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

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RIDE REPORT
Surrey's Rural Industries 27/07/08

16 riders met up for today's outing around rural Surrey. Starting from
Guildford station, it's less than a mile before you're on the
Godalming cycle path, shielded from the main road by high hedges and
drifting off towards the river. Then we took a narrow lane diversion
to seek out the Chilworth gunpowder mills. Ignoring the 'Road Closed'
sign as they're often meaningless in the countryside, we soon came
unstuck with a tarmac gang's lorry blocking the road. They beckoned us
through but it was so narrow that bikes were pushed high onto the
verge and a couple of riders brushed the side of the vehicle and ended
up with tar on their clothing.

The derelict gunpowder mills are hidden in a wood alongside the
Tillingbourne river under the shadow of St Martha's Hill but turned
out to be a universal disappointment, despite the fact that the ruins
date from the early 1600s and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Turning swiftly around, we pushed on through the pretty villages of
Blackheath and Wonersh and then picked up the Downs Link. It's over 30
miles of disused railway line, conveniently converted to a cycling and
walking route. The full ride to Shoreham-on-Sea can be a bit boring
but we were only riding 5 miles down to Cranleigh. However, any fears
of boredom were allayed when one rider acrobatically somersaulted over
the bars after a mudguard came loose and jammed the spokes. No
injuries.

The original planned lunch stop was to be a bit further along at the
former Baynards station but the Thurlow Arms pub on the old platform
has recently closed down. Instead, a Cranleigh local suggested the
Cranley Hotel pub opposite the cricket pitch and although food wasn't
served until 1pm, they coped admirably. We had the large garden to
ourselves for almost the entire time.

After lunch came a bit of a shock. We were following the Surrey
Cycleway (which incidentally was uncharacteristically badly signed)
when we hit a 21% hill. The excellent Surrey cycle maps don't show
gradients but as we were heading for Shere which is roughly the same
altitude as Cranleigh, I hadn't anticipated any significant climbs.
However, the hill turned out to be a relentlessly steep 2 mile climb
up the Greensand hills. All bar 4 had to walk and then sit for a while
to catch our breath at the top.

Fortunately, what goes up, must come down, so we whizzed along the
sunken lanes to Framley Green and onto Shere. We ford-bashed through
the Tillingbourne and then began the steady (anticipated, this time)
climb up to Newlands Corner. Instead of riding the A25, we went up a
country lane and picked up the North Downs Way. Newlands Corner was
packed, possibly helped by the Rural Industries event, a sort of
rustic outdoor craft fair that slightly resembled the Green Fields of
Glastonbury Festival. Some had a look around whilst others enjoyed ice
cream in the shade. An acrobatic plane looped the loop overhead.

The return to Guildford was always going to be enjoyable from here, 4
miles of steady descent on the North Downs Way following the route of
the Pilgrims Way before a mountainous descent on tarmac right into the
heart of Guildford where we caught the train back.

28 miles. Out for 7.5hrs plus travelling time. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157606416485324
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc002

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RIDE REPORT
PHC 3rd Birthday Ride 26/07/08

It may seem like we've become an institution on the South London
cycling scene but we're still just a baby compared to the OAP 127 year
old Anerley Cycling Club or the 80 year old Addiscombe CC. 12 riders
came to celebrate at Fanny's Farm, including 3 pre-teens and several
others sent birthday texts or emails. The route out is a steady climb
but weaving around backstreets and parks helps to level out the
incline. A big push up the bridleway over Chipstead golf course saved
a long arduous pedal up How Lane.

Fanny's actually is an institution. A ramshackle collection of
outbuildings housing a farm shop and tearoom with lots of quirky
features such as the mannequin legs poking out of flowerpots. We were
designated the rustic pagoda in the garden, under the shadow of the
treehouse. All 12 of us squeezed in around the table for tea and
birthday cake. We didn't use the treehouse because you have to pay for
the privilege.

With the exception of one climb, it's downhill all the way home. Some
were surprised at exactly how much freewheeling could be achieved
because the route out had masked the height of the climb. A nice
afternoon ride. We'll, of course, be doing it again next year.

24 miles. Out for 4.5hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157606419833397
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc001

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FREEWHEEL

Last year's inaugural Freewheel was massively oversubscribed so this
year, plans were made to cater for 100,000. However, same as last
year, the ambitions are steadily shrinking and the capacity is now
less than half of that. Whilst there is no real need to register
because it's impossible to be refused entry, if you want a free bell
you'll need to sign up at:

https://www.londonfreewheel.com/register/register.asp

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BITS...

I forgot to give credit for last week's report - thank you Paul!

I had 5 sets of photos to choose from for this week's gallery. They
all go into a big pot and are selected to give a good representation
of the ride. Apologies if that means we've used more of one
photographer than another. Nothing personal but definitely keep them
coming!

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NEXT WEEK

Our destination will be Osterley Park, a National Trust estate near
Hounslow. It's an ideal ride to bring a picnic to as the tearoom can
be notoriously slow. Save dessert for Richmond where we'll swing by
the ace gelateria for the best ice creams outside of Italy. Not so
hilly, except Wimbledon / Richmond area. As always, expect to travel
around 30 miles over the course of the day. 9:30am depart from the
library. Full details for August rides on the website by Tuesday
morning.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk