Downs Link to Brighton

Back in February, we got together to create the runs list for the 2nd quarter of the year and Val (our "keep it flat and not too long" expert) suggested a ride out on the Downs Link to Shoreham and then along the coast to Brighton. Everyone at the meeting seemed quite keen, so in it went: a ride leader was determined, a route and itinerary worked out and the details published in The Pedaller (as well as  our august webpages).  No going back then even though it was pouring with rain on the Saturday and 8 o'clock seemed way too early and cold to be getting on a bike. Nervous communications on Saturday evening suggested maybe four people would turn up but, lo and behold, there were 7 of us at Horsham Pavilions in the Park (Anton, Barbara, Bob, Ken, Malcolm, Pete E and Val) and we picked up 2 more from Horsham station (Corinne and John V).

Anton was ride leader but he let Pete E guide us through Horsham and out on Pedlars Way. In spite of Saturdays downpour, the trail wasn't muddy, just slightly soft, and the lanes were nice and dry. At Copsale we noted that the sign for The Bridge Inn has been kept but now reads "Bridge House" - another pub gone. How many old King and Barnes pubs have disappeared since the Hall and Woodhouse takeover?

The clouds were starting to break up now and the temperature was just about perfect for cycling with just a hint of a tailwind. The Downs Link surface was about as good as it could be although a feature of todays ride would be how much the vegetation was encroaching on each side of the path.

It didn't take us long to get to Partridge Green, then shortly after we noticed that they've put a surfaced path across the grassy field - previously there was(were?) just a couple of muddy grooves to follow, now there is a nice, raised pressed stone path.

The following video starts from the gate entering the field and includes a lot of the Downs Link to Shoreham (at four times normal speed).....

10 minutes of video

In Shoreham we emerged on the roundabout in the town centre and used the A259 for a while before turning right to pick up NCN 2 and cross the lock gates for the east harbour. The cycle path was really quite busy and by now the sun was blazing above.

We stopped for a quick loo break before continuing on along NCN 2. Shoreham Harbour amy not be the most picturesque (or sweet smelling), but I enjoyed riding through it and the road wasn't too busy.  At Hove Lagoon, NCN 2 becomes a shared use path on the south side of the A259 and is a really fast and pleasant way to travel along the front - so long as you take account of other users and pedestrians. The further east we went, the busier the seafront became and so, when we got to Hove lawns cafe we decided to stop for lunch as we were worried that eating places may be too busy for 9 of us if travelled further on and closer to midday....

We pushed a couple of tables together, made our orders and were eating and drinking within just a few minutes. It was very pleasant sitting there in the sun I can tell you, although I had to put my neck scarf over my head to ensure I didn't start to look like a swan vestas match!!

After about an hour or so, we decided to move on and our little party shed three of our number - Corinne was heading into Brighton of an afternoon of being a tourist, Barbara and John headed to Brighton station for a train back north and the rest of us headed back the way we came (I did think of suggesting an alternate route involving a climb up to Devils Dyke, a fast off road descent and a few miles of upsy downsy small lanes as far as Henfield, but thought better of it).

At some point there will be a video here showing various parts of the return journey - but it's not ready yet.....


We retraced our steps to Shoreham harbour and over the lock gates but then we followed the proper NCN 2 routing over the A259 and along some quiet back streets before taking the signposted cut through to the Downs Link which we rejoined by the Red Lion. The ride back was pleasant with the sun on our backs although the headwind and ever so slight upward trend did make it a bit harder than the morning. That seemed like a very good excuse too stop at the Cat and Canary in Henfield for lashings of ginger beer (well actually most of us had cider).

Partridge Green and West Grinstead were soon behind us and at Copsale we decided to continue to Southwater Country Park where we had another stop - might as well have an ice cream this time :-)

We tried to use Normans "back streets of Southwater" route but missed one turn and ended up on the Old Horsham Road for about a mile before heading across to Newfoundout and then back on Pedlars Way into Horsham and the end of the ride.

The end of the ride for all of us that is apart from Ken who was todays Hard Man. He'd ridden over from Crawley first thing and now proceeded to ride back. He was so quick that my chauffeur only caught up with Ken when he was but a couple of hundred yards from home!

Thanks everyone for taking part - judging by your chatter and smiling faces, I reckon you all enjoyed the ride. Well done Val for suggesting it in the first place (and well done for completing what was nearly a 60 mile ride).

Next week sees the next DA Event. This is the second of the DA Events that we organise and is The Two Weald Ride. Based at Wisborough Green (TQ048259), riders will be there from all three Member Groups within the West Sussex CTC and there will be a choice of four different 25 mile loops available to ride. Your committee will be there with refreshments between 10:00 hrs and 16:00hrs (thanks again to Frank and Pat with their camper van) - bring along home made cakes or biscuits for us to sell to raise funds for our club.

The route instructions and the overview map are available here , so if you want to get started before we've set up the refreshments, be your own boss. Why not try and do all four loops in one day??

Crawley Family Bike Ride 2014

As part of National Bike Week, Crawley Borough Council organises a number of Bike events. We help out with the Crawley Family Bike Ride by acting as ride leaders and marshals.

I arrived at Oriel School nice and early, just in time to lend a hand with the setting up of the registration table. I added some literature about the club to the table - a list of rides we have coming up, the club business card and even some business cards for a certain Bicycle Repair Man! Some Community Police Officers were also there offering a bike marking/registration service. Other freebies on offer were various hi-viz stickers, pens, bike accessories and even some bike lights.

As ten o'clock approached more and more people turned up and in the end we had some 52 people posing for the group photo (including the 4 PCSO's). There were 8 Horsham and Crawley members and we were all wearing hi-viz yellow tops, so Pete could lead the ride off with some confidence that everyone would be safely monitored by an experienced rider.

We followed the route of NCN20 as it went under the railway into Furnace Green, then through Furnace Green and Tilgate to the K2 Leisure Centre. We had let the ride split into two through Tilgate in order to present less of a hold up to any motor traffic, but we regrouped near the football stadium to tackle the climb up through Broadfield. NCN20 emerges from a small path onto the Marie Vesco Traffic lights that allowed us to safely cross onto the Old Brighton Road at Pease Pottage. A right then a left outside the Black Swan took us past where The Grapes used to be and up to Woodhurst. Here we used the footbridge to safely cross over the busy A23 and were then, once again joinedon the Old Brighton Road at Tilgate Forest Row. From here we made good time on the broad road and were soon at Handcross which was as congested as ever. We had safety in numbers and most of the motorists gave us plenty of leeway so we soon pulled up at Nymans Gardens (National Trust). All the riders had free entry to the gardens but most headed straight to the cafe and a welcome drink and bite to eat.

After about an hour and a half we regrouped for the journey back. The sun was still shining strongly but was now on our backs and pretty soon we were back at the Woodhurst footbridge. At this point I escorted three riders back to the Marie Vescoe crossing and Broadfield whilst the rest of the group headed for Parish Lane and the alternate NCN20 route down through the forest. Having seen my charges safely to Broadfield, I raced across to Parish Lane and caught up with the main body as they kicked up the dust on the run down through the forest. Then it was across the M23 on the eastern bridge, down through the golf course and back on the tarmac in Marion Road before popping under the railway and arriving back at Oriel School. Everyone was wearing big smiles on their faces so I judge the event to have been a success.

Here's a bike cam view from my position at the back of the ride:
Family Bike Ride 2014

Hopefully we'll be able to run this event again next year, but in the meantime, check out the Horsham and Crawley CTC Runs List  and see if there are any of our rides that you fancy.

Our next ride on Sunday 29th June is quite long at a minimum of about 30 miles (with a train return) or about 60 if ridden all the way. It will start outside Horsham Pavilions in the Park (Horsham Swimming Pool) at 08:00 hrs (sorry about the early start - but hey, the sun will have been up for about 4 hours by then!) and take us to Copsale via Pedlars Way and then all the way to Shoreham on The Downs Link. From there we will head along the coast  to Brighton and Hove for a lunchtime stop.  If that is far enough, head for the station and catch a train back up to Three Bridges and then Horsham. Otherwise, the afternoon will retrace our outward route. As almost all the route will be off road, a strong touring bike, a hybrid bike or a mountain bike is recommended.  It will be a long day, but I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Our most Family Friendly rides tend to be on the second Sunday of every month (yes, we ride all year round), so look them up on our runs list.

Loxwood

London to Brighton, Father’s day and perhaps the World Cup reduced our starters to 3.  Michael, Peter and Barbara.  We left Horsham by Pondtail road and headed up to Capel.  After Ockley station we headed down Weare Street and up to Oakwoood Hill.  We said cheerio to Barbara and made our way through Walliswood to Ewhurst.  By now I was developing a new style for “leading” rides.  Peter was given the next waypoint and would soon be 100 yards ahead of me but going in the right direction.  The new roundabout on the edge of Cranleigh, complete with signs directing cyclists off the road, caused some confusion.  I lost sight of Peter after this but he was waiting for me at the junction in Cranleigh.  We decided on a coffee break at Costa in the centre of Cranleigh.  After some discussion about the Canal we chose to head south from Cranleigh to Alfold Crossways.  This meant braving a short section of the A281 and passing south of the airfield to Dunsfold.  We headed through Plaistow to the Osbourne Arms in Loxwood arriving about 12.30.  The pub was busy (no sandwiches on Sunday) but we had our food served in about 20 minutes.  We headed back to my house in Rudgwick for a cup of tea. Peter was directed onto the Downs Link to find his way home.

Next Week (June 22nd) is the Crawley Family Bike Ride:  Oriel School to Nymans Gardens and back as part of Bike Week.  This ride is open to the general public and CTC members will be helping to marshall everyone safely along the route. Please arrive at Oriel School (in Maidenbower, Crawley) at about 09:45.

Henfold Lakes

When planning the rides for this quarter it seemed like a great idea to start some rides at 09:00hrs during the longer summer days. It is a great idea, the only trouble is that it means being up and ready to leave the house just after 08:00 hrs if you've got to ride over to Horsham from Crawley (or to Crawley from Horsham on alternate weeks). Amazingly enough I managed it and arrived at Horsham Pavilions in the Park on time (avid readers will know how bad my timing usually is). Mind you, the glorious weather helped.

Waiting at Horsham were Pete E (the ride leader), Val, Malcolm, Mick and Anton. We headed out over the golf course and up Byfleets Lane where we noticed several potholes in the middle of the lane - we couldn't help but notice them as someone had helpfully marked them out in orange paint! Half a mile later, we stopped to regroup but Mick and Anton were a long time joining us. When they finally arrived they told us what had delayed them: a middle-aged couple on bikes were heading down the lane, the lady had swerved to avoid the orange-painted potholes only to head straight at Mick and Anton. She'd put her brakes on but too fiercely and had gone over the handlebars with the tail end of her bike going into Anton. Although she'd suffered a cut to her face, she said she was ok and continued on her bike. Anton was ok if a little bemused.

Soon after this we rode up Rowhook Hill, surprisingly with little comment from our resident hill specialist (possibly she was too shell-shocked?). We carried on to Ellen's Green, then up to Ewhurst Green where we headed east and then turned onto a very quiet lane called Lower Breache Road. On reaching a private driveway, this lane turned left and became Lyefield Lane. I don't recall us ever using these particular lanes before. This brought us out on the Ockley Road just short of Forest Green. We carried on, eschewing the chance of a climb up Leith Hill, looming on our left. Ockley church looked very picturesque, then shortly after we ignored the joy of a downhill Weare Street and carried on to Capel. For a change we didn't turn east in Capel but carried on north up to Beare Green where Mick led us on a quick shortcut to avoid using the main road. 

At Newdigate we regrouped once more and then turned left to go past the village shop - it used to be called Bobs Shop but now seems to be unnamed. The next left took us onto Henfold Lane and we then just had a half mile or so, mainly downhill, before pulling up at Henfold Lakes fishery.

We were met there by the sight of large groups of (i) Morris Dancers (ii) Motor Bikers and (iii) Pete and Marian. Well no, Pete and Marian weren't a large group, although their tandem was the largest pushbike sat outside the clubhouse.  All these visitors meant that the queue to order food and drink was out of the door, but fair plays, the staff got our orders out to us within 15 minutes or so. Coincidentally, 15 minutes was almost exactly how long my first pint of cider lasted.

It was very pleasant sitting in the sun, looking out over the lake and chatting about this and that - so pleasant in fact that it was a real struggle for our illustrious leader to herd us back onto our bikes, but he did and off we rode.

We headed north as far as Red Lane and then headed south, through Charlwood (via Stan Hill) and on to Ifield Wood. Here, the Crawley contingent turned left back to Crawley and the Horsham contingent wen back to Horsham via Lambs Green and Wimlands.

Gordon's B-Ride

This was a very enjoyable day, thanks Gordon.

It's takes me ages to write blogs these days, so I've cheated and padded out my words with some moving pictures.

I arrived at Gordons expecting to see a gaggle of freeloaders taking up his breakfast offer, but no, I was the only freeloader! So, after rather nice bacon sandwich and a cuppa, Gordon and I headed for Pease Pottage.

Outside The Black Swan we met Val, Corinne, Michael and Malcolm. From here, Gordon led us out along Parish Lane and then down through the Forest on NCN20 to cross over the M23, through the golf course and out to Oriel School where we met up with John C and John V.

Next we acquired NCN21(The Worth Way) and headed east, over the M23 and on to Rowfant.

This video shows the journey so far:

The weather was very pleasant and the Worth Way was in good condition, so all was right in the world - except for my rear tyre that is - it kept going down, but I couldn't find a puncture. At the first stop I'd just pumped air in as I thought it was a slow puncture. After a second stop, three of us checked the inside of the tyre for thorns or any other sharp intrusion (none found) and I fitted a new tube, but within a few miles the tyre seemed to have deflated again. When I got home I checked both tubes and found NO punctures using both a visual inspection and a water bath - the valves seemed OK as well. As we speak both tubes are fully inflated in my shed and seem to be holding onto their contents. So what was the problem? I suspect a puncture repair I'd done on the first tube shortly  before setting off had not set properly and caused the first problems but that when I'd subsequently removed all the air and rolled the tube up tightly to stuff it away in my bumbag, the patch had properly taken. The second tube is a mystery and my only guess is that the pumps I'd been using out  on the trail just weren't getting enough air in.  I pumped it up with a track pump when I got home and it's stayed fully inflated since....

Anyway, back to the ride. We left the Worth Way at Imberhorne Lane and headed north until we reached the bridleway taking us back west to Gullege. From here we retraced our Worth Way steps as far as Crawley Down where we hit the road going south and endured the steep little climb into Turners Hill. At the top we regrouped and regained our breath before heading west, through Worth Abbey to a refreshment halt at The Cowdray Arms.

After a fairly short stop we carried on along the Handcross Road before turning left into Brantridge Lane - it was a lovely ride down this lane as this video shows:

At Staplefield I had to reinflate my rear tyre (again) and then we headed across to Sluagham and then north on the bridleway through the Slaugham estate to Handcross.

We only briefly entered the western edge of Handcross as Gordon now took us west along the B road before diving to the right onto a farm track bridleway that would take us across a valley and then on up to Plummers Plain and out onto Grouse Road.

From here we only had a mile or so to go back to Gordons House where more refreshments were on offer - Corinne was most impressed, although we had to point out that Gordon is an exception - the rest of us don't lay on such a good spread!