Just a couple of ride reports this week and one item of news....

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THE INSANE ROUTE 21
03/02/08

One of the most popular rides that we do is along Sustran's Waterlink
Way to Greenwich. It's a clever, flat route that links parks and river
paths, providing the most direct route to Greenwich for any form of
transport. However, if you follow the route going south, you get an
insane combination of unnecessary hills, muddy woods and suicidal
descents on bridleways when there are perfectly good alternatives on
pretty and lightly trafficked lanes. The route heads towards Gatwick
and has been promoted as a cycling route from London to the airport.
There is NO WAY you'd ever want to endure this route if you had a
flight to catch but it's a lot of fun on a mountain bike once you know
what you're letting yourself in for.

15 were at the library with 10 braving this particular ride and the
other 5 on the alternative local ride to Woodies. Another problem with
the route is the lack of refreshment stops along the way. We stocked
up on supplies at the Tesco just after South Norwood Country Park,
only to spot an open cafe on the other side of the road. We'll
remember that for next time.

You lose all of your first climb on the rapid descent of Spout Hill,
leaving you to trundle up to New Addington from the very bottom of the
hill. We were fighting a 20mph headwind which made the climbing much
harder. Several opted for a shortcut once we were at the top as the
official route inexplicably dives back into the housing estate only to
make you climb back up again.

The offroad section starts as New Addington ends, with a muddy path
through a field. Although it cuts a corner, it's about 100 yards
longer on the road and doesn't involve dismounting to bypass a locked
gate. Then it's another cut corner, this time on an old road. At this
point, we're out in the lanes and the route would work just as well on
the tarmac. But no, we shoot down a steep bridleway, only to climb
straight back up again when the road alternative is flat. You get the
idea!

A couple more muddy woods and you're ready for the fast, stony descent
of Plantation Lane, a bridleway high above Woldingham Golf Club. After
fighting the wind up the road to Woldingham Girls School, I suggested
a straw poll to see who wanted to change the lunchstop to Godstone
Vineyard. They're not very good at coping with more than 4 people in
their cafe at any one point, despite it seating about 30. They've
often got no food and on several occasions they've been most
unwelcoming. However, it's well placed for lunch. I'd emailed the week
before to see if they could accommodate us but no reply. Those who'd
experienced previous frosty welcomes thought we'd best move on.

An unavoidable hill follows and leads to the Caterham Viewpoint. The
originally proposed lunchstop meant more hills that were off-route so
we opted to descend to the Inn On The Pond at Nutfield, even though I
couldn't raise them on the phone. Several paths through quarries later
and one about-turn simply to ride up a track (because it's there?) we
arrived at the pub only to find it has closed down. It's well after
1pm at this point and we need food so we push on to Redhill through a
nature reserve for lunch at the all-day Wetherspoons in the town
centre.

Normally our rides are carefully planned to ensure lunch is at the
right time at the right place. By taking a gamble, we'd ended up doing
well over 20 miles before the pub, leaving only a short distance to
the planned return point of Horley station. It seemed silly to not do
the extra mile or so to Gatwick airport, simply so we could use the
'secret' cyclist's lift to the trains that pops you out right in the
middle of the South Terminal amongst the holiday makers checking in
their luggage. It's quite surreal to find yourself in that environment
after miles of farm tracks, countryside and bridleways.

Group Save brought the cost of a single to East Croydon down to £2.50
each. 33.5 miles, out for 8hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157603843240744
or
http://tinyurl.com/26nmou

- - - - - - - -

On March 2nd, we'll go the sensible route to Gatwick so everyone has a
chance to see the 'secret' lift! It's nowhere near as hard as today's
ride and although there are hills, we'll do everything possible to
minimise them.

For Info: Sustrans is a sustainable transport charity who devised a
10,000 mile network of routes called the National Cycle Network.
Locally, the route includes the Wandle Trail, the traffic-free route
in Richmond Park and parts of the Thames Path. Their CEO of 30 years
is standing down this year. His successor will have £50m to spend, the
proceeds from their recent win in the Peoples Millions competition.
Some of the money is due to be spent in Croydon on a traffic-free path
alongside the Tram that will link up with South Norwood Country Park.
See http://www.sustrans.co.uk for more info.

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THE ALTERNATIVE RIDE TO WOODIES
03/02/08

Not everybody fancies a strenuous mountain bike ride so Jill offered
to lead a more local ride to Woodies, the quirky New Malden pub hidden
away near the sports fields. A lot of our well-used back roads and cut
throughs were employed to take in the delights of Ravensbury Park
(those barriers are still open), Morden Hall Park and along the Wandle
to Merton Abbey Mills for a coffee stop.

There are several options you can choose from here, all signposted
London Cycle Network routes. Today's ride opted for Joseph Hood
playing fields and over the level crossing at Motspur Park. It's
surprising how quick these routes can be, the ride was in the vicinity
of the pub before they'd even started serving food so an extra lap of
adjoining streets and paths made up the time.

Woodies never disappoints and the smoking ban means it's fine to eat
inside although the yellow stained knick knacks covering the walls and
ceilings will always be there to remind you of the 'old days'.

After lunch, the ride returned to Merton Abbey Mills where riders
started to disperse. About 24 miles.

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FUTURE RIDES

We've planned a joint ride with Lewisham Cyclists for March 9th. It
will be a PHC+ ride, simply because they ride a bit quicker than we do
and we need to get to Downe for a morning stop to meet them. I'm going
to be leading the ride from Downe to the lunch stop in Eynsford and
it's going to be pretty lanes with hardly any traffic all the way.
It's been a while since we did a ride with another group other than
Central London CTC so I'm hoping for a good turnout (and some decent
weather!). Stick it in your diary.

===

Next week is suitable for all. A nice easy spin taking one of those
backstreets routes to Kingston with a spin through Bushy Park before
lunch at the Tides End cottage in Teddington (or next door if it's
busy!). After lunch we'll ride through Richmond Park and Wimbledon
Common where there are a couple of hills. Fine to walk them if you
don't fancy riding. 9:30 at the library.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189