Arun Crossings - DA Event

The Arun Crossings is the final DA event of the year and one of my favourites. Every year it’s different despite most of the elements remaining constant:
· It starts from Pulborough Station car park
· Colin leads it
· It crosses and recrosses the River Arun
· Lunch is at the Blue Ship
· It finishes back at Pulborough Station car park.
In recent years we’ve had to contend with the river being in flood and Edwin’s unfortunate accident, so what would this year bring?

Well, two new riders for a start – David and Dominica from Felpham joined us. They were riding well-specced mountain bikes although David’s was sporting just a single cog at the front and one at the back. With a 32 tooth front ring and 16 tooth back ring, his ratio was roughly in the middle of the plethora the rest of us were carting about!

Colin lead us north away from the station and then along Coombelands Lane before finally striking west at Pickhurst Farm to cross first the Wey/Arun canal and then the river. Next we climbed along the edge of a field and through some woodland to emerge on Bedham Lane. Heading north up Horsebridge Hill, we located the next Bridleway on the right and headed offroad once more, firstly through a strip of woodland and then across some dew-laden grassland.

As usual, immediately after crossing the river we crossed the canal and then heading northeast and east we emerged onto Blackgate Lane. Following another bridleway across fields and through woodland we next popped out onto Lordings Road where we turned left and were soon passing the Limeburners Arms.

Reaching the A272 we turned left and then took the first right onto Rowner Road. After about a mile we took a bridleway on the left, passed through some farm buildings and a patch of woodland to cross the river above a weir. Just after, we crossed the canal at Rowner Lock. Unfortunately the lock is empty at the moment and the lock gates have been removed for preservation.

Immediately north of here, the national grid decided to install a large pylon that straddles the canal – unfortunately I didn’t take a picture to illustrate it, but it shouldn’t prevent the canal from reopening (should the current problems ever be resolved).
Now it was time for elevenses and we headed across to Wisborough Green and the tea shop for huge pots of tea (and small cups of coffee) where we met Edwin and a couple of other members (I’ve nicked this photo from Edwins blog):

Setting off once more, we retraced our steps to Newpound Common then followed the B2133 north before diving onto a very bumpy bridleway alongside a field. Some nice woodland singletrack was followed by some smoother field tracks and the sighting of a Heron as we passed the ponds near Malham farms. Passing through the farm buildings we turned left and passed the spot where Edwin had his accident a couple of years back – as I noticed last year, the roots that caused the problem seem to have been either removed or buried as there is no sign of them now. Crossing over the canal we were confronted by a field of cattle held back by the thin line of an electric fence. I’m having a lot of problems with cat poo in my garden at the moment and found myself wondering if perhaps an electric fence is the answer? Does anyone know? Are cats capable of learning not to visit a particular place if they keep getting zapped there?
After running parallel to the canal for a hundred yards or so, the bridleway then bears right across a field that was at least two feet under water the other year and then crosses the river on a low, narrow and very flat bridge. Three fields later we emerged onto Okehurst Road where we turned left. Just under a mile later, Colin (our ride leader – I reckon he knows every bridleway in West Sussex) gave us the option of staying on the road for another mile or so to the pub or taking a quick bridleway diversion to add some more offroad to the trip. The group split and I batted off down some delightful woodland singletrack and emerged grinning onto a lane at the other end just a couple of minutes later.

Here’s what Streetview shows of the other end!

From here it was but a short ride to the Blue Ship at the Haven for lunch. Once again several other members were there to meet us, including Barbara who was looking a bit sheepish having been told off for eating her own sandwiches in the garden!

As well as a pleasant conversation with the various members of our group, I had a sausage sandwich and a pint of Sussex Ale for lunch. This stood me in good stead for the afternoons adventures. Heading west from the pub, we headed past a mill and several other swanky houses before emerging onto Loxwood Road. Turning left we then took the first left and followed Drungewick Lane down and over the canal and eventually took another bridleway on the left to head south through woodland and fields to arrive at Malham Farms again. Here we repeated one of our morning crossings (the one with the electric fence) and emerged onto Okehurst Lane once more. This time we turned right and headed south for just over half a mile. Turning right onto another bridleway we reached the river and travelled alongside it for a few hundred yards before crossing it and arriving at Loves Bridge over the canal. From here a great bit of singletrack took us up through some woods before we ran the gauntlet of the open grass in front of the house with the loose dogs. But they were nowhere to be seen and we regained the road without incident. A mile and a half later we were again at the Wisborough Green tearooms for more tea and cake.
The final session took us due south from Wisborough Green and up a long straight slightly slippy/bumpy slope and back out onto Blackgate Lane. We followed this to Pickhurst Lane which took us back to Coombelands Lane.

Then where Coombelands Lane made a sharp left turn we hit another bridleway – up through the trees and onto a sandy ridge for a great final offroad blast down to the A283 at Stopham.

Spot the composite photo – they weren’t really that close!!!

Here we made our last two crossings of the Arun – first the new bridge and then the old – before riding the last mile back to Pulborough Station.

Once again this was a very enjoyable ride and there’s another one coming up this Sunday 19th September. It’s our annual ride to the coast led by Pete S. Starting from Three Bridges Station at 09:00 hours It goes to Brighton via a number of quiet lanes and Ditchling teashop (oh, and the Beacon) before lunch on Brighton seafront. The return trip can be either by train or by following NCN20 (with a stop for refreshments at the Victory Inn in Staplefield). It’s a lovely day out and gives a good sense of achievement, hopefully I’ll see you there.

Lewes

It was half-heartedly trying to start raining as four of us met outside Three Bridges Station – Pat, Frank, Bob and John C - but the few spits and spots were not enough to warrant donning our waterproofs. We rather hoped that we might be joined by other riders as about half a dozen or so arrived at the station, but they all seemed to be getting onto trains – probably heading for one of Boris’s traffic-free rides in London.

After waiting the regulation 10 minutes, the four of us set off using the usual easterly route out of Crawley – Worth Road and then Turner’s Hill Road. As we passed Tulley’s Farm we saw the familiar figure of John V ahead and so, as we regrouped at the top of the hill, our quartet had become a quintet. As usual JV was riding strongly and Bob latched onto his rear wheel for a nice fast pace along Selsfield Road all the way to Ardingly. John and Bob waited here for the others to catch up before we continued on along Lindfield Road. At Stonecross Lane Frank and Pat said goodbye as they only had time for a short ride today. The remaining trio followed part of the route the London to Brighton bike ride used to take – Stonecross Lane, Keysford Lane, Plummerden Lane - before heading further east along Monteswood Lane. As we passed under the Bluebell Railway Bob was sad that a train wasn’t going past as he likes to see the steam engines in all their glory (I bet he’s got a trainset at home). Leaving the quiet rails behind, we continued further east along Ketches Lane and went straight over the A275 at Sheffield Crossways. Keeping right at Splaynes Green we soon arrived in Fletching where it looked like they were getting ready for some village activity or other. There was some bunting out and people were milling around looking busy. We didn’t stop in case we got roped in to help and were soon crossing the A272 near Piltdown Golf Course.

As we took the next road on the right we noticed that the woman driving in the opposite direction was busy multi-tasking as she held her phone to her ear and negotiated the awkward t-junction. Glad to be heading away from such a dangerous person, we headed on south through Spithurst and then up a short climb into Barcombe Cross. Here we turned left and headed past the waterworks at Barcombe Mills before turning right onto Wellingham Lane – this meant we could minimise the amount of A-road we’d have to use getting to Lewes. Soon however, it spat us out onto the A26 were we met a group of about 6 youngish (20 something) lads who were on a cycle tour from St. Leonards (about 20 miles away) to somewhere in North Devon (they didn’t say where exactly). They could be potential members for our club because they were looking for a pub!

We then followed the A26 all the way into Lewes where we turned into Malling Street to get to Cliffe High Street. This road was cobbled and didn’t make for comfortable riding but several shops and cafes were open and the street was buzzing with life. We found a café with outside tables and sat down for lunch and a spot of people-watching. Poached eggs on toast seemed to be the order of the day and jolly nice they were too. Sitting there on a pleasant Sunday, I quite fancied the idea of living in Lewes and found myself wondering how much more my season ticket to London would cost. Living in Lewes would make getting to our weekly rides a bit harder though!

After lunch, rather than tackle the steep climb of the High Street to gain the Offham Road, we headed through the Waterloo and Landport areas of the town to pick up a bridleway that would take us all the way to Offham. We didn’t know exactly where the bridleway started and as we were searching for it John shouted “That must be it, there’s a dog-poo bin!”. He was right and we passed under some trees and onto the track. Apparently we were using this route as a treat for me on my mountain bike (and it was easy enough) but just a couple of minutes later there was an explosive hiss as I got a front puncture. My own fault I suppose, as my slick tyres are getting on a bit and I’ve been putting off buying replacements due to lack of funds! As it deflated I rode slowly on until we emerged back onto a road where there were a couple of logs to lean bikes against and sit on in the sunshine. Unfortunately not everyone had been using the dog-poo bin and sure enough my punctured tyre had managed to find it! Once the tyre was off, we hunted for the cause of the puncture and reckon a sharp stone had poked through a previously cut part of the tyre. I replaced the tube but when it came to reinflating things, my pump didn’t seem to work very well so JV took over using his pump (thanks JV), meantime I repaired the damaged tube in case my lacerated tyres caused another flat later on.

Back on the road we turned onto Beechwood Lane just before the railway and this very quiet lane took us northwest and near a hamlet called East Chiltington. I wonder if there’s any relationship between here and West Chiltington? Not long after this we reached Wivelsfield Green and then turned north onto Slugwash Lane. The riding was pleasant if uneventful, although on reaching the end of the lane and doing a right turn onto the A272, I received a blast on the horn from a car driver - I’d pulled across in front of him because I thought he was turning into the lane I was emerging from (and therefore would be braking) but in fact he just hadn’t cancelled his indicator and was not turning (or slowing down) at all! It hadn’t been a near miss, I just think he wasn’t concentrating and had been taken by surprise.

From here we headed up through Lindfield back to Ardingly and the long drag up to Turners Hill. JV disappeared from view on this stretch and I just had to keep my head down and grind away on the pedals. We met up again at Turners Hill church and then enjoyed a fast descent past tulleys farm and back into Crawley.

My mileage was in the region of 52 miles I think (I had to guess as my speedo didn’t work for a while after my puncture repair as I’d moved the wheel sensor by mistake!).

Next weeks ride on Sunday 12th September is the final DA Event of the year, The Arun Crossings Ride. This is a VERY enjoyable ride crossing the River Arun as many times as we can manage. I recommend using at least a hybrid or tourer with grippy tyres as several bridleways are used and we’ve had a bit of rain lately (my mountain bike will be sporting a full set of knobblies). The start is from Pulborough Railway Station car park at 09:30 hrs and parking is free on Sundays. Lunch will be about midday at The Blue Ship, The Haven and the event will finish back at Pulborough Station by about 15:30 – 16:00hrs.

The Limeburners Arms, Newbridge

Being a Bank Holiday weekend, I was not expecting that many (if any) riders to be on this ride. However, shortly after arriving at the start in Horsham I was joined by Mick and Norman. Leaving the Horsham Pavilions the route went pass the railway station, along North Street to Park Street, before turning left at the traffic lights (TL) onto Parkway, shortly followed by another left at the next TL onto East Street. Continuing along this road looking for the 9th right turn, its name changes from East Street to Queens Street before finally being coming Brighton Road. The 9th right is onto Kerves Lane and leads to the first real climb of the day. Just before starting this climb I notice a sign for Hards Hill farm, and according to Google maps, Kerves Lane becomes Hards Hill, before resuming its original name of Kerves Lane!
At the end of Kerves Lane we turned right at the grass triangle onto Colstaple Lane, before it becomes Southwater Street. The route leads to a T junction in Southwater and the Worthing Road that passes through the village. Here we turned left and continued through Southwater before turning right onto Shipley Road (this turning is on a LH bend with a filter lane and near a bus shelter).
Continuing along Shipley Road we soon arrived at the staggered cross road over the A272 and headed towards Shipley. Passing a brown sign for Shipley Windmill, Mick commented about the fact it will soon no longer be needed. This lead to a discussion about its future preservation, and whether it was listed - we assumed it was.
It was also during this stretch of the route that Mick suggested I slowed down. L Having done a number of Audax rides this year I realised I’d been setting a faster pace than normally expected, so resumed my normal position on club ride and lead from the back.
Keeping left at the next grass triangle we continued on Swallows Lane and into Dial Post, before crossing the A24 near the Old Barn Nurseries. The lack of traffic made for a quick crossing and no hanging around for a gap to appear.
Continuing along Grinders Lane, towards Ashurst, we came across another cyclist searching along the verge. He’d been coming at speed from the other direction and had lost his cycle computer. We continued, and kept an eye out for it.
Just before arriving in Ashurst there is a left turn going past the church, and which eventually joins the B2135. I had considered adding this extra loop, but decided against it. Maybe next time!
In Ashurst we stopped for a quick drink/snack and Mick reminded us that he would be leading a ride to The Fountain near Xmas (Sunday 12th Dec 2010 @ 10:00 HPP). Turning right onto the B2135 we were soon heading downhill, before taking the first right onto Spithandle Lane.
Just before the end of Spithandle Lane we noticed what appeared to be a recently renovated stone plinth. It was triangular in shape, with a figure of Queen Victoria and a tap on the side.

The route continued along Hole Street and into Ashington. To add the extra miles required of this route, I decided that a loop via West Chilltington was needed, so taking a left turn onto Rectory Lane; we were soon climbing the hill towards Warminghurst Church. At least there is a nice downhill from – pity about the uphill kick at the end on the outskirts of Storrington. Turning right at the T junction, then an immediate right onto Merrywood Lane, we were soon heading towards West Chilltington, once across the staggered crossroads with the B2139.
My original route was to go through West Chilltington, but decided that the long climb along Roundabout Lane, leading to Smock Alley would be better. A left at the end of Smock Alley followed by a right at the cross roads saw us soon passing the Golf Course.
Following a freewheel attempt down the hill, we soon arrived (well not that soon since trying to stay upright on a very slow moving bike) , at B2133 and headed left towards Aversane. Once across the busy A24 it was a short ride to our lunchtime stop, but arriving 15mins too early.
With rain forecast after lunch, it was agreed that a more direct route back to Horsham would be followed, and not my more indirect one.
Leaving the pub, we turned left onto the A272, before taking the first right onto Rowner Road. This we followed to the Haven pub, before turning right into The Haven. Turning right again, we headed towards the junction of the A29, before turning left and then the first right towards Slinfold. After Slinfold, it was a short ride to Broadbridge Heath, and the back way into Horsham via the golf course.

NCN21 - Greenwich to Crawley

In order to keep our regular schedule going, we have to plan our organised rides several months in advance. So I had scheduled the NCN21 ride some time ago and well before when I arranged to stay with my daughter and partner, and occasional CTC Riders, Kendra and Chris, in Canary Wharf on Saturday night. This meant that I had to get up early on Sunday and ride across London to Victoria to start the ride that would have its first stop back where I had first started! But this did give me the chance to try out one of the first ‘Cycle Super Highways’ from Canary Wharf to the Tower of London. I didn’t want to go to the Tower of London – that is where the route terminated, rather abruptly. Apart from that it was fine.

The next mistake I made was not to publish a meeting point at Victoria. So I met Anton at Victoria station at 8.35 by WH Smiths. We had a pleasant coffee and then set off at 9.05 thinking that no one else was joining in Victoria. But Norman and Richard had, unbeknownst (is that a word!?) to us, been lurking down near the Southern arrival gates, subsequently to leave at 9.10, separately. Anton and I had a pleasant ride south of the river, mostly following the NCR4. This is the fourth time that I have led this ride and I think that this is also the fourth version of the route from Victoria to Greenwich – some parts seem to remain constant, but in some others the signs run out. But overall an interesting route through the old docklands. At Greenwich we became quorate when we joined Bob, who had ridden directly from London Bridge, and Norman and Richard, who had taken a more direct route from Victoria, giving a total of five riders. The forecast was for rain all day, which undoubtedly had put some people off and John and John were away touring with some CTC friends.

We left at 10.20 in fine weather and made good time. The route seemed to work better this time and we reached Croydon very quickly. Bob had researched the route in this area, where we got somewhat disoriented last year (ok, lost) and lead us with conviction the correct way, although there was not a sign to be seen. [Aside: Where would we be without Bob!????] And Richard’s GPS helpfully informed us if we strayed from the one true Sustrans path. Although we have ridden this route several times now it is always surprising how much green we pass through, without apparently passing through the city to arrive, suddenly, in the countryside.

So the White Bear at Fickleshole (http://www.bigginhill.co.uk/bear.htm) appeared at 12.15 – a bit late for 12.00 but earlier than usual; this was a bunch of hard (er) riders! We had our lunch sitting outside but, as we got ready to leave it started to drizzle lightly. We exchanged a few words with Neil Morrissey (Men behaving badly) and his two friends as we prepared the bikes to leave – they seemed very impressed by our journey and suggested that we would need to consume another seven pints if we were to get back to Crawley on schedule (based on our distance so far and consumption so far).

The NCN21 after Fickleshole seems to become mainly off-road tracks. After the rain in the last few days these tracks regretfully became a little too much for the clearances on Anton’s new bike and so he headed off on the road at Warlingham, while we rode serenely through the grounds of the public school there (why are they called ‘public’ when they are anything but that?!). The rain got a bit more serious for a while, but eventually lost interest. I think that this is the first time that we have had anything but hot sunny weather and it gave our off-road aficionados the chance to prove that their mudguards were either a) absent or b) inadequate and cover themselves in mud! They managed to do this quite successfully.



Richard easily won the ascent of the single chevroned hill north of the A22 before we arrived at the glorious view from Caterham hill. It was a bit murky on Sunday, but it still feels great to get there. We were back on to familiar territory as we descended down towards Redhill and the route was then flat to Crawley. Norman caught the train in Horley to return to Horsham (good to have a Horsham contingent) and we arrived home in Crawley at about 16.30 after 54 miles (Victoria to Crawley) or 45 miles (Greenwich to Crawley). Average speed a little under 10 mph – mainly due to quite a bit of off-road and one or two quite stiff climbs. Oh, and one puncture which Bob fixed very quickly.

This really is an interesting and fun route, with lots of interesting and unexpected nuances – you would be most welcome to join us next time. Thank you to everyone that made it this year – I think that we all enjoyed it.

Peter S

Bob adds:

my wife took this picture of my two tone legs - ahhh, the joys of riding offroad in the wet!!

Next weeks ride will be led by Anton. Starting from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 09:00 hrs it will be a medium rated 50 miler with lunch at the Limeburners Arms, Newbridge.

If you'd like a ride on Bank Holiday Monday (30th August), Mick will be leading a ride from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 10:00 hrs out to The Sussex Oak at Warnham which is having a beer festival. Mick says this will be a 30 mile medium ride and I'm guessing most of those will be done before the pub!

Onslow Arms, Loxwood

Distance: 50 miles - medium
Leader: Mick

Today’s weather forecast was for sunny intervals so I slapped on the sun-block and donned a waterproof. You cannot be too careful!

Barbara was the first to turn up, followed by Bob, Norman and a tired Anton. Anton had done a 300k Audax the previous day and only arrived home at 2:00am.

We set off soon after 9:00am and headed over the golf course onto Robin Hood Lane where it was tops off. It appears the forecast may be correct. Along the lane we had our first encounter with the Horsham Cycling clones, all in the same tops and similar bikes. We, on the other hand, had a true mixture of blues, reds and black. Our bikes were a tourer, an Audax, a hybrid and two mountain bikes.

Our route took us through Rowhook and Cox Green and then onto Baynards where we saw Horsham Cycling again. We headed off up the downs link, mainly to help getting on to the link in Cranleigh. The two mountain bikers enjoyed this. We then headed over the A281 for a short rest in Dunsfold as we were running early:

After this short break we headed off to the lunch stop, aiming to get there early to look at the canal. While Bob and Norman headed off to explore the towpath Anton decided he needed a rest;

Caption Competition

Bob and Norman returned just in time for the Pub to open late. Barbara very kindly bought Bob, Anton and myself a drink. During lunch we saw Horsham Cycling again and then John C turned up, soon to be followed by John V.

After lunch Bob and Norman headed off along the towpath to meet us at the end of Drungewick Lane. After a short delay, I had expected them to arrive before us, we carried on past the Mucky Duck and the Fox, crossing over the A281 into Rudgwick. We retraced our morning route slightly towards Cox Green. Anton turned off here towards Rowhook and home for a well earned rest.

Capel beckoned but we were a little early so we paused at the duck pond on Weary Street. Rested, we headed for Capel and arrived spot on 15:00 after saying goodbye to Barbara. The cakes and tea were as good as usual.

So it was off home; Bob and the two Johns headed off through Rusper to Crawley and Norman and I returned via Friday Street to Horsham.

Vital statistics:

Cycle computer;
Distance Time moving Average Maximum

42.98 3:47 11.3 mph 30.8 mph


GPS;
Distance Time moving Average Maximum Elapsed
44.3 3:57 11.2 mph 40.3 mph 7:06

Elevation (ft):
Minimum Maximum Ascent
19 436 4,232


Our next ride is a bit of an adventure - meet up with Pete S at Victoria Station at 09:00 hrs or at the western side of The Cutty Sark at 10:15 for a ride down NCN21 from Greenwich to Crawley. This 60 mile ride is almost all on quiet roads and cycle tracks and lunch will be taken at a pub in the North Downs.

The Ashdowner

Half past nine on a Sunday morning, weather warm but overcast, three people meet outside Three Bridges Station: Norman, Barbara and Bob. Idly chatting about this and that, they wait around for 10 minutes or so but no-one else turns up. In a reversal of a previously noted feature of our rides, we have a Crawley start which has a majority of riders from Horsham! Today’s ride would just be a morning ride of approximately 30 miles but with the probability of a few hills to climb and right away we were onto the first as we headed east along Worth Road and then onto the Turners Hill Road. The first mile of this road is more or less level but then it starts its inexorable rise to a summit by the church. Norman either enjoyed the climb or was just plain ecstatic on reaching the crest!!



Worryingly, when we reached the crossroads a sign indicated that the road to West Hoathly was closed – we needed to travel about 100 yards on that road! After a few moments thought I decided to chance it and so we headed down and then up the short sharp climb out of the village, past what was the Punchbowl Inn but what is now an Indian restaurant called Tarana. At Selsfield Common there were more “Road Closed” notices as we took the left fork – this was the 100 yards of road I was talking about – but the road wasn’t actually blocked until immediately after Vowels Lane and Vowels Lane was what we wanted.



This lane is nice and quiet and after the first 100 yards is all down hill! Towards the bottom it goes past the current most northerly station on the Bluebell Railway, Kingscote. Here there were a couple of vintage single decker buses parked up, so I had to stop and take a picture:



What I think was a Battle of Britain class express locomotive was just visible through the trees (Tangmere?) but I couldn’t get a decent photo of it – I hung around just the other side of the bridge in the hope of a shot but no luck. At the next junction we carried on eastwards and up another gradual climb before turning right onto Saint Hill Road. As we stopped for a breather, Norman recognised a friend who had just parked at the same spot. Chatting to him we found out that the Bluebell was having a “Gala” weekend – this means there would be loads of engines in steam and they’d be running past Kingscote and up as far as the current end of the line, just short of the Imberhorne Lane bridge. We also found out that Tornado (the brand new steam locomotive that Jeremy Clakson got dirty in last year) was supposed to have been in steam at the Bluebell as well (it would need to have been transported on a lowloader to the middle of Sussex) but, due to a mechanical problem wasn’t available – shame. By coincidence I was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Tornado on it!

From, here we went down to Saint Hill Green and then enjoyed the rapid descent to the tail of Weirwood reservoir. Here we turned left onto Legsheath Lane which, after an easy start turns into a stiffish climb up into Ashdown Forest. At the crossroad we could see more signs detailing the road closure at West Hoathly (and we could also see the confusion it was causing motorists and motorcyclists).



After the crossroads we took Twyford Lane on the right. This is another pretty lane that always gives an enjoyable ride (north to south it’s downhill) and I thought I’d illustrate this by filming it on my camera. So, there I am, riding one-handed trying to keep the camera steady and level with my right hand and feathering the rear brake with my left hand. Just as my rear brake was starting to make some grumbling sounds I spotted two horses (with riders) coming up the hill in front of me so pulled harder on the rear brake – b*gger! - it locked up so I desperately abandoned my film-making and grabbed a big handful of front brake. That did the trick and I’d managed to regain control without spooking the horses. Note to self: don’t ride downhill in excess of 30 mph single-handed, holding a camera. Looking at the video later it looks like I’m having a crash! At the bottom the road goes through a ford but it was less than an inch deep today. After a double-back sort of junction we crossed a second ford (equally shallow – mind you, it is the same river). And then the short but sharp (I used granny) hill up to Hurstwood Lane. This goes close to Hurstwood Manor where (I believe) Carla Lane of Butterflies fame lives. Chilling Street followed. This is a ridgetop lane with good views of the next ridge with the spire of Highbrook Church featuring prominently. At this point we joined another road for a few hundred yards before turning right to pass the entrance to Horsted Keynes station. The presence of loads of cars on the verges testified to the fact the Gala weekend was on. I was hoping a train would swim into view as we rolled down the lane but my hopes were thwarted. Just to keep us on our toes there’s another short climb here and then, when we reached Hammingden Lane. I stopped and gave my compatriots a choice: we could either turn right and climb up the ridge to go through Highbrook and on to West Hoathly before using Hook Lane and Cob Lane to get to Ardingly (4 miles, two very steep climbs) or we could turn left to Ardingly (1/2 a mile, one small sharp climb). No contest – the risk of having to look at more “Road Closed” and “Diversion” signs at West Hoathly made left the obvious choice!

Once we reached Ardingly we headed west to go past St Peters Church:



From here the road goes steeply downhill to cross the eastern arm of Ardingly reservoir before a steep climb up the other side. Halfway up my chain managed to shift past the big rear cog and jam between the cogs and the spokes! I’d been concerned about the odd noise that had been developing from my rear wheel during the day and this just seemed to confirm something wasn’t right – I suspected a loose cassette and once I’d got the chain back in place, determined to nurse it back home. Fortunately, once we’d conquered West Hill there was just the gradual ascent of Paddockhurst Lane and Back Lane up to Worth Abbey. After here we forked right onto the bridleway at Whitely Hill to cut across to the B2036 Balcombe Road. Here we said goodbye to Norman as he carried on using the bridleway which would take him through the forest and then onto Parish Lane and Pease Pottage for the shortest route back to Horsham. Meanwhile Barabara and I headed north across the M23 and then threaded a quiet route through Maidenbower to finally arrive at Three Bridges Station just before 13:00hrs – exactly as promised!

Next weeks ride starts from Horsham Park Pavilions at 09:00hrs. Mick is leading us on what will be a very pleasant 50 mile route with lunch at the Onslow Arms, Loxwood and an afternoon tea stop at Capel. This will be an absolute corker of a ride if the weather is nice and sunny. I look forward to seeing you all.

DA Picnic - Wisborough Green

After watching a number of TV programmes about bikes and cycling during the week, it was good to get out on my own machine. Just a few hundred yards after I'd started, another cyclist joined the road in front of me. Mounted on a fast road machine and wearing a "Crawley Triathlon" shirt, the other rider looked like he would be faster than me but within fifty yards or so I realised I'd have to overtake him to stay at the pace I needed. As I went past I said good morning and moaned about the wind (natures, not mine). Half a mile later I realised the crafty fellow had latched into my slipstream and was getting a free ride! Hmmmm. What to do? I didn't want to up the pace as I was riding as fast as I wanted, similarly I didn't want to slow down because I was riding as fast as I needed…. I decided to change my route and rather than use the main road to Horsham, I'd use the Forest Road. First thing to do was head for K2 Leisure Centre - I turned left - he only followed me! He was still close on my tail as I took the next right but then I finally managed to lose him - being on a mountain bike, I'm quite happy jumping up and down kerbs and by jumping onto the cycle track to K2 I gained a good 25 yards (during which I put in a short burst of extra speed to completely shake him off).

From K2 it was up Pease Pottage Hill and an encouraging wave from a pedestrian as I neared the top. The traverse of the roundabout was quietly safe and amazingly there was no queue for the car boot sale as I passed the Services. The road through the village has been resurfaced (top-dressed with tar and stones) disguising some of the potholes near the drains. As I passed the entrance to Cottesmore School I indulged in my usual game of trying to sing a steady note whilst going over the ridged yellow lines designed to slow traffic down (not so much rumble strips as yodelling strips?). My singing practice was neatly bracketed by two groups of Horsham Cycling Club riders resplendent in their club uniform and (I fancy) all riding identical bikes. In my mind I was contrasting them with our club uniform of non-uniformity - in apparel, machinery and probably everything else (except our enjoyment of cycling around these parts).
Passing through Colgate there was the usual depressing sight of The Dragon still closed for business - I found myself wondering how much money Hall & Woodhouse made from flogging off/closing so many of the old King & Barnes pubs? Incidentally, what came first - Colgate the village or Colgate the toothpaste?

When riding Forest Road I'm in the habit of putting my rear light on in flash mode and it seemed particularly effective this time as every passing car gave me a lovely wide berth. It's also mainly downhill from Colgate to Horsham so I was rattling along at a good pace - I can't say how fast though because my speedo was covered up by some copies of the Pedaller I had clipped in my map holder.

On arrival at the Pavilions in the Park I was met by Barbara, the ride leader, and Anton. We waited around for a short while but nobody else materialised so Barbara lead us off north out of Horsham and up Langhurstwood Road. The tip was a bit smelly but we were soon past it and onto Friday Street which eventually climbs up to Muggeridge's Hill where we had a short breather before heading on towards Capel. Here we joined the A24 for a few hundred yards before heading further west and then turning south onto Weare Street. There's a no-through road on the right called Vann Lake Road - in aerial views it looks like it might go through to Friday Street in Ockley, I wonder if anyone reading this blog has ever ridden it?

We continued on over the A29 and past The Punchbowl at Okewoodhill before heading south then west to Ellens Green. This was followed by Cox Green and Baynards before going down Cooks Hill, across the A281 and on to The Mucky Duck. Here we turned right onto the Loxwood Road before taking another pretty road, Drungewick Lane, on the left. There's a large house off this lane that I think is owned by some rock star or other - I've no idea who. At the end we turned left and then, a few hundred yards later, right and onto Durbans Road which took us all the way to Wisborough Green. Arriving pretty much bang on time at 12:05, we were surprised to be the first ones there but within a couple of minutes the Bognor and Chichester crew arrived followed some 15 minutes later by the Arun and Adur posse.

We all sat down in the shade of a tree and enjoyed our picnic lunches (washed down with beer/cider by the Horsham and Crawley members). We had interesting conversations on a number of topics but were especially pleased to welcome Dave Galle, admirably aided by his daughter Louise and a couple of their terrier dogs. Dave continues to make progress but feels his recovery has been slowed down a little by some new medication he's been given that has some unfortunate side effects (unfortunately for us, Dave gave us some hints about the side effects!). It looks like it'll be a while before Dave gets back on his bike as his left arm still won't straighten out. Dave also mentioned that the driver had changed his plea to guilty and had ended up being fined a few hundred pounds and having 6 points on his licence. It doesn't seem right - in three years time his licence will be clean again and he'll have forgotten about the money but Dave will probably still not be back to the level he was immediately before being mown down! Mr Van Driver will be free to nobble another one of us and won't have had to undergo any driver training or such - we'd better watch out!

Anyway, it was time to move on and, typically, this was the time I found I'd got a puncture! I quickly swapped to a new inner tube and weathered the minor criticisms of the state of my tyres - yes, they are old, yes, they have seen better days, yes, they do have a lot of nicks and cuts in them. This was offset by the help I received from the same people checking for glass or thorns and pumping my tyre up for me - thanks lads.

The other groups headed off to the south whilst we headed east along Newpound Lane. I briefly popped into Fishers Farm Park to deliver their copy of The Pedaller and then continued past The Bat and Ball before turning right onto the B2133. At the end we turned left and crossed over the canal and the River Arun before heading north up Rowner Road. Barbara and I waited at the junction with Okehurst Lane whilst someone 'watered' a roadside tree, before heading across to the A29 and then on to New Road. We were soon at Barns Green and heading north on Two Mile Ash Road, however, when we got to where it crosses the Downs Link, I left Barbara and Anton to continue on to Horsham because I was heading to Southwater. There I delivered another copy of The Pedaller to Southwater Cycles before I too headed for Horsham.

I was half expecting to catch up with the other two somewhere near The Boars Head (it looks like it's reopened after a refurbishment) but didn't see them, so I made my own way through the centre of Horsham and onwards to an uneventful ride back along the Forest Road to Pease Pottage. I couldn't use my usual route through Tilgate Park as the path along the dam is closed whilst they rebuild it into a much more substantial structure, but I was soon home and knocking back a pint of milk.

Next weeks ride is a morning ride starting from Three Bridges Station at 09:30 hrs and is called The Ashdowner - it will be up to 30 miles long and involve a few hills but should finish back at the station by 13:00hrs at the latest.