John C and Barbara took four new riders to Redhill Aerodrome and back without mishap. Total mileage 22.
Next weeks downhill ride is at Nutbourne road map ref TQ72203, lunch at the Rising Sun.
Sunday, 8 April 2012
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Leith Hill
Just Norman and Bob were out today.
We left Horsham by heading over the golf course and then to Rowhook Hill.
The right fork opposite the brickworks took us on and up to Forest Green where a right then left then right again out us onto a tiny lane that seemed to do almost all of the days climb in one go! Granny was well exercised today!
The track along the ridge to the Tower was dry and hardpacked, so I was OK on my slicks.
Here's a view from the top of the tower:
We each had a cup of tea and piece of cake before continuing along the ridge and then down into the village of Coldharbour. From here we had the fun of the downhill run before crossing the A29 and then the A24 to make our way to Capel and then Newdigate where we stopped at The Six Bells for lunch.
We sat in the sunshine out in the garden and were surprised how few people were lunching at the pub. We had sandwiches and they were absolutley superb - good quality, local bread and fresh, locally sourced fillings. We had a couple of pints of Firkin Fox and they were just right as well. I think this pub is a little gem, come on everyone use it or lose it!
The home run took us straight down the lane to Rusper where Norman headed for Horsham and I headed for Crawley. All in all less than 40 miles (including the ride over to Horsham for the start) and one almighty big hill, on a lovely day for cycling - GREAT!
Next week is our usual second sunday of the month easy ride for Beginners. Starting from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs on Easter Sunday (8th April) it will either be an out and back along the Worth Way or a trip to Redhill Aerodrome on quiet, easy roads. The choice depends on who turns up. See you there.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
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.
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.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Reigate Garden Centre
Blue sky as far as the eye could see – what a glorious spring morning, just perfect for riding a bike. The only negative was the westerly wind, but even though it slowed me down, I still arrived at Horsham Pavilions on time. Waiting for me there were Barbara, Mike, Norman and Pete E. We then waited the customary 10 minutes before setting off. The first part of the route retraced my tracks all the way to Pease Pottage (including a broken set of temporary traffic lights which were permanently indicating red in both directions). Then we were onto Forest Road which was a lot easier to cycle at the beginning of a ride than when I usually tackle it: at the end of a long day.
At Pease Pottage, for the first time ever, I walked my bike down the slope to the road crossing – my brakes had been squeaking and juddering (due to oil contamination on the rims), and I thought it would be safer to walk. The traffic lights have been installed on the crossing although they’re covered up and not yet in use. Once safely over, we took the NCN route down through Broadfield and then through the underpass and onto Southgate Avenue. We followed this as far as the Library and then took a quiet shared use path which skirts the back of Crawley College and leads to Northgate Avenue. The cycle path through the woods alongside the Avenue was very pleasant with clumps of daffodils all around and blossom on many of the trees. Then it was through another underpass and into the Industrial estate. We used the green painted cyclepaths all the way to the Beehive. The next section goes directly under the Gatwick flightpath and is usually quite noisy, but we didn’t have a single plane pass over us today.
Under the terminal building our route was almost completely blocked by some workers erecting some scaffolding but just as I was starting to wonder if we would need to do a detour, Norman hopped up the kerb and led us all safely round the obstruction. Shortly after, on reaching the lake I was amazed to see how much work had been done on clearing the undergrowth from around it. I reckon it will look really good in two or three months time. Using a slightly different route through Horley brought us to the traffic lights by The Air Balloon pub and a rendezvous with Ros. Now there was(were?) five of us and I led us onto Meath Green Lane. This has a nice smooth surface and was an absolute pleasure to ride. It soon turns into Lonesome Lane and, when there weren’t any cars around, this lane was lovely and quiet with lots of birdsong. A quick left/right to cross the A217 and half a mile later we pulled up at Reigate Garden Centre.
John V & John C were already there in the café but there was still plenty of space for us all – as today was Mother’s Day I’d deliberately avoided using a pub for lunch as they tend to get crowded and run with limited menus.
As we chatted and ate our lunch we could see the sky getting darker and more than one of us commented that the forecast was for rain in the afteroon. It was no surprise therefore when we started to feel the odd spot of rain when we were only about a mile or so into the afternoon portion of our ride. For a while we led a charmed existence as a clear and sunny spot seemed to stay above us. But then as we turned south just after Leigh so a shower started. It was cold rain and, whipped along by the wind, felt almost like hail. We sheltered under a tree and Ros put her waterproof jacket on but almost as soon as she finished zipping it up the rain stopped. That was it – even though the grey clouds ebbed and flowed for the rest of the ride, we didn’t get any more rain!
Arriving at Parkgate, we said goodbye to Ros as she was now heading east via Horley, back to East Grinstead. We continued on to Newdigate to emerge opposite the Six Bells pub just as an ambulance was pulling up there – I hope it wasn’t something someone ate as we’re lunching there in a couple of weeks time!!
Although my route plan saw us going over to Capel and then down Weare Street and back to Horsham via Rowhook, the general consensus was that people wanted a more direct route home, so we headed straight to Rusper where I bade farewell and headed back to Crawley leaving the last three to travel the short distance back to Horsham.
After a very pleasant day in the saddle I was back home at about 15:00hrs with a total of 41 miles on my speedo.
Next weeks ride leaves Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and will take us to the Green Man at Horsted Keynes. As with any ride in this direction, there will be a couple of hills but nothing too extreme and the mileage should be somewhere under 40. Don’t forget: the clocks go FORWARD on Saturday night so you’ll have 1 hour less to lie in bed!
At Pease Pottage, for the first time ever, I walked my bike down the slope to the road crossing – my brakes had been squeaking and juddering (due to oil contamination on the rims), and I thought it would be safer to walk. The traffic lights have been installed on the crossing although they’re covered up and not yet in use. Once safely over, we took the NCN route down through Broadfield and then through the underpass and onto Southgate Avenue. We followed this as far as the Library and then took a quiet shared use path which skirts the back of Crawley College and leads to Northgate Avenue. The cycle path through the woods alongside the Avenue was very pleasant with clumps of daffodils all around and blossom on many of the trees. Then it was through another underpass and into the Industrial estate. We used the green painted cyclepaths all the way to the Beehive. The next section goes directly under the Gatwick flightpath and is usually quite noisy, but we didn’t have a single plane pass over us today.
Under the terminal building our route was almost completely blocked by some workers erecting some scaffolding but just as I was starting to wonder if we would need to do a detour, Norman hopped up the kerb and led us all safely round the obstruction. Shortly after, on reaching the lake I was amazed to see how much work had been done on clearing the undergrowth from around it. I reckon it will look really good in two or three months time. Using a slightly different route through Horley brought us to the traffic lights by The Air Balloon pub and a rendezvous with Ros. Now there was(were?) five of us and I led us onto Meath Green Lane. This has a nice smooth surface and was an absolute pleasure to ride. It soon turns into Lonesome Lane and, when there weren’t any cars around, this lane was lovely and quiet with lots of birdsong. A quick left/right to cross the A217 and half a mile later we pulled up at Reigate Garden Centre.
John V & John C were already there in the café but there was still plenty of space for us all – as today was Mother’s Day I’d deliberately avoided using a pub for lunch as they tend to get crowded and run with limited menus.
As we chatted and ate our lunch we could see the sky getting darker and more than one of us commented that the forecast was for rain in the afteroon. It was no surprise therefore when we started to feel the odd spot of rain when we were only about a mile or so into the afternoon portion of our ride. For a while we led a charmed existence as a clear and sunny spot seemed to stay above us. But then as we turned south just after Leigh so a shower started. It was cold rain and, whipped along by the wind, felt almost like hail. We sheltered under a tree and Ros put her waterproof jacket on but almost as soon as she finished zipping it up the rain stopped. That was it – even though the grey clouds ebbed and flowed for the rest of the ride, we didn’t get any more rain!
Arriving at Parkgate, we said goodbye to Ros as she was now heading east via Horley, back to East Grinstead. We continued on to Newdigate to emerge opposite the Six Bells pub just as an ambulance was pulling up there – I hope it wasn’t something someone ate as we’re lunching there in a couple of weeks time!!
Although my route plan saw us going over to Capel and then down Weare Street and back to Horsham via Rowhook, the general consensus was that people wanted a more direct route home, so we headed straight to Rusper where I bade farewell and headed back to Crawley leaving the last three to travel the short distance back to Horsham.
After a very pleasant day in the saddle I was back home at about 15:00hrs with a total of 41 miles on my speedo.
Next weeks ride leaves Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and will take us to the Green Man at Horsted Keynes. As with any ride in this direction, there will be a couple of hills but nothing too extreme and the mileage should be somewhere under 40. Don’t forget: the clocks go FORWARD on Saturday night so you’ll have 1 hour less to lie in bed!
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Easy Ride to East Grinstead
Photo from the start:
It was basically a lovely trip all round! Eight people at the start by Three Bridges station including three people who hadn’t ridden with us before. So welcome to Val, Michael and Gordon – we hope that you enjoyed yourselves and that we will see you again.
As we always do what it says on the tin, we headed off, just after ten, along the Worth Way in pleasant early spring sunshine. We took it very easy and took some stops, including a master-class in gear maintenance from our top mechanic, Bob, eventually arriving in East Grinstead, having admired Rowfant station, Crawley Down (?!) and Gulledge house along the way.
Work has commenced on the new station and temporary fencing has been put alongside the steps preventing us wheeling bikes along the groove at the side. This wasn’t really a problem for the solos (singles), but Marian and I had to take care with our tandem.
Arriving at the Blue bird café we enjoyed a nice break. In some cases with cake! And then reversed our route to Crawley. Some people were quite surprised to find that the whole route
was completely flat, with long downhill freewheels all the way back to Crawley, as promised by the Leader! (Yes, it’s true.) Arriving back in Crawley after about two and a quarter hours we all went our separate ways. For those that care about these things, we had covered 17.47 miles in total. All easy.
Hope to see you soon, now that the good weather is back – go on, you know that you want to!
And an early date for your diaries – this year’s Crawley Family Bike Ride will be on Sunday 24th June; we are planning to start at Oriel School at 10.00 in Maidenbower and do a round trip to Nyman’s gardens and back. Over fifty riders took part last year. Full details will be on our website nearer the time so do check back.
Next weeks ride starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 10:00 hrs and will head to Reigate Garden Centre and should be a fairly easy three and a half hour ride (plus lunch!).
It was basically a lovely trip all round! Eight people at the start by Three Bridges station including three people who hadn’t ridden with us before. So welcome to Val, Michael and Gordon – we hope that you enjoyed yourselves and that we will see you again.
As we always do what it says on the tin, we headed off, just after ten, along the Worth Way in pleasant early spring sunshine. We took it very easy and took some stops, including a master-class in gear maintenance from our top mechanic, Bob, eventually arriving in East Grinstead, having admired Rowfant station, Crawley Down (?!) and Gulledge house along the way.
Work has commenced on the new station and temporary fencing has been put alongside the steps preventing us wheeling bikes along the groove at the side. This wasn’t really a problem for the solos (singles), but Marian and I had to take care with our tandem.
Arriving at the Blue bird café we enjoyed a nice break. In some cases with cake! And then reversed our route to Crawley. Some people were quite surprised to find that the whole route
was completely flat, with long downhill freewheels all the way back to Crawley, as promised by the Leader! (Yes, it’s true.) Arriving back in Crawley after about two and a quarter hours we all went our separate ways. For those that care about these things, we had covered 17.47 miles in total. All easy.
Hope to see you soon, now that the good weather is back – go on, you know that you want to!
And an early date for your diaries – this year’s Crawley Family Bike Ride will be on Sunday 24th June; we are planning to start at Oriel School at 10.00 in Maidenbower and do a round trip to Nyman’s gardens and back. Over fifty riders took part last year. Full details will be on our website nearer the time so do check back.
Next weeks ride starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 10:00 hrs and will head to Reigate Garden Centre and should be a fairly easy three and a half hour ride (plus lunch!).
Sunday, 4 March 2012
CTC Fairtrade Bike Ride
I was approached by John Cooper from Fairtrade Horsham some months ago to help organize a cycling event in the middle of Fairtrade fortnight. March 3rd seemed a long way off and with the weather being so glorious for the last week I was feeling pretty optimistic about the day. When it started raining just after 9 this morning I must confess that optimism faded somewhat.
However as the departure time approached it stopped raining and several riders assembled at Esquires coffee shop ready for the challenge. There were 11 of us in all, a nice sized group; big enough to get noticed, but easy for us all to keep together.
Before the ride started a reporter from The County Times came along and took a group photo and then we were ready for the off. We headed out of town along North Parade and then crossed over Rookwood Golf Course. Even in that weather there were quite a few golfers out. Having dodged the golf balls we continued up Robin Hood Lane to Broadbridge Heath. After passing through the village we then ventured across the roundabout past Newbridge Nurseries. We had a bit of a set-back when we came across some roadworks with traffic lights, but nobody seemed phased by it and we were soon on the quieter roads heading to Christs Hospital. A couple of riders seemed disappointed that we didn’t go up the hill to Itchingfield!
After riding through Christs Hospital we turned onto Towere Hill for the steady climb up to just above the Boars Head. From there it was plain sailing downhill back to Horsham.
I would like to thank all those who turned up in spite of the weather to take part in the event. I really appreciate the support and hope to see everyone again.
Next weeks ride will be an easy one suitable for all cycling abilities. It will start from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and take no more than a couple of hours.
However as the departure time approached it stopped raining and several riders assembled at Esquires coffee shop ready for the challenge. There were 11 of us in all, a nice sized group; big enough to get noticed, but easy for us all to keep together.
Before the ride started a reporter from The County Times came along and took a group photo and then we were ready for the off. We headed out of town along North Parade and then crossed over Rookwood Golf Course. Even in that weather there were quite a few golfers out. Having dodged the golf balls we continued up Robin Hood Lane to Broadbridge Heath. After passing through the village we then ventured across the roundabout past Newbridge Nurseries. We had a bit of a set-back when we came across some roadworks with traffic lights, but nobody seemed phased by it and we were soon on the quieter roads heading to Christs Hospital. A couple of riders seemed disappointed that we didn’t go up the hill to Itchingfield!
After riding through Christs Hospital we turned onto Towere Hill for the steady climb up to just above the Boars Head. From there it was plain sailing downhill back to Horsham.
I would like to thank all those who turned up in spite of the weather to take part in the event. I really appreciate the support and hope to see everyone again.
Next weeks ride will be an easy one suitable for all cycling abilities. It will start from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and take no more than a couple of hours.
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