Folks - I completely forgot to remind everyone of the first of our
monthly half day rides which start this coming Saturday. It's a 9:30am
start at Pollards Hill and we'll stop off somewhere for snacks and
drinks. No set route - we'll go where our noses take us depending on
who's out with us. Very suitable for novices so do try and drag
friends or partners along.

So, this weekend is:

Saturday: 9:30am for a half day ride from Pollards Hill library
Sunday: 9:30am at East Croydon station for a train assisted ride
around the lanes near Horley
Monday: 8am at East Croydon station for the Sustrans ride up Route 21

Mark


2009/4/27 Mark PHC <mark@...>:
> Here's this weeks news & updates....
>
> ===
>
> RIDE REPORT
>
> After last week's complete mess, two of the riders who were waiting
> for me at Clapham Jct had gone out on their own ride to make the most
> of the day and discovered an excellent riverside pub near Surbiton.
> When no one volunteered upfront to participate in this week's mystery
> ride, I thought it would be good to head back out to this particular
> pub and Mike offered to take the reigns. Here's his report...
>
> Eleven riders turned up at the library on a morning that promised good
> weather. We set off on a quick route to Richmond park, going past
> Wimbledon, through Raynes Park and along the cycle-path that parallels
> the A3 to Richmond Park, where we stopped for hot drinks and muffins.
> Out of the park and through Richmond, we crossed Richmond bridge and
> picked up the north Thames tow path, heading westbound. The sun was
> out in a clear blue sky as we leisurely rode alongside other cyclists,
> dogs and families to the point where the tow path ends. Using a
> selection of quiet-ish ordinary roads & a short section of the A308 we
> came past Hampton Court and over the bridge to pick up a
> cycle-path/back-streets route to the edge of Surbiton and our
> lunch-stop, The Ferry pub.
>
> The weather was good enough to sit outside where we enjoyed good food
> from a varied menu at reasonable prices. Everyone seemed to approve of
> this pub as a lunch stop. After a leisurely lunch break for over an
> hour we set off through Surbiton and onto a cycle-friendly version of
> a 'Kingston-by-pass' route through New Malden and back into Raynes
> Park. Decision time! Four riders split off to go home whilst the other
> seven went up to Wimbledon common for ice-creams and a lazy
> lounge-around in the sunshine by the pond. After about 3/4 of an hour
> we came down Wimbledon hill and used a quiet back-street route to
> return to Pollards Hill, with some riders turning off to take a
> quicker route home.
>
> About 30 miles, out for six hours. No pix.
>
> Many thanks to Mike for this ride and to Jill and Phil for assisting.
> Without this kind of help, the club would crumble when situations like
> this arise. If you feel you can help on future rides, do let me know.
>
> ===
>
> GREAT FREERIDING VIDEO
>
> I saw this video just after it was uploaded last week but since then
> it's been all over the Twitter social networking site, plugged on the
> South London Cyclists forum and featured by CTC in their weekly email,
> resulting in over 2 million views. If you've not seen it yet, it's
> Danny MacAskill doing some amazing street riding on a stunt bike set
> to a great soundtrack:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o
>
> ===
>
> ANOTHER CYCLING NEWS WEBSITE
>
> The London Paper, the freesheet that litters the tube during the
> hometime rush hour, have jumped onto the cycling bandwagon with a
> dedicated news page on their website. Worth bookmarking:
>
> http://www.thelondonpaper.com/topics/cycling
>
> ===
>
> NEW RIDES
>
> I need to plan the May rides. They'll hopefully be on the website
> during the week. We'll be doing mostly local rides starting from one
> of our 3 starting points but discovering some new destinations. If you
> know a great destination / pub / cafe / tearoom that you think we're
> overlooking, let me know. Needs to be open on Sundays (obviously!) and
> suitable for a large onslaught of bicycles.
>
> ===
>
> NEXT WEEK
>
> We're joining CTC on the Sunday for one of their countryside rides.
> There's no need to be a member of CTC but you will be required to pay
> a 50p donation towards the cost of running the Central London Section.
> However, as this entitles you to receive the rides list for a year,
> it's well worth it. Meet outside the CEX shop at East Croydon station
> at 9:30 to partake in the Group Save offer. We're catching the 9:53 to
> Horley which arrives at 10:22. Fares could be as low as £3.20 using
> Group Save.
>
> Sustrans have a ride on Bank Holiday Monday. Starting at the Beehive
> at Gatwick, they're heading up their notorious Route 21, all the way
> to Greenwich. The first part to Redhill is great, then it goes a bit
> bonkers as it climbs the North Downs and then, at South Norwood
> Country Park, turns into one of London's finest cycle routes - the
> Waterlink Way. Unfortunately, that's the bit we're intending to miss
> out!!. Once we hit the park, the ride will head back towards Pollards
> Hill until everyone knows where they are and can make their own way
> home. Meet outside the CEX shop at East Croydon station at 8:00 to
> partake in the Group Save offer. We're catching the 8:26 to Gatwick
> which arrives at 8:40. Fares could be as low as £2.75 using Group
> Save.
>
> Mark
> PHC Co-ordinator
> 07711 688189
>
> http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk
> http://www.southlondoncyclists.org.uk
>