Annual Ride to the Seaside

This is usually a popular ride and this year we had eleven riders turn up.


Pete S led Marian, Anton, Val, Norman, Malcolm, John V, Ken, Christine, Michael and myself off towards Turners Hill. However, halfway through Pound Hill Malcolm had to  turn for home as his rear wheel had broken another spoke (making five in total) and was looking likely to collapse.


The drag up to Turners Hill was a pain as usual and Val was all for turning for home but a bit of gentle persuasion from the rest of us changed her mind. We sped down the B-road, past a less than busy Wakehurst Place and on through Ardingly. The weather was just right for cycling and we were soon on Lindfield. I popped in to the Co-Op there and bought some chocolate bars, everyone else was talking about what to do in light of the fact that there were no trains running from Brighton. The decision was made to carry on to the teashop at Ditchling and then work out what to do. We got there using Slugwash Lane and Ditchling Common Road.


The garden at the teashop was sheltered and sunny and we settled down to eat, drink and chat. Val took this picture of three monkeys:

Anton had not joined us in the café but had continued riding and gone up Ditchling Beacon. When he did join us he showed me some video of the climb and his obligatory 99 cone at the top. Well done Anton.


Talk had turned to what shape the rest of the ride would take and consensus was that we would head for Haywards Heath Railway station along a quiet route, point Norman in the direction of Horsham and anyone left over would ride back to Crawley. However, seeing Antons film had made me pine for the climb - it was silly to be so close and not do it! I set off and just a couple of minutes later I was gritting my teeth and getting stuck into the hill. The first part of Ditchling Beacon is always the hardest for me and I was soon down to about my 5th lowest gear ratio. I was determined not hit granny so each time the road bucked up I rose from the saddle and stomped on up. In a perverse way I was quite enjoying the climb, helped by going past a resting roadie and enjoying the views of the Weald, and I was surprised when the horse and rider sign swam into view to announce the top was imminent. I did the usual and rode on into the car park, right up to the ice-cream van and got my usual, a '99'.


It had taken me 10 minutes to do the climb, it took just over two to get down (and I'd been slowed down by some cars). Reaching Ditchling I checked the café but everyone else had gone, so I headed east for a mile or so then turned north onto Spatham Lane. By now I had expected to have caught the others but was beginning to worry I'd taken the wrong route, so sent Anton a text. I was on the right route but they were about three miles or so ahead of me. I kept going and then, halfway up Hundred Acre Lane, I saw Anton who had come back to meet me - thanks Anton. We carried on to Wivelfield Green and then onto Slugwash Lane - it's harder going north. At the far end, Ken and John V were waiting - everyone else had continued on towards Lindfield (and then Haywards Heath). Anton left us here and we bypassed Lindield to use East Mascalls Lane and Plummenden Lane on our way up to Ardingly.


I needed a breather so we stopped and sat on a bench in the middle of Ardingly. Then we spotted a tandem going past - it was Pete and Marian! They stopped and joined us before we all got going again and carried on past the showground and on up to Selsfield Common. We were really quick into Turners Hill but as I climbed up towards the crossroads, my chain got jammed and I had to stop and clear it. It seems that I spend so much time working on other peoples bikes that mine just doesn't get any attention!


The others were waiting for me at the top, but I had no recurrence of the problem and just a few minutes later we were back in Crawley.


Next weeks ride is a Horsham Pavilions in the Park start at 09:30. Pete E will lead us on a nice roundabout route to the south and east before turning west for lunch at the Wiston Tea Rooms. The return to Horsham will be pretty much the shortest route back. The ride is rated as Medium and will be about 40 miles long. We did it in the wet last year and enjoyed it in spite of the weather, so if the sun is shining it will be even better. See you there!!

Tour of Britain

Never fiddle with your gears the day before going out for a bike ride! I spent most of todays ride trying to adjust out various slight clickety-clacks and phantom gear changes! However, it didn't stop me overtaking two roadies as I passed through Tilgate and then charged (!) up Pease Pottage Hill. My bike appeared to be running quite well today (in spite of the gear chatter) and I arrived at Horsham Pavilion in the park on time. Barbara had also just arrived and waiting inside were Norman, Anton Marion and Pete S.

 

Three months ago when I'd posted this ride on the runs list it was just going to be an ordinary loop out to the north of Horsham but just a few weeks ago I'd realised it coincided with the last day of the Tour of Britain and that we could intercept it and watch the Pros go by. This meant we had a nine-thirty start but only 10 miles to travel (as the crow flies) and then a long wait for the race. So instead I took everyone on a small detour to the south and east of Horsham before heading for a lunch stop and then a race viewing point.

 

We used Depot Road and Comptons Road to head out through Doomsday Green and then north east on Grouse Road. Blackhouse Road took us to Colgate and then Tower Road was an enjoyable blast down to the A264. As we headed through Faygate and on to Rusper the road got very busy with lots of other cyclists, all heading north. A large contingent of them were on the last leg of a three day ride from Paris to London, the others looked like they were heading to The Tour.  

 

We carried on and were met by Ros as we pulled up at our lunch stop, The Crown at Capel. Unfortunately their restaurant was closed for refurbishment and they had no food available but their beer was good and they didn't mind us popping over to the convenience store opposite and bringing some food back to eat with our beer.

 

Lunch over, we crossed over the A24 and then had the joy of Weare Street heading south (downhill). We crossed over a quiet A29 and then, after a short climb, burst out onto the route the professionals would soon be using. Quite a few people were already gathered there and the pub (which I'd originally considered for the lunch stop) was very busy, making me glad we'd stopped at The Crown. we picked our viewing spot and settled down to wait for the spectacle to begin. We noticed the following quality piece of spelling:

 

 

Here's a picture of most of our motley crew:

I can't think why Anton was hiding behind this hedge:

 

Here's a selection of action shots taken by Pete and myself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as the Broom Wagon had passed we got back on our bikes so that we could take advantage of the traffic-free roads as far as Ellens Green. Here we had a slight mechanical issue as Norman had lost a bolt on one of his cleats, but Pete whipped out an Allen key and tightened up the remaining bolt as a "get you home" fix.

We were soon back at Horsham and saying goodbye to Norman and Anton. Richard, Marian and Pete carried on to Crawley with Ros and I following on shortly behind. I guided Ros through Crawley and onto the Worth Way using the shortest route through Tilgate, Furnace Green and Maidenbower and then got home myself by about 5pm having coverd about 48 miles.

Next weeks ride is another of my favourite rides (so much so that I'm foregoing a family luncheon so I can ride) - it's the Seaside Ride. Leaving Three Bridges station at 09:00hrs we will ride to Brighton seafront via Ditchling Beacon (we'll have elevenses in the village before tackling the climb). We'll have lunch on the seafront and then there's the option of returning by train or by riding NCN20. Come along, it's a good challenge but well within practically everyone's capability.



Mystery Ride

It was good to welcome Mick out on this ride but disappointing that no-one else turned up. I had two routes in mind to the mystery destination: one to the south and then west of Horsham, the other to the North and then west. After discussion we decided on the latter and so, off we set. We went past the newly refurbished station and past the Salvation Army centre to reach Depot Road. At the end of the road we decided to see if there was a route through the houses but, after a couple of false endings had to make our way back to St Leonards Road in order to get on to Hammerpond Road.

This road took us past the rugby club, the church, Roosthole pond and Mannings Heath golf club. We then turned onto Grouse Road for three miles of generally up before turning left to head across to Colgate. After a quick breather at Tower Hill, we blasted down the hill and across the A264 into Faygate. At the top of the hill we turned into Wimlands Lane then took Wimlands Road up to the Horsham Road. Here we turned left and then picked up Green Lane and Friday Street to head on up towards Capel. My favourite lane now loomed into view - Weare Street - and, as ever, it was a really enjoyable ride along it. On reaching the main road we turned left and then, after about a mile took the second left onto Northlands Road. Halfway along this road is a house with a quite substantial six-storey tower.  I've no idea on the reason for it to have such a tower, do you?

Anyway, a couple of lanes later we arrived at the mystery destination: The Sussex Oak at Warnham. It just so happened that the pub was hosting a beer festival :-) and we had to try a couple!

Cutty Sark to Crawley using NCN21

Since its introduction a few years back, this has become one of our signature rides. The basic idea is travel to The Cutty Sark at Greenwich and then ride back to Crawley along National Cycle Network route 21. This year we had the uncertainty of the bike provision on the trains due to London 2012 Olympics restrictions. One rail operator, FCC, managed to give us a definitive "Yes, we can carry your bikes*" answer a couple of weeks before the ride, but the other, Southern, just referred us to their ambiguously worded website and then, only a couple of days before the ride, deciding to go back to the normal cycle restrictions. All these rail operators get on my wick - they take more money off me through my taxes than British Rail ever did and then mug me again with their lack of provision for cyclists and intricate fare entrapment methodologies. The cheapest fares are for people who can book up several months in advance, on a particular train for a particular journey with only 5 shoelace holes in their left shoes - OK I made the last requirement up, but you get the picture.  Try booking a long way ahead when the same rail companies can't give you a definitive answer to the question "Can I take a normal bike on your trains on Sunday August 19th?".

In the light of Southern's tardiness with an answer, I'd moved the planned rendezvous at Victoria Station (served only by Southern trains) to Evans Bike shop just outside London Bridge Station (regularly served by FCC trains). This meant that one train in particular ended up with five of us travelling on it! Sod's Law meant it was one without any proper cycle facilites (or at least, none that we could spot as it pulled in), so two of us got into the front carriages and the rest in the rear carriages. Fortunately the train wasn't busy and standing our bikes in the entrance lobbies didn't present any problems at either Gatwick Airport or East Croydon. We walked through the station, across the walkway and regrouped outside Evans. Here we were met by Mike's son Eric. We waited a while, but in spite of a number of cyclists milling around, no-one else was joining our ride.

It's a relatively short and direct route from London Bridge to Greenwich and I shot off along it, not noticing I was spinning along at 17 - 20 mph! However, everyone managed to keep pace and we soon arrived at The Cutty Sark where we were met by Norman - he'd come up on an earlier train and had enjoyed a pleasant ride north of the river before reaching the start point. We took the opportunity to have some refreshments before finally setting off on NCN 21 at about 10:30.

 

The first part of the route heads up the valley of the Wandle (I think it is) through Orpington and eventually to Croydon where we skirt New Addington with a long climb alongside the tramway. We continue climbing through the suburbs and thence into the North Downs abd the lunch stop at the White Bear in Fickleshole.

 

Here we dined on some very nice sandwiches (and a couple of oints of ale - we needed the calories, honest!).

 



After lunch the character of the ride changes and takes on a rougher aspect with a succession of bridleways. It's for this reason that I always use my full offroad tyres for this ride.

 

My favourite section is a one mile downhill track that bursts out of the trees by the clubhouse of a golf course - I love the look on the faces of the golfers sat outside the clubhouse as I come rattling and banging into the sunshine at about 25 mph scattering stones and dust everywhere, wearing a smile as big as their largest sandtrap!

 

An offroad hillclimb is followed by a long uphill drag (on tarmac) through the grounds of a school and shortly after by a very tough offroad uphill - this photo shows it, but doesn't really give away how hard it is!

Yet another tough uphill, but on tarmac eventually brings us to the scarp of the North Downs and a lovely sunny viewpoint

Micheal took the opportunity to have a quiet lie down:

Once off the Downs the surface of the route improves a bit and, in spite of being tired, the average speed started going up again.

Near East Surrey hospital there's a small store where we stopped for chilled bottled water and other refreshments before finishing off the ride on familiar trails through Horley and Gatwick and back to Three Bridges Station.

Fifty something miles with a nice group of fellow cyclists and taking on several challenges en-route - perfect!

Monthly Introductory Ride

I was interviewed by the local paper this week as they asked ‘is there a knock-on effect from the Olympics’. I had to reply that although I had seen many cyclists around town, we had not experienced a lot of new riders and that perhaps they had all joined Crawley Wheelers to go racing. But that was before our beginners ride where we had eleven riders! I had quite forgotten what it is like to lead such a large group and being on the tandem made this a little bit harder, but it was a delight to see so many people out on their bikes. We followed our, now quite regular, route to Redhill Aerodrome. Many people had not done this before and we got the opportunity to see 200 tons of jet aircraft fly over our head at Gatwick and the light aircraft and helicopters buzzing around at the Aerodrome. We had a warm day and fulfilled our promise not to leave anyone behind, even though we had a wide range of capability in our group. The watch-word with Horsham/Crawley CTC is social, leisure riding and so we hope to see you out on your bike soon.

Check further information on Cycling in Crawley on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/123008357770954/

Anybody wanting help to get cycling or commuting to work can email: crawshamctc@hotmail.com

DA Picnic at Wisborough Green

John C kindly volunteered to lead this ride and when I turned up at Horsham Pavilions in the Park he was already there along with John V. It was good to see them both and as we were chatting a fourth rider, namely Pete E, turned up. We stayed in the cafe as the tail end of a heavy shower wore itself out and then we were off. Pete led us through Horsham and out on the Worthing Road to Tower Hill. The road surface showed evidence of the recent shower but, as we headed down Two Mile Ash Road so the heavens opened again. On with the waterproofs and shelter under a tree as the worst passed overhead.

Then we carried on through Barns Green and up Valewood Lane. John next led us up New Road and right onto the A29 for a short run up to the first left. As we negotiated this fast and busy road I noticed a rather battered Ford Ka sat in the field on my left - judging by the hole in the hedge and the state of the car, it looks like it had rolled over a couple of times before coming to rest pointing back in the direction from whence it came. The first left is Okehurst Lane and when we reached the far end we realised that we were going to arrive at Wisborough Green too early. So we decided to add a loop to the north and headed up to The Blue Ship at The Haven. Here we turned left then right and carried on up to the A281 at Bucks Green. Next we headed over to Tismans Common but had to stop as JC had a puncture. As we stood around watching John replace his tube, we could see the clouds were getting thicker and greyer - hurry up John!

Back on the road we were overtaken by a couple of "yoofs" in a car who shouted at us and threw something out of the car as they passed. Judging by the standard of driving I understand why young male drivers have to pay so much for car insurance. To be honest, I was half expecting to find them wrapped around a tree somewhere along Drungewick Lane!

However, we reached the end of the lane without comng across any scene of carnage and as we were now nearly there, JV and myself upped the pace a bit and arrived at the Green just a few minutes after twelve.There were a couple of riders already there and then the others rolled in. The sun was now shining and there were some 14 of us all having a picnic. I popped across to the pub and brought back a rather nice pint of Doom Bar to wash down my egg mayonaise sandwiches, chorizo, cheese and tomatoes. Very nice. This means that, with only one more DA Event to go, we're in the lead for the trophy. So come on everyone, a good turnout for the Arun Crossings on September 2nd should guarantee a win for us.

After an enoyable time chatting with our colleagues from the Arun and Adur and Bognor and Chichester sections, we headed back home. As there was just the four of us and we're all confident on the road, we used the A272 to and through Billingshurst before taking the left turn onto Wooddale Lane. This lane is so quiet that there's a green verge along the middle of much of it. After this we retraced our outward route back to Horsham where we said goodbye to Pete leaving the two Johns and I to use Forest Road through Roffey and Colgate to Pease Pottage. A quick burn down a very quiet A23 to K2 and a few minutes later I was home. My mileage for the last three Sunday rides has been 101, 65 and now 48  and I'm starting to feel fitter.

Next weeks ride is a Beginners Ride starting from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs. Led by Pete S it will be an easy ride suitable for practically everyone and open to members and non-members alike. The weather forecast is suggesting good weather, so come out and have an enjoyable couple of hours out and about on your bike.

Crawley 100

One hundred miles. Hmmm, at our usual rate that means 10 hours in the saddle, better plan the ride to have an early start.

Well, that was the thinking that saw me hanging around Three Bridges Station at 07:00hrs on Sunday 22nd July. Ten minutes later and I was still on my own and getting cold - time to start riding.

In planning the route for the Crawley 100 I based it on the route we used in 2010 but with a few small amendments to add some of my favourite lanes. First off though, the route took me through Furnace Green and Tilgate to the K2 Leisure centre. Then came the first climb of the day, up Pease Pottage Hill. By now I was nice and warm and got a good spin rate going as I travelled down Grouse Road. It was a glorious morning and I should have stopped to take some photos (the Hammer Pond looked particularly scenic) but I was enjoying the riding! Eventually I did stop and I took this picture of the church at Doomsday Green:

Now the route headed in a more southerly direction along Sedgwick (formerly Magpie) Lane before heading east through Maplehurst and then going south once more to cross the A272 and head on down to Littleworth. I was tiring a little now and, as I rode along the A281 several cyclists went past me - I sped up and managed to catch their tail for about a mile but their speed of 22mph was proving a bit hard and emptying my tank quicker than I could afford, so I had to drop back. However, shortly after I turned onto the B2118 I passed them (they were stopped at the side of the road, discussing their route) and for the next mile and a bit I was riding too fast again as I tried to preserve my dignity and travel at a similar speed to them (and not get overtaken again). Was I glad when I could turn off onto the Wineham Road and ease my pedal rate!  I cruised up through Wineham and then turned into Bob Lane all the while thinking about breakfast which was just a few minutes away. I was woken from my thoughts as the cyclists from earlier passed me again. This time I had a quick chat with them and found that they were on a "short", 50 mile training run. Where they were from and where they were heading I've no idea! However I'd now crossed the A23 and pulled up at the breakfast stop, the Little Chef at Hickstead.

Half an hour later, comfortably outside a coffee and a teacake, it was time to get back on the bike. I headed east on the cycle route beside the A2300 and then turned north on a very quiet lane. This crossed the A272 and headed up hill through the woods near Bolney. Reaching the ridge I then headed east to Whitemans Green and on to Borde Hill. After a short climb the route crossed over the London to Brighton mainline and then headed on up to Ardingly.












Here I had a short breather to get ready for the next part of the ride: a breathtaking descent followed by a lung-busting climb to get me over Ardingly reservoir. From there it was a peaceful recovery ride (although slightly up) along Back Lane. As I rode along here I saw a bearded bloke with a camera acting strangely just ahead of me. I stopped and asked what was up - he responded by pointing out a dragonfly sitting on a flower. I think he said it was a Great-Ringed Dragonfly. I stood and watched it for a couple of minutes before climbing back onto the saddle.

Just before Turners Hill I turned left and sped down past Tulleys Farm and back into Crawley using the Worth Way to get over the M23 before pulling up at home for a quick adjustment to my badly juddering brakes. The cause of the juddering? A big wad of grease had been flung from my recently regreased hub and had landed on the rim! I soon had it clean and working properly and headed over to the lunch stop at Stepneys cafe at Maidenbower Pavilion.

Lunch was pleasantly spent sitting in the shade looking out over the park. I was ready for the restart half an hour before the published time, but thought I'd better wait in case any was just going to do the afternoon fifty miles. No one did, so I set off up through Maidenbower to Three Bridges Station - no one there either - ah well, let's get going again.

I followed NCN21 out of Crawley through Three Bridges, Northgate, the Industrial Estate and the airport. Once in Horley I headed past the Air Balloon pub and on to Meath reen Lane. Now I was back in the countryside and the sun was playing a little hide and seek in the clouds, the road was very smooth and I was really enjoying the ride. A safe crossing of the A217 and I was soon through the southern outskirts of Reigate and the sun had pushed most of the clouds away. In order to get the afternoon mileage correct I'd put a little extra loop in this part of the ride and I had to resist the temptation to cut it off. My integrity was rewarded with the sight of two-thirds distance coming up on my speedo - the red mark on the map shows where it was, the speedo picture shows 66.67 miles for the trip (it should have been 66.66 but it flipped over before I could stop:






































Psychologically this was a good point for me and I had a tea break coming up but as I approached my next right turn there were some people standing in the road ahead. "What's up?" I asked. "Cycle race." Came the reply. "Can I use the road as well?" "Yes, but watch them go by first." At that moment a group of some twenty-odd women cyclists raced by, barely slowing for the corner. Sheepishly I followed in their tracks. Fortunately there weren't many spectators to revel in the contrast between the sleek, speedy ladies and the bearded, plodding slowcoach. However, a couple of miles later I realised that the ladies were doing a circuit of 6 laps and were likely to catch me up soon, so I upped my pace a bit and managed to keep between 15 & 20 mph until I left their route at Newdigate - they never caught me!

From Newdigate it was west along Trig Street and then and then down to Capel for afternoon tea at the Church:











A cup of tea and a big slice of cake was just what the doctor ordered and I enjoyed sitting in the sun outside the front of the church and chatting with a fellow cyclist. The Olympics, local churches and the Forty-Plus Cycling Club were our main topics of conversation. My mileage reading at the tea stop was exactly 75 miles, so I was very happy and confident that I would clock up the full 100 miles - mind you, I also knew there were a few hills yet to be climbed!

The next bit of the ride took me over the A24 and then down Weare Street - absolutely perfect - no traffic, sunlight dappling through the trees, clean tarmac and no dogs! Then over the A29 and the short stiff climb up to the pub at Oakwoodhill. Here there was some sort of jamboree of V8 muscle cars - lot's of American cars in evidence, some British modifieds, but my favourite was the plain and simple Scooby STI with a loud exhaust burble - gotta love the sound of that flat four!

Next hill was Rowhook Hill but down not up!  Much better and allowed me to hit 40mph for the only time this day. I used the familiar route into Horsham but, having crossed the golf course, I turned right and travlled through a resdidential area before going through the town centre and out on the Brighton Road. Next I forked left and eventually took the right turn to head to Doomsday Green. Time for another photo - compare this one with the one I took this morning from (almost) exactly the same spot:










Not far to go now, but the small hills were starting to get me - granny ring was earning her keep! Although the route now went up Grouse Road, the obvious route back was too short so a deviation was needed. I headed across to Colgate and then up and over Tower Hill for a fast blast down to the A264. This road was fairly quiet and I managed to get across quickly to face the last climb of the day, the drag up from Faygate to Wimlands Lane. From there it was downhill to and past Lambs Green and then just the level (but twisty) Rusper Road back into Crawley. I used the subway from Ifield to West Green, then Springfield Road and through Southgate before arriving at Furnace Green and home with 101.6 miles on the clock.  Done it!

I was very pleased with my achievement and also with the route, although I think I'll make another couple of tweaks to it before we run it again in 2014.

Next weeks ride (29th July) will be to Amberley from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 09:30hrs and should be about 40 miles of medium level cycling.

The Green Man, Horsted Keynes

BarbAntonBob went for a ride
Via Pound Hill and Turners Hill
To Saint Hill Green and up
Legsheath Lane.
You get the picture?

Then down (Hurrah!) Twyford Lane
Before an up (Booo!) and a gentle roll
Into Horsted Keynes.

Food was Good
Beer was Good
Sunshine was bl**dy marvellous!

"Please not the reservoir home!"
"But that means up the B-Road."
"We'll do it." We did.
Back home, nice ride, less than 35 miles.

Boxing Day Ride

I'd eaten too much, drank just a little and stayed up late watching The Bourne Ultimatum - do you feel an excuse coming on? Well you're dead right - I had severe trouble getting up and consequently only gave myself 25 minutes to do a 40 minute journey. Manfully I rode into the wind, trying not to overdo it as I've only just recovered from my cold (actually the remnants are still on my chest). As I rode past K2 (which was closed), a couple of Crows tried to fly out of my way and both of them flew straight into a chain-link fence! How weird?

I thought I was making good time as I crested Pease Pottage Hill and the clock still looked good as approached Colgate but that tiny little hill there took minutes off me and somehow the road seemed longer from there to Roffey. I kept the power on down through Roffey but it was 10:15 before I arrived at the (closed) Pavilions in the Park. I hung around, looking to see if there were any recent tyre tracks visible (none were), but after 10 minutes and barely having seen a soul, I concluded that either no-one else fancied a Boxing-Day ride or that they'd got fed up waiting for me and gone off.

I decided I would head out towards Doomsday Green, so took Depot Road. At the end, realising that I was on my own and my bike was fitted with knobblies, I decided to use the bridleway route along Hampers Lane and then down to Hammerpond Road. This was quiet and pleasant although the second part was definitely not suitable for any of the more delicate, close clearance bikes (my Kona did it with it's eyes shut and both hands tied behind its back!!).

Hammerpond Road was up and down as usual but seemed easier than usual today and I was soon on Grouse Road. I'd put my rear light on at the start of todays ride and it was noticeable that (almost) all the traffic was giving me plenty of space - even on the narrow part of Grouse Road, a car actually had the good manners to stay behind me until the road widened out! I think there's a lot to be said for having a bright red flashing led on the back of your bike.

At Pease Pottage I had a decision to make - stay on the road or go off-road through Tilgate Forest? I'm afraid I wimped out - feeling too lazy to have to clean all my gear after doing an off-road ride, I stayed on the road and belted down Pease Pottage Hill. Then, as I cut through the deserted K2, at exactly the same spot as the Crow incident, I disturbed a Green Woodpecker. That's the first time I've seen one and it was on the ground! (until it flew into the tree that is).

Arriving home, I'd only ridden 19 miles but they'd been enjoyable enough and I'm sure the exercise had done me good.

Our next ride is on New Years Day, Sunday 1st January. Starting from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 09:30 hrs, we will head south to The Black Horse at Amberley where we will meet up with riders from the other two West Sussex groups for lunch. I reckon it's a Medium rated ride of about 40 miles. There will be a couple of hills but nothing too hard. Let's hope the weather is kind to us.

Christmas Party

This year, our Christmas Party was held at The Dragon in Colgate.

We organised/arranged that anyone wanting to ride would use their own route and meet up at Rusper by 11:15, so I set off from home at about 11:00 hrs. I was taking it very easy as I wasn't feeling too good - I seemed to have a cold developing - but I arrived at Rusper with time to spare. As I stood waiting, I was bemused by just how poor the average motorist is at driving. Perhaps we should stop using the term "motorist" as that implies some level of ability at the task in hand! The most classic example was a person who approached from the Ifield direction and swept around the sharp corner on the wrong side of the road in order to pull up by the right hand kerb outside the shop. The only trouble was, the wrong side of the road is the right side of the road for traffic moving in the other direction and, yes, there was a car coming in that opposite direction - fortunately he was awake and managed to avoid the collision!

Shortly after, Barbara and Pete could be seen climbing the last few yards up to the junction. After a brief chat whilst we waited to see if any other rider would materialise, we set off. We headed down towards Ifield then bore right and down past the Lambs Green turning before the climb up to Dowlands Lane. From here it was down, past what looks like a large housing development, over the railway and through Faygate to the roundabout on the A264. We got across without incident and met up with Sandra.

Now we had to work for our dinner as we tackled the one mile climb that is Tower Hill. With perseverence (and a lot of inconsequential chatter from me), we soon crested and could get our breath back as we rolled the final 100 yards to the pub.

Although we were early, having locked the bikes up in the garden, we were allowed into the pub and could divest ourselves of our outerwear - look at the state of Pete's jacket:

All that spattering was the result of a rather muddy road surface and a rear mudguard that failed the trades description act!

Soon the four of us were joined by John V and John C with their partners, followed by Pete, Marian, Pat and Frank.

Dinner was served and was piping hot with monster portions and we all manfully strove to get outside it all!! Then it was time for Barbara to make a small speech to sum up the clubs year.

Barbara finished off her piece with the award of the Mick Horley trophy.

In recent years we have awarded the trophy to the club member that turned out on the most rides but this year the committee felt that it should be awarded to the person that had done the most work in promoting the club (and cycling in general). So, for his sterling efforts in creating and running the Family Bike Ride, Crawley Cycle Forum and his Right-to-Ride work, this years winner of The Mick Horley Trophy is......
Pete Smith:

Special mention must also be made of Anton who completed the VERY tough Paris-Brest-Paris ride(PBP) back in the (wet) summer. His achievement is even more remarkable because he was suffering from a severe stomach problem for two of the four days of riding!

Other mentions go out to John V who managed a couple of continental cycling "jaunts" - joined by John C on one I believe - and to me (Bob) for completing my own version of the Coast to Coast (I rode from St Davids Head to Hemsby).

Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the meal:

Merry Christmas everybody.

DA AGM - Pulborough

Second week of November, still quite warm!

Todays ride was down to Pulborough to attend the West Sussex DA AGM.

I was always going to struggle to get to Horsham for the 09:30 start so, on realising I was going to be at least 10 minutes late, I contacted Barbara (the ride leader) to let her know. She sent me a message back to confirm her route would go via Woods Hill and so I just rode straight through Horsham and out on the Worthing Road. Turning right at Tower Hill, I sped down Two Mile Ash Road past The Bax Castle and on to Barns Green. Valewood Lane then took me to West Chiltington Lane and onwards to Coneyhurst where I safely crossed the A272. Then, as I reached Broadford Bridge I spotted the lone figure of Barbara just ahead and we tackled Woods Hill together - it's nice to have a someone to chat to when tackling a hard climb.

After West Chiltington we went along Stream Lane and soon after pulled up at The Village Hall in Pulborough where about twenty of us from the three sections of West Sussex CTC had congregated for the AGM. The meeting worked through its agenda with reports from all three sections and also the Treasurer before we observed two minutes silence at 11:00hrs.

When we resumed the meeting, the results of the various DA competitions were revealed and I'm pleased to report that Horsham and Crawley section won three of the four on offer! Well done everybody, we may have the smallest membership of the three sections but we've certainly punched above our weight this year.

AGM completed, we headed for lunch at The Rising Sun in Nutbourne where we sat outside in pleasant sunshine and enjoyed food, drink and each others company.

Here'a a "contre-jour" shot by Barbara:

On the way home I spotted a lot of fungi along the roadsides and took a couple of snaps of them:

Our next ride is on Sunday 20th November, starting from Three Bridges Station at 09:30.

Frank will be leading a fairly easy 30 mile ride up to Redhill Aerodrome for elevenses, across to The Skimmington Castle pub for lunch and then back to Crawley - who knows, the weather may still be mild.