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

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RIDE REPORT

Hampton Court Duck Race 31/08/08

The brave 9 who turned out in the morning rain were rewarded with a
pleasant afternoon. But it wasn't looking good early on. The proposed
route had chunks of off-road sections which were promptly removed to
keep the mud on the ground and off our tyres and backs. I switched the
morning stop from Wimbledon Common windmill to trusty Wimbledon Park
as they've more undercover seating. That gave me chance to re-plot the
rest of the ride to suit the weather.

In a PHC first, we rode past White Lodge on Richmond Park. We really
ought to use the route more often as it doubles the amount of
traffic-free riding in the park. Teddington Lock was deserted so we
rode over the bridge. It was too early to stop for lunch at the Tides
End Cottage (our draft plan for staying dry!) and the rain had reduced
to drizzle so we carried on through Bushy Park, past the Diana
Fountain, part of Christopher Wren's design for a grand approach to
Hampton Court Palace (although it's also attributed to Inigo Jones on
the Royal Parks website) and straight into the pub opposite.

The Kings Arms is a nice old pub. Lunch was patchy but Sunday roasts
seemed to go down well. We sat out the remainder of the rain and left
in time to catch the Great British Duck Race, a charity event where
250,000 rubber ducks "race" along a section of the Thames. As we
arrived on Hampton bridge, the leading duck was just sailing through.
The weather had obviously had a big effect and there only a couple of
hundred spectators. I think if it was sunny, it could have been
packed.

We used the Thames Path back to Kingston, most of which is segregated
to keep pedestrians away from the cycle path. Kingston no longer
defeats us with its oppressive one way system and we sailed through
towards Lower Marsh Lane, a virtually traffic-free lane to Berrylands.
There are London Cycle Networks routes all the way back to Morden Hall
Park where we stopped for afternoon tea.

It was threatening to rain again as we left so I took an extremely
direct route into Mitcham, leaving the park at Phipps Bridge tramstop
and cutting through passageways by Mitcham parish church to pop out
almost in the town centre. We dropped off 2 CTC riders back at
Eastfields station and went our own separate ways.

30 miles, out for 7.5hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157607038959400
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc007

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BIKE JAM

The Tour Of Britain (formerly the Milk Race) starts in London next
Sunday. TfL have organised a Bike Jam to coincide with the event. It
takes place at the Tower of London's gardens. Details:

http://www.tflbikejam.com/cgi-bin/bjam.cgi

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PHC BBQ

The short-notice BBQ in Beddington Park didn't exactly capture
people's imagination. It was just myself and Emma enjoying an al
fresco meal. The facilities are useful though. You need a disposable
style BBQ as there's no way to support a grill. Instead, the cast iron
BBQ point allows you to dispose of the hot coals safely. We should try
this again with more notice, possibly next year. In the meantime,
don't overlook our Saturday afternoon rides from the park.

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NEXT WEEK

Roland has devised a fantastic sounding train assisted ride through
the Arun Valley. It's a rolling, undulating ride with a handful of
short, sharp climbs. Mainly on road apart from two short sections of
bridleway: one sandy surface and one hard packed gravel and sandstone.
The mileage is around 36, very slightly more than our average Sunday
ride but you'll have time to recover on the train ride home. Meet by
the CEX shop at East Croydon Station by 8.55am at the latest to join
the Group Save tickets which could see return fares as low as £6.20.
Catching the 09.23 to Billingshurst, arriving at 10.14. If you would
like to meet at Billingshurst, please let Roland know beforehand.
Details on our website.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk