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

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RIDE REPORT
Quiet Country Lanes 03/05/09

We were invited to join a Central London CTC ride today which saw
approx 20 PHC riders out, pushing the ride total up to 31. CTC's 1
star rides are not too dissimilar to our own and this one was
guaranteed to be popular as it snaked it's way around miles of lightly
trafficked, fairly flat, country roads.

The morning stop was planned for the cafe at Reigate garden centre, a
venue popular with cycle groups. Unfortunately, the manager had never
seen 31 people all turn up at once and demanded to know who was
responsible. In the meantime, everyone queued in an orderly manner to
be swiftly served by his staff. When all were seated, there were still
another 20 or so free seats but the manager was keen to insist that
any future visits had to be booked in advance. To a cafe. For coffee.
In a room that seats 50. What a joker. (Personally, I think he should
throw some of his tables and chairs into the skip as it's pointless
laying out 50 places if you don't want that many people to turn up.)
Another one off the Christmas card list!

The lunch stop was the complete opposite. Newdigate's 6 Bells pub had
pushed picnic benches together for us in the garden and stuck little
reserved signs on them. Food is a bit on the pricey side but very
nice. They did struggle with getting the correct food to the right
people and some seemed to fall through the net and had to wait ages
but everyone got fed in the end. It's another popular cyclist's haunt
and several others had also arrived on bikes, including a couple all
the way from Pollards Hill!

Much of the route was along the well-signed Surrey Cycleway route and
the geography allows you to link up loops without anyone really
noticing that the ride is going round in circles. And so it was that
the surprise afternoon stop, at the leader's house, was in reality
only a few minutes away from the pub. Drinks and cakes had been kindly
laid on. 31 is a lot of people to have at your house so it was
probably a blessing that 7 had departed at lunch for a more direct
route to the station so they could get back earlier.

About 30 miles, out for 7hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157617698503020
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc041

Thanks to Susie for another great ride.

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RIDE REPORT
Half Day Ride 02/05/09

12 riders out for the First Saturday Of The Month half day ride.
Several new faces confirms that this is the right move for the club at
this stage. No one is going to throw themselves into a 30 mile all day
ride without dipping a toe in the water first to see how they get on.
These rides provide excellent toe-dipping opportunities!

There was no set route so a quick assessment of the riders and the
bikes combined with the sunny weather tempted me towards a largely
off-road start, over Mitcham Common and along the Thames Water path
and sure enough, many were surprised when we popped out in Beddington
Park. I was heading for Nonsuch so we took a backstreets route through
Carshalton and skirted north of Sutton past the footie ground (where
posters say Mick Taylor, formerly of the Rolling Stones, played a gig
last night) and into Sears Park via Perret's Fields to get to the A217
crossing and into pretty Cheam village.

Nonsuch is always a good stop but the courtyard is heavily shaded at
that time of the morning. We rode out of the park and doubled back
through the Woodland Trust's Warren Farm to use the London Cycle
Network back to Sutton and home along the Wandle Trail and some
different bits of Mitcham Common. A lovely local explore.

18 miles, out for 3.5hrs. Some pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157617606607329
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc040

- It was interesting to see Nonsuch on Saturday's Time Team's Henry
VIII special. The cafe we use is in the Mansion House which was built
in the mid 1700s but the palace was on the other side of the park. It
was described as being the most spectacular palace ever built by any
British monarch. It had two huge towers, lots of stucco relief work
and instead of looking like a traditional Tudor building, it was
influenced by Italian Renaissance architecture. It's a real shame it
doesn't exist but Charles II allowed his mistress to demolish it and
sell the bricks, allegedly to pay off her gambling debts. There was
obviously no 0800 Insolvency hotline in those days....!

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RIDE REPORT
Sustran's Mayday ride 04/05/09

Sustran's are the sustainable transport charity responsible for
building the 13,000 mile National Cycle Network. The don't do much to
promote their own routes although parts of them feature very regularly
on our rides. So, it was only right that we lent our support to the
2nd year of this annual linear event along Route 21, from Gatwick to
Greenwich.

The day began with the weirdness of the 'secret' cycle lift. The only
way off the platform at Gatwick railway station is to go into the
departures area of the airport and then locate a goods lift that takes
you down to the cycle route. It feels slightly odd wheeling your bike
past the suitcase-toting air passengers but not as odd as the cycle
route in the bowels of the airport's service areas that feels as
though it ought to be a restricted area.

Sustrans had decided to start their ride half a mile away at the
Beehive, the art deco original passenger terminal incorporating the
air traffic control tower on the roof. As we rode down, the Sustrans
group were just leaving but the 10 of us carried on to have a look at
the Beehive before retracing our steps along a pleasant tarmac path
that passes the end of the runway, catching up with the main group at
Horley.

Anyone who has ridden on parts of the National Cycle Network will have
spotted an odd tendency to try and feature as many pitted cart tracks
as possible. Route 21 doesn't disappoint although some of the
bridleway links are pleasantly well surfaced. About 50 riders in total
regrouped at Redhill station and then split into smaller groups. We
formed the majority of 'Group One', setting off along some of the best
parts of the route with quiet lanes and well surfaced tracks.

Then, just as you were enjoying the ride, up pops the North Downs and
Sustran's crazy ascent through an area called the Roughets. To be
fair, it makes slightly more sense going up than it does hurtling
down, trying to stay on the bike but it's a rough track that winds
steeply all the way to the Caterham viewpoint, where we rested to
catch our breath and take in the view.

The welcome long downhill on Woldingham School's tarmac drive then
presents you with another classic, the virtually impossible ascent of
Plantation Lane, a gravelly bridleway offering great views over the
Dukes Dene golf course. Most had to walk up. Fortunately, lunch was at
the top. Knight's garden centre knew we were coming but as everyone
arrived in dribs and drabs, getting served was easy. The do light
lunches and whilst portions aren't exactly generous, it's enough to
get you through the next set of tracks and hills.

Our Sustrans leader switched groups to assist a YMCA ride along the
same route and asked me to lead the next bit. No problem but all the
groups seemed to have merged into one at this point and I'd secretly
planned to skip some of the daft bits of the route. Charged with
following the official route, we avoided getting muddy through the
woods, no one died on the ludicrous High Hill Road bridleway descent
(although everyone walked up the other side) and by the time we'd
reached New Addington, I seemed to have amassed nearly all the riders,
including the YMCA group.

We followed the daft route through the New Addington estate, pointless
going down hills just to ride back up them and eventually ended up at
the bottom of Spout Hill, a seriously steep climb guaranteed to get
your lungs earning their keep. Fortunately it's downhill through
another housing estate all the way to South Norwood Country Park where
a new set of leaders were poised to take over whilst most of the PHC
group went home, with just two continuing on towards Greenwich along
the Waterlink Way.

30 miles to SNCP, out for 7 hours. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157617608939759
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc042

Hat's off to the Sustrans Rangers for putting this ride together. It's
a shame Sustrans don't spend some of their Peoples Millions on regular
led rides along their routes, paying professional leaders to
demonstrate the Waterlink Way and the Wandle Trail, the two best (but
poorly promoted) cycle routes in South London.

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NEW RIDES

These aren't all on the website yet but if you need to stick them in
your diary.....

May 10th - Denbies Vineyard from Carshalton
May 16th - Beddington Park ride
May 17th - West End Cricketers from Wimbledon
May 23rd - Bewl Water train-assist from East Croydon
May 24th - Richmond Gelato ride from Pollards Hill
May 31st - NEED A LEADER! Any volunteers?
June 6th - Wandle Trail from Pollards Hill (incorporating First Saturday ride)
June 7th - NEED A LEADER! Any volunteers?

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YAHOO LIST CHANGE

I've changed this email list's status to 'moderated'. It should be a
low traffic list and most emails that come through could have simply
been included on this weekly update. The new status means that I will
intercept any messages sent and either include them on the next email,
allow them through because they're important or disregard because
they're Out Of Office messages or not relevant to enough people to
warrant being posted.

If you need to involve people on a chatty basis, use the forum. In
fact, this needs its usage increasing or it'll have to be closed down
when the URL comes up for renewal.

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BEDDINGTON PARK RIDES

The website is going to move in the next week or so. It's new URL is
http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk/beddingtonpark so please
updated your bookmarks.

The rides are going to stay weekly throughout the summer on the 3rd
Saturday of the month. They're sociable 3hr afternoon rides along
local routes, ideal for novices or those with limited time. Join us on
16th May for an explore of the local area.

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NEXT WEEK

First of all, a plug for the excellent annual Tour de Penge on Sunday 10th May:

Cycle along the Waterlink Way to Greenwich Park for a BYO picnic and
then returning, a total distance of 15 miles, a family ride at a
leisurely pace. Children 12 years and under who cycle the distance
will be awarded a medal on completion of the ride. Children under 16
must be accompanied.

Meeting at Royston Field, Kenilworth Road, Penge, at 10.00 a.m. for
registration and safety checks prior to departing at 11.00 a.m. The
route can be found here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/285197.

The ride will be led and marshalled by members of Bromley Cyclists and
the Penge & Cator Safer Neighbourhood Team. The ride leader is Steve
Watkin, 07748 655201.
http://www.pengefestival.co.uk/Calendar%20of%20Events/calendar.htm

--

Sunday's PHC ride will start outside the Westcroft Leisure Centre in
Carshalton at 9:30am and head to Denbies Vineyard near Dorking. We'll
lunch at their conservatory restaurant and there'll be time for those
who want to explore the gift shop. Half day option available for those
who want to get a train back from Dorking after lunch. It's hilly when
you head south but we'll keep that to a minimum and try to make sure
that any climbs are rewarded with great views. Mostly on tarmac.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

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