Here's this week's new and reviews....

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RIDE REPORT
The Mad Ride II - 08/03/09

Do we have a new jinxed ride to take over from Ashtead Common? We had
to abandon this ride last time tried when we were thwarted by bad
weather and today ended up as a repeat. It started well when 7 met on
the bright and sunny morning at Carshalton's Westcroft Leisure Centre
although that soon dropped to 6 when one returned home for work
commitments. Most found the 2 mile gentle uphill from South Croydon to
Selsdon reasonably easy but were less keen on the shorter but steeper
climb through Selsdon Wood up to Farleigh Common, despite some riders
attaining 40mph on the preceeding steep descent. That led us to the
first site of today's tour of decommissioned Victorian mental asylums
at Warlingham Park, the former Croydon Borough Asylum, now upmarket
housing but still recognisable by the imposing water tower, the
overriding feature that defines the former institutions.

A morning stop at the garden centre near Chelsham found another rider
waiting for us. Service at the cafe was a bit slow but the sun was
still shining. After leaving, one rider on a mountain bike opted for a
descent of the Plantation Lane bridleway whilst everyone else chose
the tarmac of Bug Hill, a narrow, bumpy and twisting county lane. We
crossed the A22 using the Wapses Lodge roundabout subway system to get
to the opposite carriageway where we rode the short distance to the
turn off to Whyteleafe station. Another hill awaited but we chose to
lessen the blow by zig zagging up the private Portley Wood Rd, a nice
quiet climb through the woods

We reached the old Caterham Asylum site and did a lap of their road
before heading off to the Harrow for lunch. Arriving later than we
normally do at 12:45 meant that most indoor tables were taken or
reserved (a new development as you couldn't book before). Only having
one barman didn't help the situation but food is still good and cheap.

We left at 2pm and immediately lost a rider as it was getting colder.
As before, we picked up the dry, concrete, diagonal path across
Alderstead Heath but when we got to the Caravan site entrance
everyone, except our adventurous mountain bike rider, sensibly avoided
the path over the clay field that defeated everyone last year when we
sank into it. Instead, the alternative route involved going downhill
on Dean Lane and immediately back up Netherne Lane. We managed to see
a bit more of the Netherne site this time, a freakily isolated brand
new village on the site of the old asylum, incorporating many of the
old buildings. The rain had progressed from drizzle to became more
persistent so we sought shelter until it eased off. As the weather
was deteriorating (as it was forecast to) we decided to abandon the
ride (again!) and all 6 of us headed down Woodplace Lane.

We turned right onto the A23 and headed down the hill towards Coulsdon
and went around the bypass on the shared-use pavement. As two riders
sloped off towards home, the remaining four of us put on waterproofs
as we had a sudden hail shower and kept going north towards Croydon.
Despite the fact that the hail had stopped by the end of the Coulsdon
bypass and the rain had stopped by Purley and it had brightened up
again, I think giving up on the ride was the wisest decision, because
it was much colder than it had been before and we had all got soaked
in the hail storm, so we were both cold and wet !

30 miles, out for 6 hours. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157614990131370
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc032

Report relayed by Jim

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OUR AFFILIATE DEALS

We have received another cheque from Wiggle, this time for £20. They
are now the official suppliers for the CTC shop as well as operating
the largest UK online cycle business. If you click through to them via
our special link, we get a small percentage of your overall spend. The
money goes towards operating the club such as our insurance and the
Pro account on Flickr. Help us to survive by using the link below if
you're buying from Wiggle or the second link if you're buying anything
from Amazon where we have a similar deal.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/default.aspx?cat=cycle&ReferID=POLLARDS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=266239&tag=pollhillcycl-21&camp=1654&creative=655\
8&linkCode=ur1&adid=1TF4C4KN4J5B8A8YJ8NC&

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STEVE'S RIDE

Click here for photos of Steve's Saturday ride:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/yvonnewright1965/ThamesEastRide?feat=directlink

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NEXT WEEK

We've got a brand new destination - the Ace Cafe. It's an old
transport caff situated just off the old North Circular and currently
popular with bikers as well as cyclists. A lot of the route is
traffic-free including a large chunk of the Grand Union canal towpath.
On the return, we'll hopefully be calling at Orange Pekoe, reputed to
be one of London's best tea rooms. It's a mostly flat route although
the towpath could be a bit muddy after heavy rain. 9:30 departure from
outside Wimbledon train station.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk
http://www.southlondoncyclists.org.uk