Here's this week's news & reports.....

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RIDE REPORT
Cafe Chocolate 21/10/07

17 at the library on this cold crisp Autumn morning. Having a new
leader is a great way to find different ways to get to places, even if
it's just cutting a corner or making a turn one road earlier. We used
some great backstreets around Carshalton to get to Mulgrave Road in
Cheam on the way to Nonsuch Park for a hot soup stop. The cafe was
pretty much deserted.

The steady climb on private Cuddington Way and Higher Drive leads to
Banstead and on towards Tattenham Corner, all on quiet residential
roads. We cut through the houses heading due south towards Tadworth,
climbing all the way up to Walton-On-The Hill, a picturesque village
with a large duck pond.

Cafe Chocolat wouldn't have been able to contain all of us so some
went to the Blue Ball which overlooks Banstead Heath. Food was served
a bit quicker at the pub but both parties seemed happy with their
meals. It's a shame the sun cast a shadow outside the cafe making it
slightly too cold today for sitting outside but half of us braved it
anyway. The wise ones picnic'ed by the pond in the sun.

The return has the payback for all the morning climbing, starting with
a swift descent down Hurst Lane and then straight onto the Headley Rd
for more freewheeling right down to the junction with Chalk Lane in
Epsom. Some more new twists and turns got us to the usual bridleway
that leads to Ewell East station and over the A232 into Warren Farm
for a return to Nonsuch Park.

Instead of needing hot soup, the afternoon had turned out warm enough
for the ice cream queue to be stretching out of the door. It's a
really popular destination for cyclists, whether it be club riders or
families out with the children. It's great to see so many people out
on bikes.

We rode a familiar route back towards Sutton and then some new twist
and turns into Carshalton. People started drifting off home as the
rest returned to the library.

Out for 7.5hrs, 31 miles. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157602588486861
or
http://tinyurl.com/2rfk6b

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FRIDAY NIGHT RIDE

On Friday, 5 of us joined the Friday Night Ride in Central London for
their Thames bridges ride:

http://www.fridaynightride.com

Starting at 7pm, we rode to Kew Bridge on a quest to ride over 20
bridges with 2 pub stops on the way. At 25 riders, it was the FNR's
largest turnout so far so we helped out with the backmarking to help
keep the group together. The speeds are fast, cruising between 15mph
to 17mph and the overall mileage was 30+. We ended at the Beigal
Bakery in Brick Lane which meant another 15 miles home for most of us,
some of us braving freezing fog that gave us sore throats in the
morning.

If you're a quicker rider, you may enjoy joining them. If not, we'll
do our own version at some point with a ride into the East End for
midnight bagels.

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BEDDINGTON PARK

Despite being prompted, I still didn't find time to plug this
Saturday's afternoon ride. As we are now operating monthly throughout
the winter, the next one will be Nov 17th so put that into your diary.

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NEXT WEEK...

The first Halloween ride attracted 40 riders, still a PHC record for a
regular ride. For the uninitiated, we use stories supplied by James
Clark, author of Strange Mitcham. James was good enough to give us his
unpublished stories so you'll get the chance to visit the exact spot
that Sir Walter Raleigh's ghost is rumoured to roam and see the
alleyway where a ghostly Queen Elizabeth I rode her horse.

It's a 10:30 start with a pub lunch and early finish. Mark W will be
narrating. It's a very child-friendly ride if accompanied by an adult
with large stretches off-road.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189