RIDE REPORT

NORTH DOWNS WAY 30/09/07

No new people at the library on this fine autumn day, despite 40,000
people loving every minute of last week's mass ride around Central
London. We need to try and attract some of those who have no idea that
cycling can be enjoyable every week if you know the right routes. Even
our route down to Carshalton going over Mitcham Common and along the
Wandle Trail is thoroughly enjoyable, taking in some lovely views and
we're barely a mile from Pollards Hill at that point.

The rider numbers fluctuated at the Oaks Park morning stop with one
departing and two joining, leaving ten to ride along the lanes to the
Reigate Hill viewpoint. The hill after the park is a bit tougher after
a stop so we re-grouped by our favourite village sign, the carved
cedar tree at Woodmansterne and took a group decision on whether to
ride up the long slog of How Lane or to extend the ride past The Mint
but face the shorter but steeper climb back up the Chipstead Valley.
The latter won out and that gave us a chance to fly downhill on Park
Downs before the climb back up.

Once back up the valley, it's a fairly flat road all the way to the
A217 / M25 motorway roundabout. That's a fast dual carriageway but by
riding in a group, we were perfectly safe in amongst the cars as we
rode over the motorway and into the viewpoint at Reigate Hill. It's a
busy spot with lots of cars parked up but that's no surprise when you
see the view.

The refreshments kiosk is fairly basic but not too bad. Sandwiches
have inventive modern fillings on Italian breads as well as the old
staple - a bacon sandwich. We sat on the benches admiring the view
until something in the valley caught fire and the sky filled with
black smoke.

There's another short climb onto the North Downs Way just after the
viewpoint but once at the top, you're rewarded with more views. We
stopped at the newly re-opened Reigate Fort which puzzled us at first
until we noticed the information board that we had missed on the way
in, explaining that it was built in the 1890s to provide storage for
equipment and munitions to help protect London from a possible French
invasion.

Just along from the fort is the Inglis Memorial, a stone shelter
donated to the local borough by Lieutenant Colonel Inglis in 1909. It
was originally a drinking fountain but now houses a direction
indicator. Trees and shrubs used to obscure the view but a programme
of clearance took place only a couple of years ago leaving a beautiful
prospect towards the South Downs. We stopped off to enjoy the view
before continuing along the North Downs Way, past some relaxing cows
to the traffic-free bridge that crosses back over the M25 towards
Mogador.

The recent rain had drained quite well on the bridleway over Walton
Heath golf course but one or two large puddles remained. The cause of
a puncture just afterwards proved difficult to locate so we placed a
patch on the tyre to prevent the culprit puncturing the new tube. We
were still making good time so that allowed us to detour around the
City Of London Freeman's School to Pleasure Pit Rd and down the slight
hill to the bottom of Chalk Lane and onto the network of urban paths
to Nonsuch Park.

Those who don't live in the area may not be aware that Surrey County
Council are trying to sell Nonsuch Mansion House, the building that
houses the popular cafe. It's a completely disingenuous move for a
council who fancy themselves as 'green', to get rid of a facility that
attracts so many people out onto their bikes. I counted 40 parked up
whilst we were there, most of whom are attracted by the cafe. See
http://www.savenonsuch.co.uk for details.

After ice cream and cakes, we rode back towards Sutton and Carshalton,
dropping in to BedZED on the way back. They had launched their cycle
club today and it turns out 7 or 8 had participated on a beginners
ride around nearby Beddington Park. Hopefully those will also be
interested in the regular rides we've been running since June. They
have another ride soon which I believe will be a longer one. The more
people that organise rides, the more people we can encourage to cycle
for fun. Let me know if you want to know more about their future
rides.

Out for 7.5hrs, 37 miles. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157602219559285
or
http://tinyurl.com/yr6ckv


===

BEDDINGTON PARK RIDES

Saturday's 10 riders enjoyed a leisurely ride along a newly trimmed
Thames Water path to Mitcham Common and past the new railway station
being constructed at Eastfields to Merton Abbey Mills and on to Morden
Hall.

Coming back through Ravensbury Park, we saw a teenager on a mini-moto,
the reason that barriers in the park were originally installed. The
youth then rode, without a helmet, out on to the public roads and
disappeared towards Brookfields Avenue. It's a shame the police in
this area are completely disinterested in solving this annoying
anti-social problem as the park's barriers are now open and need to
stay open but not at the expense of residents lives being made a
misery.

This was the last of the weekly Beddington Park rides. Throughout the
winter, they will take place on the 3rd Saturday of the month so the
next one is on Oct 20th. Details from:

http://www.beddingtonparkcyclerides.com

===

CYCLING THEATRE

The Barbican are hosting a piece of interactive cycling theatre called
Rider Spokes. According to the organisers, "it invites the audience to
cycle through the streets of the City, equipped with a handheld
computer. They search for a hiding place and record a short message
there. And then they search for the hiding places of others."

You can either turn up on your own bike or rent one. You'll get a
Nokia N800 computer attached to your handlebars and then you're ready
to participate.

It's sponsored by Trek and takes place in the evenings from Oct 11 to
Oct 21st. Entry is a fiver. Details:

http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=6071

===

There aren't many rides up on the website yet but they are in the
process of being planned. There's a ride every week in October, all
starting from the library at 9:30am. Just check a bit nearer the time
to see where we are going.

Next week is another chance to ride the Waterlink Way up to Greenwich.
We'll continue on the Thames Path along to the O2 Dome for a look
around inside. You can't see inside the actual arena but it's a good
chance to get an idea of the place. Afterwards, we'll relocate to the
recommended pub down the road before going back pretty much the way we
came. 9:30am at the library.

Mark
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk