Tons of things in this week's mailout....

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RIDE REPORT
The Sensible Route To Gatwick 02/03/08

15 people curious folk came out to discover the "sensible" route to
Gatwick. Last month we had followed the insane Sustrans route from
Croydon to the airport but I always knew there'd be a better way. I'm
not sure if anyone does follow leisure routes on their bike when
they've a plane to catch but if they do, this is definitely the way to
go.

We started with an amble along the Wandle river to Carshalton and then
worked slowly through parks and past allotments to ease the gradient
up to the Oaks Track. We stopped off at Oaks Park for morning coffee
but having made such good time, I thought we could also throw in a
quick stop at Fanny's Farm before lunch for those who've never been.

Normally, you're faced with two climbs to get into the Chipstead
lanes. One is straight after the park and can't be avoided but leads
to the carved cedar tree at Woodmansterne, which is always worth a
brief stop. The second hill is normally a choice of the long slow drag
up How Lane or the lethal climb that brings you out by the White Hart.
Today, we opted for the little-known third option, a bridleway from
the railway station through the golf course. The steep, stony lower
half can be ridden for a few yards but then you're on a 30% incline
which needs to be walked. Once you're out on the golf course, it's
still steep but tarmac and rideable by most. Either way, even if you
walk, you're up in a matter of minutes which makes the route a lot
easier for those who tire easily on hills.

A puncture soon after meant that the majority of the group went on to
Fanny's whilst a couple stayed back to deal with the flat. Diligent
checking of the tyre revealed two thorns but it seemed to be just the
one hole. Of course, the other was a slower, unnoticed puncture which
meant whipping the tube out at Fanny's Farm when it started losing air
and putting in a brand new one.

Gatton Park had a banner up proclaiming the grounds being open to the
public today. As a bridleway runs right through the middle, they're
effectively open every day of the week. We passed the main entrance
and zipped down the hill on Rocky Lane to pick up the sensible bit of
the Sustrans route, south of Nutfield.

Coming into Redhill through a nature reserve is a nice way to get to
the town centre. Our best lunch option was always going to be the
Wetherspoons, mostly because they're unfazed by large groups arriving
unannounced. We were all fed and watered within the hour. Despite
being in the town centre, the bikes always feel fairly safe chained to
the railings outside.

We'd covered most of the distance before lunch, only leaving about 8
miles for the afternoon. We followed the Sustrans route along
shared-use pavements, quiet streets and tracks all the way to Horley
where the official route involves dismounting a couple of times,
firstly to negotiate barriers in a subway and then along a
pedestrianised section. It's much easier to stay on the road.

Gatwick is approached by a riverside path and before you know it,
you're in the heart of the airport complex. I've no idea how anyone
ever finds the lift that takes you up to the South Terminal but
fortunately, we were only there last month. It takes a couple of trips
to get everyone up and then you're faced with the strange
juxtaposition of cyclists with bikes in all their riding clobber and
holidaymakers with luggage checking in for their flights.

(Note about the train fares: We always split the Group Save amongst
everyone so the 11 going back to East Croydon paid £2.71 each.
However, the 3 going to Clapham Jct paid £6 something which seemed
steep. I've just checked online and a single from East Croydon to
Clapham Jct is only £2.80, so by joining in the Group Save to East
Croydon, those continuing on could have Group Saved again for their
onward ticket. We'll know this for next time as by my calculations,
the reduced onwards ticket should be under £2. National Rail is too
complex for it's own good!)

25 miles, out for 6hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157604028397969
or
http://tinyurl.com/yvffct

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1955 CYCLING FILM

Several people have asked me to re-post the link to the 1955 film of a
CTC club excursion. It's well worth watching. Has anything really
changed? You'll need about 20 minutes to watch it all.

http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002228.html

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MIDWEEK MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE

I forgot to report back on the midweek off-road ride offered two weeks
ago. 7 people met at Redhill and enjoyed a nice day riding along parts
of NCN21, through South Park where we hit a bit of mud, along the
Worth Way which is an old railway line and up through several paths
and tracks back to Redhill. An easy 40 miles. We'll do this again on a
Sunday in the summer.

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FREE C2C TRAIN TICKETS

Many people are in possession of the free tickets for a return on the
C2C route. My hasty suggestion of going next Saturday wasn't popular
so I'm setting a date of Sunday 20th April. If anyone knows the area
well, please drop me a line. Otherwise, I have a rural route starting
from Upminster that can be tailored to suit the day.

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TIME OUT PIC

This week's issue of Time Out is the one with the pic of PHC. Or is
it? I've no idea who the blurry images are. The photographer came out
to the lunch stop on our Tides End ride, a very popular spot for
cycling. To be fair, he didn't really need us - he could have taken a
picture of anyone cycling. However, since the move from the Sports
listings to the new-ish Health & Leisure listings page, we've started
to see a good return with several new folks having discovered us from
Time Out. So we can't complain...

99p subscription deal for 13 issues is here:

http://info.timeout.com

Don't forget to cancel your Direct Debit if you don't want to continue
subscribing after the first 3 months. Best deal in town!

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SHELDON BROWN MEMORIAL RIDE

Those who frequent cycling email lists or have an interest in cycle
mechanics will undoubtedly have visited Sheldon Brown's website at
some point. It's a veritable cornucopia of information, ranging from
highly technical reference documents to classic personal homepage
family insights.

Sheldon died on Feb 3rd and a London memorial ride is planned for
Sunday April 6th in honour of his famous April Fool articles. The
current plan is that it leaves Hyde Park at 1:30pm so we will do a
central London ride on that day and join those paying their respects.
Eagles on helmets optional.

http://sheldonbrown.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SheldonBrown.jpeg

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WANDLE TRAIL WEBSITE

There's a new (unfinished!) website for The Wandle Trail. It allows
you to have your say on the future of the route and the promised
Country Park. The process is hugely frustrating but if you want to
remind them that cycling needs to stay at the top of the agenda,
visit:

http://www.wandlevalleypark.org.uk

===

NEXT WEEK

We're linking up with Lewisham Cyclists for part of next week's PHC+
ride. I'm really happy that we're able to do a joint ride as the
Lewisham gang have a highly organised, well researched rides programme
to many places of interest at a variety of paces. They post pictures
and reports similar to our own and operate as a good model for others
doing rides.

The first part of the ride will be a bit deja vu as we rode to Downe's
Christmas Tree farm only last week. However, I needed to make sure we
could get there in time with a group (sneaky, I know!). But once we've
cleared that stupid 25% mountain at Cudham and headed into the lanes,
we'll be in new PHC territory, probably the best lanes inside the M25
on the way to Eynsford, the closest village to Pollards Hill to
warrant a "Picturesque Village" tag on the OS Tour maps. It's got a
lovely ford and a ruined castle. The lunch stop is expecting us. We'll
make our own way back after lunch, again on some great lanes.

Because we have an appointment to keep, we're leaving at 9:15am sharp
- NOT 9:30am. If you want to meet us at Downe, be there at 10:45am. If
we get a puncture on the way out, we're in trouble so make sure you've
checked your tyres before you come and picked out any bits of glass or
flint that may be working their way through. And then stay out of the
gutter!

Don't forget that PHC+ outings are our faster rides. No racing but no
time for dawdling. If that's not for you, we're back to normal the
week after.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk