion. We headed through Horsham town centre, up Tower Hill and onto Two Mile Ash Road. Barns Green, Coneyhurst and Broadford Bridge were soon behind and Woods Hill was in front of us. We gritted our teeth and all five of us made it up the hill and carried on to West Chiltington. We swept down the hill, onto Stream Lane and some 10 minutes later pulled up at Pulborough Village hall for the AGM. We joined about twenty other members for the meeting, during which we observed a respectful silence and awarded several trophies - most of which were won by Horsham and Crawley section.

We headed for lunch at The Rising Sun in Nutbourne. The pub was quite busy and we couldn't find  enough space for all of us. That, coupled with the fact that they didn't do sandwiches, made us finish our drinks, get back on our bikes and head for Sumners Ponds. We had a nice lunch there, sitting outside for probably the last time this year.

It was an easy ride back to Horsham where we left Norman and Val. Ken and I cycled back towards Crawley although he used the main road and I used the Forest Road. Back home, I realised I'd clocked up about 50 miles - it hadn't seemed that far!

Our next ride, on Sunday 17th November, starts from Three Bridges station at 10:00 hrs and is called "Horsham at Arms Length". We'll follow a clockwise route skirting around Horsham with a lunch stop at The Blue Ship in The Haven and possibly a tea stop at Capel church later on. The mileage will be about 40 or so and there will be a couple of hills.

Veteran Car Run

"Easy" it said on the runs list. That, combined with dry, if cold, weather made this a popular ride - there were ten of us at the start. We headed to the High Street via the Old Three Bridges Road, the shared use path behind the College and then The Boulevard. Having locked our bikes to some railings we realised that there were some nice new bike racks just a few yards away! The High Street was full of Veteran cars and their proud owners.

Then we retrieved our bikes and rode along with the cars as they headed through the bus station and out along Southgate Avenue. At K2 we girded our loins and started up Pease Pottage Hill. I find the easiest way up is to pick a veteran car travelling at a speed you can keep up with and tuck in behind it. As they go up the hill they tend to slow down a bit and with focussing on keeping close but safe, you find you've conquered the hill without really trying. 

Click on this link to see what I mean:   http://youtu.be/7LwS4sTefNA

I'm pleased to report that all ten of us managed to ride up the hill - excellent work folks. We carried on, riding along with the Old Crocks to Handcross where JC peeled off to do a fast run to Turners Hill. The rest of us carried on to Staplefield. Here we left the crowds behind and headed west, through Slaugham to stop for lunch at The Wheatsheaf in Plummers Plain. The wisdom of timing our rides to arrive at the lunch stop at midday was well demonstrated - we managed to get a table for all nine of us  - if we'd arrived half an hour later, we'd have been scattered at different tables throughout the pub.

The weather was still clear when we got back outside making the ride home really pleasant. We headed along Hammerpond Lane and then turned up Grouse Road. Norman and Sandra then went back to Horsham via Colgate. Gordon and Ken were next to peel off followed by Pete and Marion, then Val and finally I left Narinder to ride the last few hundred yards back to Three Bridges station.

Next weeks ride starts at 09:00 from Horsham Pavilion in the Park to attend the D.A. AGM which starts at 10.30 in Pulborough Village Hall. This will be followed by lunch at The Rising Sun, Nutbourne and will be an easy/medium ride of about 35 miles.

Winkworth Arboretum

Spring forwards, fall backwards - aha, that means an extra hour in bed. Where did it go? By the time I'd found my rack pack, transferred my spare tubes, repair kit, tools, waterproofs into it, found my NT card, bankcard, cycle wallet, filled up my water bottle and all the other bits and bobs necessary to go out for a days cycling, i already had only 30 minutes in which to ride a 40 minute journey! As I rode through Tilgate the nice bright patch of sky had been blown away by the gusting wind and by the time I crested Pease Pottage Hill, the heavens were opening. I sheltered in the lee of some bushes by the service station and lost another 5 minutes but then a bigger blue patch was dominating and I could remount. I pressed on, manfully, into the teeth of the wind and managed to claw back some time but was still 10 minutes late getting to Horsham Pavilion in the Park. There I met Pete E and John C and we were shortly after joined by Norman. My phone then rang and John V said he was only a few minutes away and what route were we taking - I told him and we set off.

The golf course was deserted although there were several cars on Robin Hood Lane. On Byfleets Lane (formerly Granny's Lane) John V caught us up and then when we reached the A281 Norman left us to head for home ( he'd been out on some muddy tracks before meeting us and felt he's had enough exercise). Pete lead us up Rowhook Hill, then as we waited at the turn to Ellens Green, we found out that John V had had a puncture and that he would catch up with us. We rode slowly on to Cox Green and then Baynards. No sign of John, but then a text saying he'd meet us in Cranleigh - we were still a mile away and he was already there!

In Cranleigh we took a road to the north and headed through Shamley Green and Wonersh to Bramley where we started up a long hill that just seemed to go on and on. Regrouping at the top, Pete told us that we just had to turn left and the Arboretum was an easy mile away. He was right and we were soon sat down having our lunch. There'd been a long queue in the cafe - too many people brandishing large denomination notes/plastic cards/vouchers. When we'd finished eating, three of us headed into the garden to see the autumn colours, leaving JV to look after our bikes.

Here are some pictures:

We arrived back at our bikes and got back on them. Now we headed south and after a short climb had a good fast downhill before turning to a more easterly direction and getting the benefit of the wind on our backs. We were soon in Cranleigh once more and then used the B road back to Ellens Green. Rowhook Hill was nicer now we were going down it and a few minutes later we said goodbye to JV who was heading through Warnham and Rusper back to Crawley. Pete, JC and I recrossed the still empty golf course and finished riding soon after with JC very kindly giving me a lift back to Crawley as I was feeling tired - looking at my speedo I was surprised to see I'd clocked up 51 miles!

Next weeks ride is an easy one. Sunday 3rd November is the first sunday in November and that means just one thing - Old Crocks Race.  Meet at Three Bridges station at 10:00hrs. We'll ride to the High Street, soak up the atmosphere as the Veteran Cars come and go, then we'll ride with them along Southgate Avenue and up Pease Pottage Hill (pick a suitable Old Crock and slipstream it up the hill - it's the easiest and fastest way up). Depending on the weather, who's out and what they want to do, we'll either lunch at The Black Swan or carry on riding to lunch at Staplefield or Slaugham or Plummers Plain. It's a nice freeform day which we can shape to be whatever we want it to be.

See you there.

The Bluebell Railway

Looking forward to today's ride, I opened the curtains to be confronted by a torrential downpour. Hmmmmmm. Do I still want to go for a bike ride? Well.... I had washed and re proofed my waterproofs during the week, so maybe here was an opportunity to test out my handiwork?

As usual I was late arriving at the start - this week my excuse was the length of time it took me to fit my rear rack and associated mudguard, my front mudguard and pull on my nice, clean waterproofs, but - the rain had stopped!

Waiting at Three Bridges were Pete E, Michael, Norman and Narinder. A quick text conversation with Ros and we'd arranged to meet her at East Grinstead, another text conversation confirmed that Gordon would not be falling off joining up with us this week.

The Worth Way provided a firm and reliable surface, although a lot of muddy water was getting picked up and sprayed around by our tyres. We sped along through Rowfant and Crawley Down until we arrived at East Grinstead station where we met Ros and Carol in the railway carriage cafe:

After this brief encounter there were now seven of us and we headed up the High Street and onto The Forest Way for the quick sprint down to Forest Row (Ros used the road in order to avoid getting as besmattered as we were). 

From Forest Row we used Priory Road to climb up into Ashdown Forest. It was a stiffer climb than I was anticipating and we stopped at the crossroads to get our breath back before turning left and then right onto Twyford Lane. This is one of my favourite lanes and I freewheeled down it at about thirty mph. Towards the bottom of the hill it gets a bit bendier, steeper and narrower but today it was also muddier and slippier. I splashed through the ford which was disappointingly shallow, and waited for the others with my video camera running all the way:

Left at the scissor-shaped crossroads and climb back up until we were once more on the main Ashdown Forest ridge. From here we went across to Chelwood gate and on to Nutley before turning south on the A22 and then right onto Nether Lane which becomes Down Street - another really excellent lane for riding. Now it was just a case of going through Splaynes Green to get to Sheffield Green where we turned left for the short run down the A275 to the Bluebell Railway.

Here we had a nice meal in the Bessemer Arms before doing some sightseeing around the station. Someone was acting like an over-excited schoolboy (I shan't say who, but he had a purple jacket on) and kept up a non-stop commentary on all the railwayana surrounding us.

He didn't even stop once we got on the train! Ros may well have had enough though, for she decided to cycle back to East Grinstead.

The journey up the line was however most memorable for the fact that the heavens opened and it absolutely poured with rain - we'd avoided getting wet whilst cycling and now we were warm and dry in our own compartment as the train splashed through the torrential downpour (we did think about Ros though - has she dried out yet??).

Bang on cue, the sun came back out just as the train pulled into our stop at East Grinstead - timing!

Here's the magnificent loco that was pulling our train - it's a Class 9F, the last class of steam locomotive built for British Rail. Ask Norman what the wheel arrangement is...

The ride back to Three Bridges along the Worth Way was uneventful but once more splattered us in muddy water. We didn't mind, we'd had a really nice day out (in spite of the weather).

Next weeks ride is hopefully timed just right - it goes to Winkworth Arboretum, a National Trust garden that has spectacular autumn colours, so bring your NT card if you've got one. There is a cafe there (it's just outside the garden so you don't need to pay entry/show your card if you just want some refreshments).  The start will be from Horsham Park Pavilion at 09:30 hrs for a ride of about 30-35 miles and I would rate it as easy-medium.  Don't forget, the clocks will have gone back on Saturday night/Sunday morning, so it will be brighter in the morning.

Rudgwick Apple Day

It was trying to rain as I made my way from Pease Pottage to Horsham, but I was comfortable in my waterproofs. Arriving at the Pavilion in the Park, I found three riders waiting for me - Barbara, Val and Norman. We lingered over our coffees but eventually ventured out into the now constant rain. Barbara was delivering copies of the Pedaller which left just three if us to head off over the golf course, through Broadbridge Heath and on into Slinfold. Norman felt he was wet enough and was going to head home from Slinfold and, when I mentioned we'd be going up a hill there, Val queried whether I'd mind turning back as well. I'd been looking forward to this ride for a few weeks and trying to anticipate what the Apple Day would be like, but with the rain rattling down all I could now imagine was a sad, sorry, muddy field with just a few soggy punters wandering around it. "let's head back" I said - so we did. Norman stayed with us until we were back in Horsham and Val kindly offered me a lift back to Crawley. End result: not many miles covered, mental note to try and get to the Apple Day next year.

Skimmington Castle

Three Bridges start.

Frank, Pat, Barbara, Norman, Gordon, John C, Anton, Bob.

Old Hollow, Copthorne Bank, Smallfield, Redhill Aerodrome (elevenses), Salfords, Dovers Green, Slipshatch, Flanchford, Reigate Heath, Skimmington Castle (lunch).

Betchworth, Parkgate, Gordon in a ditch, Charlwood, Ifield, Crawley.

Next weeks ride is a new one for us. It starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 10:00hrs and will be an easy ride to Rudgwick for the Apple Fair. Hopefully we'll enjoy all the fair has to offer and then return the short distance back to Horsham. 

Off-road ride

By way of a change, we organised a Saturday ride this week. It was Gordon's idea and he also invited us all to breakfast at his house beforehand. I was the last one there and, puffing from the hill up to his house, I joined Gordon, Norman and Dave to enjoy a nice bacon sandwich and cuppa tea.

Just in case anyone else turned up, we rode over to the Black Swan before heading off along Parish Lane. We squeezed through the squeeze gate and into Tilgate Forest. As someone had recently reported on the Crawley Cycle Forum Facebook page, the top end of NCN20 was blocked with a fallen tree so we had to carry our bikes over it. Gordon was checking the cycle route signage was ok and we were soon speeding down the firebreak and spraying dew from the grass all over ourselves.   Crossing over the motorway we then had a nice fast blast down through the golf course followed by the wriggling path through the woods before emerging in Furnace Green.

The tunnel under the railway took us into Maidenbower and then it was just a question of using the cycle paths up to the Worth Way. We continued on, past Worth Church and over the motorway again. The Worth Way was very pleasant and not at all busy and we were soon at Crawley Down. Here we took to the road and headed south to Turners Hill. After the climb, we needed a break so we stopped at The Crown for refreshments. Coffees all round (apart from my beer that is)!

We got going again and spent several minutes getting over the crossroads just outside the pub before stopping to inflate Normans front tyre. Gordon led us on through Worth Abbey and then onto the  Whitely Hill bridleway. Once we'd crossed the Balcombe Road, I stopped to change the battery in my camera and let everyone else go ahead.

Eventually, after answering a phone message, I got going but was only just getting settled into the singletrack when I came across Norman who'd had an off and hurt his leg a little. We sorted out his bike and carried on down the track.

 Crossing the railway, the bridleway migrated from sandy mud, through stony track to tarmac and became Parish lane. Norman decided to head for home at this point, leaving Gordon, Dave and myself to go off for some fun in the woods - with our bikes, madam!!

Gordon led us backwards and forwards through the forest and eventually down a hill - this one:

As you can see, Gordon made a spectacular flight over his handlebars, but is made of strong stuff and having got his breath back was straightaway leading us up another hill. Not long after, it was time for me to head home (I needed to get off to football) and the last two worked their way through the western part of the Forest and back to Gordons house.

Easy ride West of Horsham

Whoops!   I've been so busy trying to create a film of the off-road ride Anton and I did at Deers Leap that I haven't produced a blog for last weeks Sunday ride.

Here's a link to the film:    http://youtu.be/Y7VTqcLihAA

Anyway, on Sunday I was back on the Tarmac with slick tyres and heading for the Horsham start. At the Pavilions in the Park I was met by Val, Ken and Norman. I'd promised a fairly flat ride but having used the golf course route out of Horsham I soon had them riding up Rowhook Hill. We then went past Baynards and through Cox Green to go down the hill and over a very quiet A281 to Tismans Common.  We carried on Westerwards as far as Loxwood where we stopped at the canal for a breather and a chinwag.

Heading south, the hill out Loxwood seemed much easier than usual but rather than head towards Ifold as I'd originally planned, I decided to take the second right and keep going south. At the end of the road I pointed out to everyone that the area to the right was the next one under threat of Fracking. We turned left and were quickly in Wisborough Green where we pulled up at The Old Mill Cafe for lunch.

At this point I would like to suggest to you, dear reader, that you never, ever try and swat a wasp whilst enjoying lunch and drinks with some chums. It's unnecessary and you might just knock Normans nearly full glass of apple juice all over the place!

In order to keep to my promise of minimal hill climbing, the route back saw us head north from Wisborough Green to Roundstreet Common and then use Drungewick Lane back to Tismans Common (ok, there is a short sharp hill after the canal on Drungewick Lane - but it's only about thirty pedal strokes long). We used a short stretch of the A road through Bucks Green and then headed south and east past The Haven before a quick run along part of the A29. We next had a slight incline up before a nice long freewheel down into Slinfold. 

Going past the new roundabout I found myself wondering why the lamp posts had been positioned IN the footpath rather than in the grass verge - it would appear that the County Council in their "wisdom" think it better for pedestrians (perhaps with prams or in wheelchairs) to manoeuvre past the street furniture rather than the three times a year grass cutting team. Who are these publicly employed jokers supposed to be working for? Next thing you know, they'll be letting tax-avoiding multinational companies pump poisonous chemicals into the rocks beneath our feet to fracture it and release a bit of gas and maybe oil that they can sell at a ridiculous price in order for it to be burnt and further exacerbate our planet's global warming problem!

After Broadbridge Heath we used Robin Hood Lane and crossed the golf course to arrive back in Horsham where we said goodbye to Norman and Val. Ken and I used the Forest Road back to Pease Pottage with Ken setting down a cracking pace and me almost holding on to his coattails. We had a good fast run down Pease Pottage. Hill and I was home by about 15:20 having clocked up about 50 miles.

This weekend sees a ride on both Saturday and Sunday:

On Saturday we have an off-road ride of about 20 miles starting from the Black Swan (Pease Pottage) at 10:00hrs. If you go to Gordon's first (from about 09:15) he'll treat you to a bacon roll and cup of tea at his place (address on the runs list). Mountain bikes are recommended, but a good touring bike may be OK.

Sunday we'll be back on Tarmac and will see Frank lead his popular ride to The Skimmingham Castle for lunch  - that's a 9:30 start from Three Bridges Station for an easy 35 mile ride without any big hills.

The Seaside Ride

I was impressed with the sheer number of cyclists waiting at Three Bridges station but slightly dismayed to find that half of them were not on our ride but on what looked to be a ladies only ride along the Worth Way. Ah well, there would still be 9 of us heading to the coast. Pete and Marian were leading on their tandem with Barbara, Val, Michael, Richard, Norman and Ros following. I was the "Lanterne Rouge" for the day and accordingly I switched my nice bright rear light on to keep the tin-box jockeys at bay.

We travelled at a fair old pace down through Ardingly and we were pretty stretched out by the time we got to Lindfield, so needed to regroup (and get our breath back). Slugwash Lane stretched us out again and the run over Ditchling Common had a lot of traffic (some of it passing slightly too close to us).

We had a refuelling stop at the cafe in Ditchling and talked about a lot of things as we scoffed our teacakes/carrot cake/croissants and drank our tea/coffees. There was lots of material I could put onto this blog but unfortunately (as I pointed out at the time), my memory is so bad that I can't remember any of it - apart from renaming Marian to Bloody Mary and Norman to Marilyn.

Having settled my bill and bought a small cake "for later" I joined the others back outside and we remounted to head for The Hill. I led as far as Underhill Lane but I then waited for everyone else to go past me so that I could get film footage as they all started up Ditchling Beacon. Anyone familiar with the Beacon knows that it kicks up immediately after the crossroads with Underhill Lane and that just when you think you've got the measure of the hill and have a pedal rhythm that works, it takes a left turn and ramps up even steeper. If you can conquer that initial assault on your calf muscles then it just becomes a case of endurance with several little humps thrown in to upset your cadence. Assuming you manage to keep going, the next thing to worry about is all the traffic that hovers about behind you, slipping their clutches and over-revving as they seek to pass in the face of the occasional vehicle coming the other way - vehicles that look like they're going to jump onto your side of the road at any one of those humps I just mentioned, as they are all located on slight bends! Perseverence brings its reward and when you finally see the "Beware Horse and Rider" sign, you know there's only a hundred yards to go and your legs feel the gradient start to ease - time to compose yourself, up the tempo a bit and look like The Hill was no great effort to you. For me, this means wearing a big smile, trying to stop my chest heaving, putting in a bit of a sprint to ride right over the top and into the car park to pull up next to the ice-cream van. Another 99 ice-cream but only if I've ridden all the way up the hill. So far I've had one EVERY time I've attempted The Beacon. Today it didn't feel too hard, I must be fitter than I think :-)

Most of our riders managed to ride the whole Hill - see if you can spot them in Pete's picture:

Marian managed it but as Pete is not in the picture I'm not so sure about him!

The ride across to Old Boat Corner was nice and fast as usual and then we had the last climb up past the golfcourse at Hollingbury. Speeding down Ditchling Road we were soon in the heart of Brighton and having dealt with the traffic we arrived at the prom. A short walk with our bikes brought us to our lunch stop at Jack and Linda Mills Smoked Fish Shop.

I had grilled kippers in a roll - it was delicious and was accompanied by a really good cup of tea. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their fresh fish lunch as well - so much so, that some were too engrossed in it to look up when I took their picture:

 I doctored the picture a bit - here's the original:

All too soon it was time for us to start our return journey. Five of us decided (sensibly) to catch the train, Richard (hardcore) was going to ride home via Lewes, with the remaining three (nuts) opting to ride the NCN20 back north.


I was one of the nuts and led my little group up through Brighton on the A23 and then up through Mid-Sussex close to the A23 as far as the Bolney Stage where we felt the urge for some liquid refreshment.

After a couple of beers it was time to get going again.

Reaching the Warninglid flyover, we left NCN20 and headed into Warninglid before heading north once more to Slaugham Pond. Next we used the familiar route past The Wheatsheaf and onto Hammerpond Road. We said goodbye to Norman at Bucks Head as he continued on towards Horsham and we turned right onto Grouse Road. Michael had discovered the energy sapping effect beer sometimes has on the legs but we manfully rode on and were soon at the top in Pease Pottage. A quick blast down to K2 and an easy ride through Tilgate followed before I pointed Michael in the direction of Three Bridges Station and peeled off to arrive home myself.

I later found out that Richard (hardcore) had eschewed the joys of Lewes and had in fact used a slightly more direct route home - although by the time he finished he had still clocked up some 72 miles compared to the 55 I'd got on my speedo.

Next weeks ride should have been the reorganised Cutty Sark to Crawley ride but we've decided to cancel it and wait until next year as services using London Bridge Station will be severely disrupted by engineering works that day.

Instead we will have an Easy ride from Horsham Pavilion in the Park, starting at 10:00 hrs with a lunch stop at a cafe somewhere.

Let's go to Warninglid

The weather forecast was warning of strong winds and heavy rain but with the possibility that the South East would escape the worst of it. So it proved, the sky was nice and blue with a warming sun beaming down. However, in spite of such nice conditions, only three of us turned up for the ride - Jane, Dora and me, Anne.

We used Kerves Lane to get away from Horsham and after the climb enjoyed the downhill run through Sedgwick and on to Copsale. The bright blue skies were now becoming obscured by a blanket of cloud although there was no hint of rain at this stage. The road was quiet and we passed through Maplehurst and along Park Lane to Newells Lane. Halfway along the lane we had to squeeze out of the way as a large milk tanker came in the opposite direction. At the end we turned right onto the A281 and then passed Leonardslee for a fast downhill run into the wind before turning left onto Picts Lane. This is a lane that I don't think we have ever cycled before - not surprising really as the only way of using it means braving a mile or more of A road and it doesn't easily mesh into a circular route. The lane was very nice apart from the stiff climb it makes away from the A road.

A left at the next junction and then another left onto Spronketts Lane saw us arrive in Warninglid at 11:30 so we decided to carry on riding and headed north up to Slaugham pond and then along Hampshire Hill to arrive at The Wheatsheaf in Plummers Plain. There were a lot of dopey wasps in the garden and it was a bit cool for sitting outside, so we found a table inside the pub. We had a good, filling lunch and a plenty of laughs talking about this and that, but with the possibility of rain sometime in the afternoon we were back on our bikes before one o'clock. We pootled along Hammerpond Lane and then ground all the way up Grouse Road. At the top I turned right to head back home to Crawley and my energetic chums turned left for Colgate and Horsham.

Next weeks ride is one of my favourites - the Seaside Ride. Leaving Three Bridges at 09:00hrs we'll head for a seafood lunch on Brighton seafront having had a tea break at Ditchling on the way. Although the ride includes the tough climb of Ditchling Beacon, the rest of it is actually quite easy and free flowing. After lunch the options are to return to Three Bridges by train (there are three trains an hour, advance ticket price currently £9.50) or to ride back along NCN20 (this part is rated hard as it is generally slightly uphill all the way). Come on, join in, it's a great day out.

Worth Way to East Grinstead

The second Sunday of each month we have a nice easy ride aimed at those new to riding or new to riding with a group or even just those who fancied an easy couple of hours in the saddle.

This month I decided we'd use The Worth Way, hopefully as far as East Grinstead for a cuppa but tailored to whoever turned up.

I was pleasantly surprised when on arriving at Three Bridges station I was met by a nice large group of riders, all looking forward to clocking up a few miles on what had turned into a nice sunny day.

As well as club members Barbara, Michael, Norman, Sandra, Val and myself, we had guests Carol, Claire, Christime, Sharon and Paul.

The traffic light sensors didn't sense us, so we had to wave a car forward to jolt the electronics into operation and we were off.....   Up Billinton Drive and then onto The Worth Way. The dappled sunlight and shelter from the wind made for very pleasant riding and the surface was firm enough to make good progress yet comfortably soft at the same time.

As we passed Worth Church we acquired another rider as John V joined us, making our numbers up to a round dozen. Everyone was chatting and getting along really well making it a very enjoyable ride. 

There was quite a broad variation in average speeds amongst the riders so every now and again I would stop in order for us all to regroup but it still didn't take long to get to East Grinstead. 

Crossing over the railway I was disappointed that there wasn't a steam engine at the station, but we carried on up the hill to pull up at the Bluebells cafe for a break. Even though there were so many of us the cafe coped really well and we were grouped together so we could continue our various conversations. The cafe offered to stock leaflets advertising our club if we want - I'll have to print some off and go back there sometime soon. Everyone seemed to enjoy whatever drink and food they ordered and after about 30 minutes or so we were back outside ready to start the return journey.

It's slightly downhill from Grinny and we were making rapid progress, but I stopped at the pond by Crawley Down in order to regroup.

We carried on and continued to make good progress until one of the bikes had a puncture. I adopted my Bicycle Repair Man guise and got stuck into mending it. The puncture had announced itself with a loud bang so I was expecting to see a large hole in the tube, but it wasn't that big. The tube contained some puncture prevention slime and I wasn't sure whether that would prevent a puncture patch from working but the rider had a spare tube anyway so we fitted that (after checking the tyre for thorns, stones, splits etc.).

The rest of the ride was uneventful and we were soon back at Three Bridges station and saying goodbye to each other.

Next weeks ride is a Horsham Pavilions in the Park start at 09:30 for a 30 something mile loop south of Horsham and across to The Half Moon at Warninglid for lunch. 

Arun Crossings DA Event

Pulp Fiction??   Not quite - report to follow.......

Meanwhile, watch the video....

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1015163803845

Shoreham Airshow

August: last of the summer months, full of long sunny days just perfect for cycling.
In order to avoid a clash with the Arun Crossing DA Event, I set this ride up for a Saturday and to be honest I wasn't expecting many takers, so imagine my pleasant surprise to be met by five other riders at Horsham Park. Even so, we hung around for another 10 minutes in case any one else turned up.

It was a good mixed group with Pete and Marian on their tandem, Barbara on a tourer, Gordon and  myself on MTB's, as was Norman, recently returned from a 7 week adventure in North West Pakistan.

We quickly evaded the Horsham traffic and headed out on the Pedlars Way which was in a nice firm and smooth condition. This was followed by a short stretch of road along Jackrells Lane/Polecat Lane and on to Copsale where we acquired the Downs Link which would form the bulk of our route.

The Downs Link was nice and fast, but even so we were going to be late for our rendezvous with Val at Henfield.  I sent her a text to let her know and, once we got to Partridge Green, let Gordon go ahead so she wasn't sat alone waiting for us for too long. The rest of us arrived at Henfield at 11am (only half an hour late) and had a quick breather, resisting the temptation to 'pop' into the Cat and Canary for a refreshment break.

We carried on, enjoying the clear blue skies with warm sunshine and even the traverse of the field once we left the trackbed wasn't too bad - all was right with the world.

We passed Bramber Castle and followed the Adur down to the Old Bridge to pull up at The Red Lion at exactly 12:00hrs - give the ride leader major brownie points!!

We sat in the sun watching the aerial displays - some even had the comfort of deckchairs!!

Gordon had to leave us after an hour or so but the rest of us stayed until gone two o'clock - by then we'd had enough to eat and drink and were starting to get a bit sunburnt as well. We saw the Eurofighter put on a great display:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45576759@N00/9656808893/

We headed home, back up the Downs Link as far as Henfield where we had a refreshment break at the Cat and Canary then said goodbye to Val as she loaded her bike onto her car.

Once we got back to Copsale, we switched to the roads and eventually used Sedgwick Lane to get us to Doomsday Green. Here, everyone else headed for Horsham whereas I turned right to pass Mannings Heath and then use Grouse Road back to Pease Pottage and then home.

Warnham

It should have been the Cutty Sark ride, but with only four people committed to riding it and railway engineering work reducing the travel options and slightly damp weather forecast for the morning, I decided to postpone it until next month.

Instead we had a small ride from Horsham, along Kerves Lane, through Southwater to Dragons Green, past Shipley and almost to Ashington before using the B2133  to Broadford Bridge, crossing the A272 at Coneyhurst, going down Bashurst Hill, through Broadbridge Heath and then to Warnham for lunch at The Sussex Oak. There were just four of us: Anton, Gordon, Frank and myself.

After lunch we headed towards Warnham station and Anton headed back to Horsham. We then went up Langhurstwood hill, then along Green Lane and left towards Rusper. Gordon and Frank took the right turn and went back to Crawley along Wimlands and I went to Rusper to attend a family birthday celebration. Here's a video I took whilst waiting for the rest of the family to arrive:

We have TWO rides this coming weekend:

On Saturday we will start from HPP at 09:30 and using the Pedlars Way and The Downs Link we'll ride to Shoreham by the old bridge and watch the Shoreham Airshow.

On Sunday, it's the last of this years DA Events, The Arun Crossings Ride. It starts from Pulborough Railway Station at 09:30 and lunch will be at The Blue Ship.  Please note that the trains are NOT running to Pulborough on Sunday.

Westward Ho!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy. I met up with Gordon and Jacqui at The Black Swan, Pease Pottage and we headed over to Horsham for the 09:30 start. We were met there by Michael and Anton, fresh from a cup of coffee in the cafe. With five of us ready to ride, I decided to head off but just as we left the car park, so John C and then John V arrived. We left Horsham by the golf course route and then headed through Broadbridge Heath and on to Slinfold. The climb wasn't too bad - Michael reckoned it was easier than Rowhook Hill and we were soon out on the A29 for a quick sprint along to the road to The Haven. When we got to the Blue Ship we turned south and enjoyed the generally downhill gradient all the way to the A272. As it wasn't too busy we stayed on the A272 all the way to Wisborough Green and pulled up at the Old Mill Cafe for a quick cuppa.

From Wisborough Green we headed over to Kirdford and then headed north through Plaistow. As we rode along we encountered a road race heading in the opposite direction and after that, what looked like a sportive - also headed in the opposite direction to us. One last climb and we arrived at the lunch stop, the Sun Inn at Dunsfold.

There was a choice of about five different real ales on tap and a good range of sandwiches and other food making this a good pub for a lunch stop. All the time we were sat there, there was a constant stream of the sportive cyclists going by.

Soon we were back in the saddle. We headed over to Cranleigh, bypassing the High Street by using the Downs Link. Then we headed to Cox Green where Michael left us to head for home in Rudgwick.  This was followed by Ellen's Green where John V headed towards Ewhurst and then back to Crawley. Then we had the joy of Rowhook Hill downhill (the opposite direction to our normal visit). By now we were just a couple of miles from Horsham and we had soon crossed back over the golf course to return to Horsham Pavilion in the Park. Here we said goodbye to Anton and John C as they packed their bikes into their cars. This just left Gordon, Jacqui and myself to ride back to Crawley. We used the Forest Road across to Pease Pottage and then I was by myself as I finished my days riding with a full 60 miles under my belt.

Next weeks ride is our Cutty Sark ride using NCN21 from Greenwich back to Crawley.  Meet 09:45 at Evans Cycles near London Bridge, or 10:15 at the Cutty Sark. I recommend a strong touring bike or mountain bike as the afternoon section contains a lot of relatively loose surfaced sections. As usual we will stop for lunch at The Bear, in Fickleshole and should get back to Crawley at about 17:30. I will send out an e-mail shortly to find out how many of us will be doing the ride this year.

Airport to Aerodrome

A nice simple beginners ride - maybe along the Worth Way. That was the billing for today's ride but the consensus at the start was "Let's stay on the roads today."  John C, Barbara, Sandra, Val and I set out through Three Bridges and Northgate on NCN21. At Gatwick we left this cycle route and headed under the A23 then around the perimeter road to Povey Cross. John was leading and took us up to the Black Horse and into Meath Green. Here we turned onto Lonesome Lane which has got a lovely smooth tarmac surface. John and Val were soon out of sight at the front and when the rest of us reached the junction with Lodge Lane, we weren't sure which way to go. We could see about a mile up Lonesome Lane but there was no sign of our colleagues there so we took the turn. Lodge Lane lead us across to the A23 where I realised that we'd made the wrong decision as I knew John would have been waiting there.  A quick phone call established where we each were and we decided to rendezvous at the Aerodrome.

We arrived at the Aerodrome cafe to find it was very busy but still managed to get served quite quickly. All the outside tables were occupied but we managed to squeeze in at the end of one. A few minutes later John and Sandy arrived and we enjoyed a nice break chatting, people-watching and plane-spotting! The sky had clouded over and even tried squeezing a few raindrops over us but not enough to make us go inside. 

Ironically, as soon as we set off for home the sun came back out. We headed due south past Salfords to Horley and then picked up the NCN21 back through Gatwick to Crawley.

Our next ride is on Sunday 18th August and starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 09:30hrs. We'll head out west of Horsham and stop for a pub lunch somewhere. We'll probably cover about 40 miles without too many hills. 

The Victory at Staplefield

Having agreed to lead this ride rather late in the day due to Bob revelling in the delights of Ibiza and not returning to the UK until the day before the ride, I decided to set myself a challenge of finding the easiest (ie flattest) route to Staplefield from Horsham. A quick search on Google revealed that Horsham has an altitude of 50m and Staplefield one of 76m so in theory it shouldn’t be too difficult but Horsham is surrounded by hills and it was always going to be a case of minimising the hills rather than avoiding them altogether.

Arriving at Horsham Park Pavilions I was pleased to see that there was a good turnout of riders: Bob (refreshed from a week of idling on beaches), Anton, Michael, Ken, Gordon, Val and myself. Just before we set off John V also arrived having ridden from Crawley. I had decided to leave Horsham via Pedlar’s way and the Downslink but after the heavy rain of the night before I was uncertain how muddy it would be. Anton, Bob, Ken, Michael and John  decided to take a road route while Val, Gordon and myself decided to brave the off road route agreeing to meet at Copsale. When the off road group reached Coltstaple lane however we found the others waiting for us. Bob had got confused and used Kerves Lane instead of Sedgwick lane and decided to join us along Jackrell’s Lane. At Copsale we again parted company with the roadies going via Maplehurst and up a couple of hills while the rest of us took the Downslink to Partridge Green where we regrouped. From there we took an undulating route via Shermanbury, High Cross and Albourne to Hurstpierpoint. Despite being at about the same altitude as Horsham, on turning north along Cuckfield Road we were rewarded with a long downhill stretch on which Val recorded a new high speed record of some 26mph on her new bike. We soon paid for this with some uphill stretches as we continued north through Goddards Green to Ansty where we met John C who had missed the start at Horsham. Continuing north via  Deak’s lane we encountered the worst hills of the morning before joining the B2115 Staplefield Road where Anton left us. Bearing right at Slough Green there was another long downhill stretch to Staplefield where we stopped at the Victory for some much needed refreshments and were amused by the notice in the window.



The two Johns left us to return to Crawley via Handcross while the remainder of us stayed a little longer and eventually and somewhat reluctantly decided that we must leave. We headed westwards via Slaugham and Hammerpond Road where Bob and Gordon left us at Grouse Road leaving Val, Michael and myself to suffer the final climbs near Mannings Heath and return to Horsham.

My newly loaded Google Tracker app on my mobile phone displayed the following statistics at the end of the ride.

Total Distance 32.09 miles

Average moving speed 9.1 mph

Max speed 34.57 mph

Minimum elevation 156.30 feet

Maximum elevation 525.46 feet

Elevation gain 3291.85 feet

How accurate these figures are and whether I achieved my objective of finding the easiest route I don’t know but I think everybody enjoyed the ride which is the most important thing.

Pete E.

Our next ride is on Sunday 4th August and is the DA Picnic. Pack a picnic in your saddlebag/bumbag/backpack/barbag/pannier and make your own way to Wisborough Green where we will rendezvous with the other West Sussex groups at about midday to sit on the village green, eat, drink and be merry! Every member that turns up earns 5 points in the DA Trophy competition.

Please note that we do NOT have an organised ride from Horsham for this event as we have no one to lead the ride - sorry.  Feel free to make your own way to Wisborough Green though.