The Green Man at Horsted Keynes

I rated this ride as Easy/Medium on the runs list because it would be easy in terms of mileage but medium because there would be some hills - you just can't avoid hills if you go south of Crawley. After the wet and miserable weather of recent, it was a pleasant surprise to wake up to a nice sunny day, albeit a tad nippy. The sun brought out four other riders - John C, Val, Michael and Norman.

I avoided the Pease Pottage climb and didn't use the Turners Hill one because I don't like it. Instead I led everyone through Maidenbower and then up the Balcombe Road as far as the bridleway which took us east to Whiteways Lodge. From there we headed on through Worth Abbey before turning south into Back Lane. This lane gave us a nice two mile plus, generally downhill, quiet, run before launching us steeply down to the reservoir. There was a lot of water running down the sides of the road and at the bottom it was obvious that the road had recently been completely flooded. It was clear enough for us to get through though and then we had the second climb of the day. There was a lot of clear running water cascading down and in some places, across, the road.

Having reached Ardingly we turned right onto the Lindfield road for another downhill run which continued as we turned left and then right and up to Horsted Keynes railway station on the Bluebell Railway. The railway station is over a mile away from the village which gives it its name and is the location of our lunch stop. However, we'd made good time so we stopped on the way into the village  in a sun trap of a spot with a convenient bench. 

As the pub was about to open, we got going again and covered the last few hundred yards to the Green Man. As we locked up our bikes Anton arrived and as we settled down inside the pub with our beers, Pat and Frank turned up. Not bad - eight cyclists out on a cold January day!. We spent a pleasant hour eating and drinking as well as discussing future rides and some facets of a planned end-to-end ride Anton, Norman and myself will tackle in 2016. 

The homeward route took us east then north away from Horsted Keynes then, near Birchgrove (where Harold Macmillan used to I've), I tried to take a debris strewn downhill corner too fast and ran out of road! Luckily I got away with it and managed to regain the tarmac without falling off :-)  Next, one of my favourite lanes took us through a ford and then presented us with a short sharp climb. Continuing north the next Lane took us gradually up as did the following lane, which is called Chilling Street. At the top of the street we turned left and headed through Sharpthorne then West Hoathly and on to Turners Hill. This meant that the last few miles of the ride were all pretty much downhill.

Getting back to Three Bridges station I could see that we'd only covered 24 miles - although Norman reckoned we'd climbed something like 20 hills!

Our next ride should be a bit flatter. Michael will be leading us from Horsham Pavilion in the Park at 10:00 hrs and take us to lunch at either Kirdford or Barns Green - depending on who turns up. It's rated as an easy ride and should only be about 30 miles - sounds enjoyable to me, perhaps I'll see you there.

North and West of Crawley

The first ride of 2014 was preceded by the news that two of our riders had fallen off their bikes in recent days. One due to ice and the other due to a pothole. Both riders are recovering but won't be riding for a few weeks yet. Get well soon gents.

Weather wise we were lucky to have a nice clear day. There had been a light frost but with a 10:00 hrs start all the roads were ice free. part from myself, today's riders were Barbara, Val, Frank and Gordon. 

I'd produced a nice easy and relatively flat route which took us up NCN21 through Gatwick and then out of Horley via Meath Green Lane/Lonesome Lane. We took the bridleway across to the A 217 then headed south to Black Corner where we forked right towards Ironsbottom. From there we headed to Charlwood then Russ Hill and finally Rusper. We were the only people in the pub for about half an hour and our food arrived really quickly.

The weather forecast suggested rain in the mid afternoon so we headed straight back home from the pub

Mince Pie Ride

We had a very pleasant post-Christmas ride.

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

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

Rendezvous Ride

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

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

Christmas Dinner

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

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

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

Mince pies at Gordon's

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

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

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

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

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

The Plough at Leigh

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

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

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