Not much to report this week but another dry ride will give us all
hope that we can get some good rides in for September....

===

RIDE REPORT
Croydon's Bridleways 02/09/07

12 riders started at the library for a ride that ventured into
Croydon's green areas. It was quiet streets all the way into Croydon
before the first bit of off-road on the path to the wilder part of
Lloyd Park. This area is home to a Frisbee golf course and if you look
hard enough, you'll see the funny baskets with chains on to catch the
frisbees. The park then opens out into fields before you reach Oaks
Lane, a track that leads past Coombe Farm and out onto Oaks Road for
the morning stop at the Pond Tea Rooms. It's set in nice gardens but
it's a bit pricey. The 13th rider joined us here.

Straight out of the cafe is Conduit Lane, a bridleway with a steep
slope at the end which has recently acquired a lot of loose gravel,
which is a nuisance. A couple of residential roads leads you to the
bridleway through Croham Hurst. It's been a popular Croydon beauty
spot for years. There is even evidence of Stone Age man living on top
of Breakneck Hill. Unfortunately, this bridleway had also acquired a
lot of loose gravel that brought most people to a halt.

A shortcut through Selsden Park hotel brings you out at the top of the
hill on the Old Farleigh Road where at least one rider reported
downhill speeds of over 40mph before turning off into Kingswood Lane
for more off-road riding. At the end, the ride turned towards Crewes
Lane but the difficult surface on this track threw the leader off so
the rest chose to walk.

Lunch was at the Harrow Inn. It was busy inside but we sat outside
where the sun regularly darted behind the clouds. After a good rest,
we went down bridleways towards Chelsham Common and then Farleigh
church. They were just opening up for afternoon teas, so we went into
the church for a look round, but declined their invitation for tea and
headed on. We turned right into Farleigh Court Rd and then left at
Little Farleigh Green onto another bridleway to go down to Featherbed
Lane where a couple of riders peeled off.

At the bottom of the long descent, we went into Addiscombe Palace's
grounds and up the steep hill onto Bishops Walk, probably the most
exclusive road in Croydon. No one was sure which house Ian Wright
lives in but he's probably not the only celebrity living there. Ronnie
Corbett used to live around the corner.

After Bishops Walk, it was straight onto the Addiscombe Hills to the
viewpoint. It wasn't a perfectly clear day but we could clearly see
the Dome, the Canary Wharf tower, the Gherkin, Natwest Tower, Telecom
Tower, 2 x Crystal Palace masts, St. Helier hospital and possibly the
long ridge in the distance was the Chilterns (about 40miles away!).

We then went down Shirley Hills Road and left into Postmill Close to
the Shirley windmill, the proposed afternoon stop. We got on a tour
of the windmill immediately (tours are free, but they hope you'll make
a donation afterwards) with a couple of people who were already
waiting , starting at 3.15pm. No one realised the tours lasted so
long (5 sneaked out at about 4pm to get refreshments, the remainder
stayed to the end at 4.20pm - more than an hour)

Every off-road section seemed quite dry, but they all had one patch
which was muddy?! This could have been called a golf course ride. We
went through the middle of Croham Hurst GC, didn't see any of Selsdon
Park Hotel's GC (though we could have done if that had been our
theme?!), saw Farleigh Court GC, the two Addington Court GCs (either
side of Featherbed Lane), Addington Palace GC and Addington GC (either
side of Bishops Walk), and didn't see Shirley Park GC as we skipped
Oaks Lane on the way back because we were running late. That would
have been 8 golf courses!

28 miles, out for 8 hours. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157601826147427
or
http://tinyurl.com/2ty59w

===

LONDON FREEWHEEL

There are now 25000 signed up for this event. Check the official
website at http://www.londonfreewheel.com

LCC are asking for volunteers to help out. We have our own ride going
there and we aim to miss most of the congestion to make the most of
the traffic-free roads. But if you want to help, let me know and I'll
put you in touch with LCC.

===

Those with eagle-eyes will also notice that the Sept 30th ride on the
website has been changed from a trip to the Sportsman at Mogador to a
ride to Reigate Hill viewpoint. It means changing the route slightly
but the Sportsman is just too over-priced for a lunch stop. However,
we'll be riding one of the best bits of the North Downs Way so that
will more than make up for it!

Next week you can choose from a short ride with Ross to Crystal Palace
Park to watch the Tour Of Britain prologue, via the Horniman Museum or
a train-assisted ride with Susie from Central London CTC. Details on
the website.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk