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

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RIDE REPORT
West End Common 30/08/09

14 turned up for a repeat with better weather of the enjoyable ride
out to the quintessentially English village green at West End Common.
I'd contemplated a suggestion to do the route in reverse to avoid
Sunday afternoon Thames Path madness but I didn't think we'd get to
the pub on time. The Prince Of Wales is a busy destination pub that
doesn't take bookings so you need to turn up and be seated at midday
if you want to get your food in reasonable time.

I'd left my map holder at home so I made up a route through the pretty
Merton Park conservation area on the way out to the Krispy Kreme donut
emporium. Aside from the unhealthiness of their headline product, it's
a useful morning coffee stop, if not a little close to the starting
point. As a bonus, a member of staff was handing out free samples,
including freshly cooked glazed donuts which are preferably to the
cold version.

We snaked through the backstreets of Motspur Park, crossed the
Hogsmill river, ducked under the A3 and skirted Long Ditton on the way
to Hinchley Wood before then we hit Millionaires Row between Claygate
and Esher. Many of the roads are fully gated in this area, especially
around the Claremont Estate but we chose a through route that brought
us out at Esher's main crossroads before crossing into another private
estate, this time one that houses a rather special property.
Wayneflete Tower is the remaining gatehouse of bishop and Lord
Chancellor William Wayneflete's palace, widely thought to be the first
Tudor palace.

Fortunate timing saw us arrive at the pub just before the Sunday lunch
hoardes descended. Most stayed put but I nipped next door to the well
stocked farmshop to sample some cheese and pick up some Sweet Freedom.
We then retraced our steps but instead of going back into Esher, rode
off in the direction of Sandown Park towards Hampton Court, avoiding
the daytrippers and escaping into super-smooth Bushy Park where the
Diana Fountain is still being restored.

Originally, the ride was to leave Bushy and go through Teddington but
we'd been making good time so we hung a right onto Timothy Bennet's
Cobbler's Walk and crossed the river at Kingston to pick up the Thames
Path. The riverscape is lovely along these parts but I'd forgotten how
bumpy the path is in parts. Teddington Lock (scene of Monty Python's
Fish Slapping Dance I learnt today) provides a tarmacked respite from
the stones. The lock keepers cottage here is really well maintained
and looks a picture isolated on the opposite side.

Richmond is always busy but Tide Tables riverside cafe was quiet for a
change. We relaxed until the wind picked up enough to threaten to
start moving the furniture (it's happened before!) and then tackled
Richmond Hill into Richmond Park. We were all surprised to be shown
the Reasons To Be Cheerful musical seat dedicated to the memory of
rock star Ian Dury at Poets Corner near Pembroke Lodge. Unfortunately,
you need to bring your own headphones and plug them into the bench to
hear the music and we're all too sociable to be listening to iPods on
the ride.

A stretch of uphill A3 pavement misery took us onto Wimbledon Common
and into the village. A final freewheel down the hill back to the
station brought us back to base.

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

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157622198840128
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc074

Ian Dury bench: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1958039.stm
Sweet Freedom: http://www.sweetfreedom.co.uk

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A SWIFT HALF A REPORT

10 of us met up in the pub on a drizzly Wednesday night for a joint
PHC and Bromley social. We should do more evening rides. Please feel
free to offer your own.

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THE MORDEN PARK FESTIVAL

Several people turned up to hang out at Merton council's Change 4 Life
event. There was an excellent collection of stalls and activities but
nobody knew the event was on due to poor advertising. I reckon less
than 1000 attended. We were a little bit isolated next to mini tennis
and girls football but I arranged for the organisers to place some
better signage which did the trick. We partnered up with Pedal 4
Health who had bikes available for kids to try out and a fixed wheel
mini penny farthing that threw a lot of very competent adults.

After the event ended, I headed over to the excellent Environmental
Fair at Carshalton Park which had attracted around 10,000 paying
visitors. We'll try and get a stall at this brilliant festival next
year because everyone will love it. We can't go back to Morden because
it's not worth our while.

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AVOIDING THEFT

A few people have been interested in the security of their bikes
recently. Whilst the unfortunate reality is that there is nothing you
can do to guarantee your bike won't be stolen, you can take steps to
minimise a loss. You can see how quick and easy it is to steal a bike
in this trailer for a TV programme that went out last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WeEq_SxNRc

Here's some CCTV (with the bike owner commentating!) showing a casual
and relaxed thief in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bjcmlMy27Y

Here's a video of motorcycle chains being easily broken:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
If you think a thief wouldn't take those bolt cropper out on the
streets, think again!

The first rule you need to remember is that two different types of
lock are your best deterrent. Thieves tend to only carry one type of
device for breaking locks. I'd recommend a good D lock through the
back wheel / rear triangle of the frame, attached to a solid bike
stand. Don't attach it to steel railings as thieves just kick these to
break them. Signposts can be removed with a spanner and your bike
lifted off. It has to be a proper bike stand. Don't leave any space in
the D part of the lock and lock with the easily pickable keyhole
pointing to the floor. Don't lock the top tube of the frame or the
thief will use it as a lever to break the lock. The tools used to
break D locks are normally car jacks so you're looking to minimise the
opportunity to insert a jack. They can also be frozen and struck with
a hammer so try to limit the opportunity to rest the lock against a
solid surface.

Next, use a cable lock to secure the front wheel. Don't allow it to
touch the floor as that allows any bolt cropper to be used with full
force. Your bike should be in full view of as many people as possible
and not hidden up a quiet street. Look for CCTV covering the area
although this rarely discourages the thief but it might help to trace
them. Place your bike onto an online register such as Immobilise or
keep a copy of the frame number at home so that the police can return
it to you in the unlikely event they recover it. A transponder is
fairly cheap but I've no idea if they work well.

Never leave a heavy lock in situ at a regular parking stand as thieves
will simply break it so you can't use it, knowing you will just use
your portable lock to secure it whilst you replace the heavier lock.
Before you've even got to a shop, your bike will be gone.

Bikes are relatively safe on our rides as there's often someone stood
near them. Well equipped thieves don't tend to target country pubs but
we should always be on guard on urban rides. Knowledge is power when
it comes to beating the thief.

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RIDING WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG

You may have seen the news coverage of Lance Armstrong's open
invitation Twitter advertised ride in Glasgow last week which
attracted 300 people. He repeated the stunt a few days later in Dublin
and attracted 1000 riders for some laps of Phoenix Park. Here's a pic:

http://twitpic.com/fs02b

He's suggested that he might do it again and London has been
mentioned. If anyone sees the 11th hour notification, please post it
on here.

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NEW BIKE DESIGNS

The latest bike innovations:

http://webecoist.com/2009/08/27/15-dazzling-bike-design-directions

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NEXT WEEK

It's the First Saturday Of The Month next week so head over to
Pollards Hill library at 9:30am for a very special half day ride. I'm
not revealing the destination but there's no second chance as it won't
be there next month. You need to come on the ride to find out what it
is. We'll be back in time to head over to Carshalton for the Charter
Fair. Easy ride at our normal pace but not out as long so a great ride
to try if you're not sure about a Sunday ride.

On Sunday, there's a rare PHC mountain bike ride. Obviously you can
try this on any bike but it'll be easier with chunky tyres. We're
going to meet at East Croydon where the Ramblers' Vanguard Way starts
and follow as much of it as we can. The route goes to Newhaven via a
series of bridleways and footpaths but mostly bridleways in the early
stages. We'll detour when required onto lanes. It's very much going to
be an explorer ride and I can't guarantee where we'll be at certain
times so carry some snacks just in case. It'll be hilly in places but
we're not racing (do we ever?) so fine to walk up. I imagine we'll be
at Botley Hill Farmhouse for lunch and that we'll end up at Edenbridge
where we can catch a train back to East Croydon. We're not aiming to
get muddy so if the paths are really bad, we'll skip them. Should be
an excellent adventure. Be outside the CEX shop at East Croydon
station for a 9:30am departure and bring a couple of quid for the
return train journey

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

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