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

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RIDE REPORT
Hogsmill 12/07/09

Today's 18 riders managed to avoid any rain despite the overnight
downpour. We chose a route out to Nonsuch Park that still has people
wondering where they are, especially when we cut through Seears Park.
That's the beauty of these rides - we use routes that you wouldn't
normally find if you're going direct from A to B. We tend to amble and
that takes us into interesting corners.

After a very early morning stop at Nonsuch Mansion House cafe we
crossed the busy A24 and snuck down the passageway by Ewell Castle
school before picking up the Hogsmill river path. I wasn't sure what
state the rain would have left the first part of the path in so some
opted to bypass it. There was nothing to worry about and they missed
the funky bit over little bridges and under a railway bridge on a
wooden boardwalk over the river itself.

Then we picked up the new Hogsmill path, a properly surfaced, wide,
traffic-free trail that follows a pitiful watercourse that belies its
past as a powerful industrial river. Within no time at all, you're at
Tolworth with it's big ugly tower in the distance, where you switch to
a different branch of the river that's more like a ditch. The path
hasn't been upgraded here and can be hard work in places. You reappear
in a pub car park near Chessington where it's a short ride through a
gap in some houses to Horton Country Park.

We've ridden round the Country Park many times before but always using
the same path. This time we mixed it up a bit and rode for about 3
miles on the wide all-weather paths using tracks we haven't tried
before. As we neared the exit, we chanced upon a British Driving
Society horse and cart show with the participants in period costume.
We watched for a bit then crossed over for more traffic-free riding on
Epsom Common before a wrong turning in the trees (they all look the
same) saw all 18 riding over the grass on Stamford Green like a
marauding cycling army advancing on the Cricketers pub, our chosen
lunch stop. We were there before midday so we had to wait for them to
open properly but food was fairly priced, served swiftly and no
complaints. You certainly can't argue with a 2 course meal and a soft
drink with change out of a tenner. We'll go back.

There's always a hill after lunch. But not before a nice long gentle
descent on more Epsom Common paths and through Ashstead Park. Then we
climbed up Epsom Downs, caught our breath at the top and picked out
the Wembley arch from the amazing view whilst model stunt planes flew
overhead. Then we picked our way through Banstead and across the ridge
to the downhill ride past the amazing lavender fields and into Oaks
Park.

We've always known that the Oaks gave its name to the famous horse
race whilst the owner of the house, the Earl of Derby, won a coin toss
to have another Epsom race named after himself. What most didn't know
was that the house was the scene of the most elaborate social
gathering ever seen in England in 1774 when even Parliament closed
down to attend the wedding of the Earl's successor. Today, we were
able to see the archeological dig that has uncovered the foundations
of the demolished house including a very rounded foundation for a
turret and a large hole that has possibly hit upon a vault or
basement.

As our numbers had dwindled a bit by this point, we decided to try a
cheeky tree covered alternative to riding through the park's car park.
We walked through the formal gardens but remounted for the brilliant
descent on a great surface that had most grinning at the bottom, even
though we had to slow for a couple of pedestrians. At least one wanted
to go back up and have another go!

The ride technically ended back in Carshalton but a contingent carried
on to Sutton for the last hour or so of the Move It At The Manor
festival where cycling was very heavily represented with a variety of
stalls, including ingenious ideas such as a competition to lock a bike
in the quickest time which was actually a cleverly disguised way of
instructing on the correct way to lock a bike (D-lock through the rear
triangle and cable lock on the front wheel) plus old favourites like
Dr Bike, the obstacle course and the ubiquitous police stall offering
Smartwater to Sutton residents. We stuck around to watch a tired Team
Extreme go through their stunts on BMX, skateboard and inline skates
before heading off home.

5 miles back to Carshalton, out for 6.5hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157621217881773
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc061


Team Extreme:
http://www.teamextreme.co.uk

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MORE PHOTOS

Here's some more from last week:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylorbritt/sets/72157620971124445/

and some more from today's ride:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jezzer/sets/72157621342606978/

Our Flickr account wasn't very well thought through when it was set up
and it means no one can add anything without first sending it to me.
Whilst a lot of the regular photographers send their images over via
email as soon as they get home, enabling me to choose from a larger
pool, not everyone can do this. If you want to share your photos, just
drop me an email and we'll add them to the following week's email.

Those who enjoy taking pix off the bike might fancy entering this
local competition:
http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5740

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BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

There are two things planned for our 4th Birthday on Saturday 25th
July. One is Cycle Bingo, a fun but hare-brained scheme that comprises
a short ride and the opportunity to win prizes whilst sight-seeing in
the local area. You need to meet at the cafe at Beddington Park for a
2pm departure. This is the easy bit and will go ahead regardless of
the weather (unless there's a ridiculous storm which means your Bingo
cards will get soggy!)

A bit trickier is the BBQ. Firstly, we cannot go ahead in inclement
weather. If this happens, we'll cancel in the morning via the website
and email list and decamp to a pub instead. If the weather is ok, you
need to bring drinks and something to chuck on the BBQ. Make sure you
arrive at least 15 mins before the above ride leaves and I'll have a
large ice box on site to store the food in. Wrap it up and put your
name on it. The Bingo ride will be over in an hour so hopefully no one
will get food poisoning but in this day and age of litigation, let's
be clear that it's YOUR risk! The BBQ will be in the park near the
cafe on the dedicated BBQ stands. PHC will supply the coals etc and
we'll have a separate grill for the vegetarians.

The emphasis will be on the social aspect so don't expect too much and
I'm sure we'll have a great afternoon. I'm not going to advertise the
details on the website so print this out or stick in in your diary.
All 384 PHC members welcome! I'll remind everyone of the details again
next week.

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THE CYCLE QUESTS

It was nice to see the cover star of the Croydon Cycle Quest out on
today's ride and that reminded me that a lot of newer members won't
know about these rides. Back in 2006 we devised a week of events for
Croydon's Bike Week, the highlight of which was a 50 mile route around
the whole borough of Croydon, passing 10 'Quest' points along the way.
The idea was to visit each Quest point where you would find the answer
to a simple question and those with all 10 correct where entered into
a prize draw. Whilst the competition is long over, you could still
ride the route and check out some of the places. The website is here:

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

We then devised similar for Merton but this was a much shorter route:

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

I'll revisit these routes soon and add a GoogleMap version which most
will find easier to follow. If you want an actual printed leaflet, let
me know and I'll bring some out on a ride. I'll definitely have some
at the Birthday events.

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NEXT WEEK

It's the 3rd Saturday of the month and that means it's the Beddington
Park afternoon ride. You'll find the park nestled between Hackbridge,
Carshalton, Beddington and Wallington. The rides are nice and steady
and head out to a cafe and back on quiet roads or traffic-free routes,
making them ideal for beginners or those returning to cycling. Nearest
station is Hackbridge and more details can be found here:
http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk/beddingtonpark The ride leaves
at 2m from the park cafe.

Sunday's ride is a nice scenic ride out to Walton on the Hill.
Obviously there's a clue in the name but there's no real mountains to
climb and there's some nice downhills in the afternoon. 9:30am
departure from outside Pollards Hill library.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

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