Autumn Tints

I arrived at Horsham Pavilions in the Park to find John C, Jeet and Anton waiting for me. We hung around until 10:10 before setting off. When I volunteered to lead this ride (some months back) I thought “Late October? Autumn will be well underway and all the leaves will have changed colour”. Hence the ride title of Autumn Tints. However, the seasons seem a little late this year and most of the trees are still mainly green!



My plan was to do a thirty mile loop to the south and west of Horsham, so we set off along Park street and then Queen Street and the Brighton Road. After passing the Silver Wok we turned right onto Kerves Lane. This initially heads downhill before suddenly rearing up into the short sharp climb that is the wooded Hard’s Hill. Whilst still getting our breath back, we headed left onto Coltstaple Lane and then down onto Broadwater Lane. Last year some major engineering works occurred in the fields alongside this lane – I believe it was the installation of a main water pipeline. Unfortunately I’ve no idea where it was going to or from!

Emerging near the building site that was The Bridge Inn at Copsale, we turned left again and headed across to Maplehurst. From here we turned south and endured the two short and never pleasurable climbs on the way to the A272. Spurning the chance of a breather, the boys opted to carry on – we could have had a cuppa in the Bistro at the Camellia Botnar Garden Centre (open 10 til 4 on Sunday) - and a few minutes later we’d passed through Littleworth and Partridge Green to emerge on the A281 at Shermanbury. I had considered using the bridleway through the Shermanbury Estate, but looking at my fellow riders I decided to stick to the tarmac. So it was south along the A281 before heading east on the B2116. A place called Prairie Farm (or something like that) was advertising that it’s gardens were open to the public. Perhaps their gardens were full of “Autumn Tints”? Anyway, perhaps I was thinking too much about things like that because at the next junction I wandered off my planned route. We headed north up through Wineham, over the A272 and onto Spronketts Lane – I’d intended heading further east before turning north and using Bolney Chapel Road and Foxhole Lane. Both routes have some climbing to do – the one we took climbs gradually for a couple of miles before a downhill and then a small beast of a climb into Warninglid. My intended route also has ups and downs but, in keeping with the ride theme, goes through some woodland that I had hoped would be full of autumnal shades – we’ll never know!

From Warninglid we took the Cuckfield Road and crossed the A23 on the flyover before curling down to the left and taking Staplefield Road. In full sun and with a bright blue sky, this was very pleasant riding and we’d soon managed the slight gradient to emerge at Staplefield and the lunch halt, The Victory Inn. Although only two tables were occupied, there was apparently no room at the Inn, so we ordered our food and then went back outside with our beers to sit in the sunshine. The only trouble was that, now we’d stopped cycling, we could feel the wind – and it was quite keen! Still, we’re hardy fellows and we stuck it out. One of the ales on tap was called “Tea” so if stopped by a policeman I could honestly say I only drank a pint of tea with my dinner! The menu had hot meals and sandwiches available and when our sandwiches arrived they were very pleasant (served with a nice fresh salad and crisps). Anton’s bowl of chips was the best bit though – they warmed our fingers up a treat! As soon as we’d finished eating we set off again – we needed the exercise to warm us up. Shortest route home was the order of the day so I led us west across to Slaugham (loads of cars there as usual), past Slaugham pond



and on to the crossroads by the Wheatsheaf where the back garden looked a lot warmer than where we’d just been sat for an hour…..

Onto Hammerpond Road and a quick thrash down the hill and over the dam before standing on the pedals to crank up Buckshead Hill. Here we split into two – Anton and Jeet to carry on along Hammerpond Road all the way back to Horsham, John & myself to use Grouse Road up to Pease Pottage and thence Crawley.




I was back home by about 14:30 having led a very pleasant 30 mile ride (plus the 9 miles to get to the start) and by 15:30 I was having a snooze in my armchair.

Next weeks ride is a Morning Ride starting from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs. This ride will be suitable for ALL types of rider, members and non-members and will be led by Pete S.


Two things to note however:

1) it’s Halloween!!!!!
2) the clocks will have changed overnight – don’t get there too early!!!!

The Plough at Leigh

‘Twas the night before the bike ride and all through the house no creature was stirring, not even a mouse. . . . Whoops! I’d better work out a route for the morning…
Anton was supposed to be leading the ride but he’d sent me a text on Saturday afternoon to say that he’d had a crash and asking could I lead instead. Concerned, I quizzed him and found that, apart from a bit of road rash he was OK but he’d folded his back wheel , damaged his handlebars and scratched various other bits on his bike. His helmet had suffered abrasion but not impact damage and his head was unscathed. Apparently he’d come off towards the bottom of Cob Lane near Ardingly – just before the steep climb – and slid along the road for a good few yards!
So, at about midnight, instead of climbing into my nice comfortable bed, I was firing up Google maps and thinking up a route to take us on a 40 mile loop with The Plough at Leigh as a lunch stop. I decided I would do an anti-clockwise loop and take in a road called Haroldslea in Horley that goes past an old moat (and site of a castle I believe). I had to plot it as a walking route as a couple of parts were on cyclepaths and bridleways, but after a while I was happy and had printed off my route instructions ready for the 10 o’clock start.
Next morning, on arriving at Three Bridges Station, I was met by John C and Barbara. A minute or so later Anton arrived by car, brandishing a very bent rear wheel in one hand and a set of route instructions in the other – I hadn’t needed to be up so late knocking a route plan up. Oh bother! As he told us about his accident and explained his route to me, John V arrived so there were now seven people riding.
Anton’s route was more or less the opposite to what I’d planned and would take us in a clockwise loop. First off, we picked up NCN20 and followed it through Furnace Green. On the way my phone rang - it was Pete S asking where we were! He, Frank and Pat were all at Horsham Park Pavilion wondering when the ride leader would turn up! I arranged to meet them at Colgate and continued on through Tilgate to K2. Then it was up Pease Pottage Hill and on through Pease Pottage on the Forest Road to Colgate. The pub is still closed but the sign is still there:



Bang on cue, Pete, Frank and Pat turned up and so, taking the road opposite the pub, we sped down to and crossed the A264 into Faygate before climbing up the ridge and left onto Wimlands Lane. Wimland Road then took us nearly to Rusper where we headed south then turned west onto Green Lane. The weather was nice and sunny, as can be seen in this picture taken against the light:



Friday Street took us on past the pub and up to Muggeridge’s Hill – guess what the name of the pub is?



Reaching Capel we glided through the village and left on Vicarage Lane which becomes Misbrooks Green Road as it passes Temple Lane. I was recently reading a history of Sussex and in a chapter about the history of non-conformism in the area, it mentioned there was a Quaker meeting house down that lane – strange in that the Quakers are not into things like temples and cathedrals or even elaborate chuches. At this point we were following part of last weeks route, but at Newdigate we diverged and headed north northwest on Henfold Lane. We were heading for the furthest point on the loop, a lane that Anton assured me was really good but just two miles short of it the troops were getting restless and pointed out that we were late for lunch. I decided to take a short cut and we turned right onto Red Lane. This became Brockenhurst Lane and at the end Pete advised we needed to turn right (then first left) to get to Leigh. Most of us followed this route but the two Johns opted for a quieter but longer route to the north. Two miles later, in bright sunshine, we pulled up at The Plough in Leigh.

The car park was full of vintage sports cars – MG’s, Austin-Healeys, Sprites etc.so I was worried we’d struggle to find somewhere to sit and would wait ages to get served but, having said goodbye to the two Johns and Pete who were all heading straight back to Crawley, when I got to the bar I was served straight away and got my food order in with no bother. Barbara and I sat out in the sheltered patio area where we’d parked the bikes, soaking up the sun whilst Frank and Pat decided to find a table indoors as they were going to have a full roast dinner – roast dinners don’t really lend themselves to alfresco dining.

Our sandwiches took a while to come out – as you can see, order number 48 has not yet been delivered but I’ve already finished my pint!



Whilst waiting, I strolled around looking at some of the cars and taking pictures:

Once we’d finished our sandwiches (and a second pint), we were ready to go, however, Frank and Pat had only just been served. They were quite happy for us to go ahead of them and they could make their own way home, so off we set. We headed south along Smalls Hill Lane, then straight over the crossroad by The Fox Revived and then on down into Charlwood. From here we took the Ifield Road and, contrary to Anton’s route plan, we didn’t take Prestwood Lane, the Mount and Burntwood Lane but used Ifield Wood (Bonwycks Lane) instead. On reaching the Rusper Road, Barbara turned right to go up to Rusper and then back into Horsham. Meanwhile I turned left and went back home via Ifield and Goffs Park.

Next weeks ride starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park at 10:00 hrs and is entitled Autumn Tints. It’s a relatively short ride of about 30 miles although there will be a couple of hills.

The Three Horseshoes

A Horsham start at 10:00hrs with me as ride leader, so I only had time for a short lie-in before changing my wheels and hitting the road. The weather was still warm enough to ride in shorts but there was sufficient chill in the air to warrant a warm top. The roads through Furnace Green and Tilgate were quiet as was the climb up Pease Pottage Hill and I was nice and relaxed as I cycled into the village. Five yards short of the sharp left hand bend there, someone in a people carrier decided to overtake me just as a contingent of Horsham Cyclists came the other way – when I say “overtake” I really mean “ignore my existence and nearly wipe me out”! Shocked, I failed to make a note of the registration and can only vaguely recall the vehicle as being dark blue and of French manufacture. This got me thinking – perhaps we could start naming and shaming bad drivers - I think there’s a West Sussex Police website for this, but it would need us to remember the registration, so I failed on that count!

It’s funny how, when you’re busy thinking about stuff, the miles can just fly by and so just a few minutes later I arrived at Horsham Pavilions in the Park. Looking at the bikes parked outside, I could only see one I recognised – Anton’s rather excellent titanium framed Enigma. A couple of minutes later Barbara and Norman arrived although Barbara would not be joining us on the ride – she was in the process of delivering the latest copy of The Pedaller to our Horsham members and was taking the opportunity to drop off the copies for the Crawley members to me.

We waited until 10 past 10 but no-one else turned up, so just the three of us set off. We used the usual route westwards out of Horsham – over the golf course, under the A24 and out onto Robin Hood Lane. We turned into Byfleet Lane then Strood Lane before a short stretch of the A281 and A29 followed by the climb up Rowhook Road. We made the usual stop outside the Chequers Inn to get our breath back before carrying on up Horsham Road and then onto Honeywood Lane. Immediately after the Punchbowl Inn we turned right, down the hill and then over the A29 and onto Weare Street. As we made our way along Weare Street, we still couldn’t see the aeroplane that’s visible on Google maps:



As we progressed up this normally quiet lane there was a veritable traffic jam – a horse and rider complete with two large dogs was going up the lane and two more horses and riders were coming down! We carefully threaded between them and carried on. Arriving at Coles Lane we turned right to go past Ockley Station and over the A24 to Capel. Not much further to go now, we headed east along Vicarage Lane, north along Misbrooks Green Lane, east along Trig Street and then Kingsland into Newdigate. From here we went past the Surrey Oaks at Parkgate, along Broad Lane and Clayhill Lane before arriving at Leigh. How do you pronounce Leigh? Lee or Lie – I go for the latter.

Heading south for short while along Smalls Hill Road we held the traffic up slightly as we went up the hill and then after the short downhill we turned left onto Dean Oak Lane. This was pleasant and easy riding on a nice, bright if slightly breezy day and we soon turned left into Ironsbottom and arrived at the Three Horseshoes Inn. This ride was originally arranged by Mick and on entering the pub they were expecting us and we were shown to a reserved table. The beer and cider was well kept and very enjoyable and there was a good choice of food which was quickly prepared, tasty and moderately priced. Although most of the tables were reserved, the pub didn’t really start filling up until about 1 pm – just as we were leaving.

We headed south, back down Ironsbottom and then turned right onto Collendean Lane which brought us to the Norwood Hill crossroads where a left turn gave us a nice downhill run with a good view of Gatwick Airport. After passing through Charlwood and heading out on the Ifield Road we had another good view of the runway at Gatwick.

Rather than take the first right onto Prestwood Lane and the climb up The Mount, we took the second onto Ifield Wood. The Rusper Road then took us past the venue for our Christmas dinner this year, The Gate, and Lambs Green Road took us past the venue for one of our previous Christmas dinners, The Lamb. Faygate Lane then took us on the climb up to Wimlands Lane which in turn took us west along the ridge. A nice fast blast down Wimland Hill was only marginally spoilt by a car coming up the hill. We then stopped by The Frog and Nightgown where we spotted this traction engine:



Here’s another shot to show the true scale:



After this we crossed the A264 and headed into Horsham via Roffey to arrive back at our start point, Horsham Pavilions in the Park.

Our next ride, on Sunday 17th October, takes us to The Plough at Leigh. It starts from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and will be lead by Anton.

Members should have received the latest copy of The Pedaller by now and with it a reminder that our AGM is coming up on Thursday 21st October at Broadbridge Heath Village Centre at 20:00hrs. Please come along, it’s a friendly meeting and helps ensure your club reflects your requirements.

Beginners Ride

Well it was always going to be a long shot, but when I heard the weather forecast I wondered if anyone at all would turn up, let alone new/novice riders! But I had underestimated the hardiness of our member group and so was greeted by four smiling faces at Three Bridges at 10 - Barbara, Norman, Bob and Marian. As this was an easy ride, we elected to head north east via Old Hollow to Copthorne and then, skirting Smallfield, to Outwood via the slightly non-flat Hornecourt Hill. Some people seemed to think that a hill like this should not be included on an easy ride – well, what do they know! Passing Outwood Windmill, the oldest working windmill in Britain – not working when we passed (http://www.outwoodwindmill.co.uk/) – we crossed over alongside Outwood Common. It appears that volunteers have been clearing some of the common on the corner and I think that it will look great next spring. Then along the gentle descent past Outwood Church to turn right along Coopers hill road we reached the M23 flyover and turned left to Redhill Aerodrome and the warm welcome of its café. It is always pleasing to see lots of customers there, even though there did not appear to be any flying this Sunday, and they do good toasted tea-cakes and rock-buns. By this time the rain had decided to set in and so we set off with resolve, to follow the NCN21 through the new housing estate in Horley to Gatwick South Terminal, admiring the new surface, courtesy of Surrey County Council, on the way. Our Horsham friends caught the train from here, while the Crawley crew delivered Bob safely to his door.
Not the best weather, but a couple of hours exercise, in the fresh air, in good company – what could be better!? Do come and see for yourself at our next beginners ride on Sunday 31st October. Meet at 10.00 at Three Bridges station and home by lunchtime. (NB: clocks change night of 30/31 October).
Peter

Our next Sunday ride is October 10th and starts from Horsham Park Pavilions at 10:00hrs. It will take a 21 mile clockwise loop north and east to stop for lunch at the Three Horseshoes Inn at Ironsbottom. The return will be a more direct 16 miles south and west via Charlwood and Lambs Green. We'll be riding, whatever the weather, so come and join us.

Brighton (and back)

We had a fairly strong and slightly chilly south westerly wind as we headed south from Three Bridges. But once the six of us had reached Turners Hill the route was predominantly downhill to Ditchling, and so the wind did not worry us too much. Of course the climb of the Beacon went at a fairly slow pace, in fact a speed where the wind’s effects were negligible and so it was only as we headed across the top of the Downs after reaching the summit of the Beacon that we really noticed how strong it was, having to work a little harder than is usual for this stretch. But we had been fortified by tea-cakes and a variety of cakes in the excellent and friendly Café at Ditchling first, so we all had plenty of energy. We bid goodbye to John C at Ditchling as he had to return home (after the tea-cake!). Nonetheless, some had to commence replenishment at the top of the Beacon, however, by starting on ice creams!

It was a lovely day to be on the Downs with good views and we could see the new stadium at Falmer for the first time – it seems quite large but is hidden relatively unobtrusively quite low down.
Once across the Downs we swooped down to the pier via Fiveways and certain parties did their best to get the speed camera to go off! No prizes for guessing who. A very pleasant lunch was had at the Brighton smoke house by the beach; some even found a place to buy a beer to go with it, while I had orange juice (what was wrong with me?!).

One rider decided to return via train – a very efficient 25 minutes to Three Bridges and a few minutes longer to Horsham – a morning ride for lunch at the sea-side of only 30 miles, in good weather and good company – how good is that! (It doesn’t get much better than that????)
The remaining four set off westwards along the front towards Hove and then followed NCR82 north towards the top of the Downs by the golf club at Devils Dyke. This is quite a steady climb in parts, following the line of the old railway to the Dyke, but the views of sea and Downs are good. The route at the beginning has been improved as part of the ‘Brighton Cycling Town’ activity – we are planning to see if we can make Crawley a ‘Cycling Town’; hopefully this will accrue similar benefits for us if we can achieve it.

On reaching the Golf Club we headed downhill stopping only to enjoy the exceptional views over Devils Dyke, Fulking and the Sussex weald, and then via Newtimber to reach the NCR20 alongside the A23. This is mostly a great route as it follows the old A23 – this is a little wide for a cycle route (!), but has good surfaces – although it deteriorates a little during the sections where you actually ride alongside the (M)A23. And, of course, there is a fair amount of climbing to reach Staplefield/Handcross. But we arrived at the Victory, Staplefield for 15.45 and had glass of Doom Bar, before Norman headed back to Horsham via the hammer ponds and the remaining three Crawley people slogged up to Handcross and then home.
A nice day – we left Three Bridges at 09.00 and arrived back at 16.30 having completed 56 miles. We hope that you will consider joining us next time.



Note: we have scheduled two morning rides starting at Three Bridges at 10.00 designed specially for novice/beginner/uncertain (!) riders. These are configured for people who are not used to riding any distance and/or are worried about their speed or level of fitness, and so will be relatively short and easy. The route will be decided on the day, depending on who arrives. But typically we will ride along the Worth Way to East Grinstead, or Hartfield and back, or perhaps go north to Redhill aerodrome for coffee. Probably we will loop around to the vicinity of The Gate in Ifield towards mid-day. It’s up to you!
So please join us – start at 10.00 from Three Bridges station – return to Crawley by 12.30. Dates are Sunday 3rd October and Sunday 31st October.

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.