Our last ride of the year and a new venture for 2008...

===

THE GEORGE INN 30/12/07

Even though there was only 3 days notice of this ride taking place, we
still had a healthy 13 at the start. Lack of planning time for a new
variation meant starting off by following exactly the same route as
last year's outing, along the backstreets to Crystal Palace. It's 2
short sharp hills to get up and then you're there. We rode beside the
park and TV tower and along to the Horniman museum for a morning break
at their cafe. The bike parking facilities are poor but the decent
cafe makes up for it.

A little deviation from the route to cross Peckham Rye Common took us
past a new cafe that looked like it was worth a visit. We'll try to
add that into a ride one day. There was no avoiding the High St in
Peckham but that brings you to the old Surrey Canal route, a tarmac
path that is nicely signposted as a "Quiet Route".

From here, London Cycle Network route 22 meanders around the houses
all the way to London Bridge. It's easy to follow from the signposts
so the group progressed without really needing a leader. We were too
early for the pub so we opted to detour into St Katharine's dock which
involved an unpleasant crossing of busy Tower Bridge, a sharp contrast
after so many miles of quiet backstreets. The main reason for visiting
St Katharine's was to see the Matthew <http://www.matthew.co.uk>, a
replica of John Cabot's ship that sailed to Canada in 1497. Time Out
described it as a Tall Ship but it's not that big in real life.

After passing the Tower of London with it's huge queues of tourists
and spying the Monument down a side street, we crossed London Bridge
and into the cobbled yard where the George is hidden away. It's owned
by the National Trust and is the only remaining galleried coaching
inn. Food was swift and good quality, most mains from the new menu
being around the £8 mark.

After lunch, we cut through the foodie paradise of Borough Market and
onto Sustran's National Route 4 which winds around quiet streets near
the river. Going onto the Thames Path at Blackfriars wasn't so clever
as it's full of pedestrians so we cut back onto the roads, all the way
past the Eye to Westminster Bridge where we switched to London Cycle
Network route 3. Having these routes well signed really makes getting
around so much easier. It's a shame this idea has been canned in
favour of painted cycle lanes along busy roads.

I'd heard good things from other riders about the "hippy" cafe on
Clapham Common but it was closed for Christmas. As was the Italian one
by the bandstand and the Bowling Green cafe at the South end. We tried
for a cafe on the High St but that too was closed so we headed for the
nice cafe on Tooting Common before dispersing.

26 miles, out for 5.5 hours. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157603581941984/
or
http://tinyurl.com/2h2wv9

===

PHC+

An impromptu meeting in the yard at the George voted on an idea put
forward to do a longer ride once a month. This would be free of the
speed restraints we impose on regular rides, enabling us to get
further afield. Although this has been suggested many times before,
now is definitely the right time to do it as we've a core of riders
coming to the majority of rides, most of whom are capable of the extra
miles. Plus we're too slow on regular rides for others on this list
who don't come as often as they might. The rides will be very cleared
flagged up on the website as PHC+ rides. On average, these will cover
40 - 45 miles and will be similar to CTC 2* rides.

We used to run monthly short rides that are ideal for beginners (the
Mitcham Loop rides) but this is now catered for by the nearby
Beddington Park rides which are currently on the 3rd Saturday of the
month until Easter. Switching to a longer ride each month will fill a
demand for those who want to go further but enjoy the way we lead
rides and the friendliness of the group. And we'll still have 3 rides
a month that run as normal.

First PHC+ will be in 2 weeks. We'll head for a pub in Newdigate. 9:30
at the library. Make sure you'll feeling fit - it's hilly!

===

Next week is a train-assisted ride around some beautiful rural lanes
following the Yew Tree Way. It's not a long ride so we won't be
hurrying. Train details on the website or 10am at Oxted station.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189