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

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RIDE REPORT
The Mint - A PHC Classic 13/09/09

13 riders on the 13th. I'll use that unlucky combination to excuse a glitch!

This was our first in a series of Classic Rides. After 4 years of
trying to do a different route each weekend, even if it's only a
slight variation, we've settled on some pretty good combinations of
river paths, parks, quiet roads, scenery, views and good cafes and
pubs. The Classic rides will be as good as we can make them. However,
it was bad map plotting when passing the route onto today's leader
that meant we still went through the ridiculous swirly barrier on the
Wandle Trail. I'd intended to bypass this. It'll be a true classic
next time!

We detoured into BedZED which is the UK's largest eco village. Most
people notice the colourful wind cowls as they pass by but it's always
worth having a quick look at the unique houses. An unscheduled
cashpoint stop in Carshalton was only slightly off route so we
backtracked to cross historic Beddington Park, formerly a deer park
for the Carew family. The morning stop was at the garden centre cafe
on the site of the old Purley lido. The diving platform still exists
and has recently been refurbished.

We then heading back towards Carshalton using a different route before
picking up a cycling version of the Wandle-Oaks link that weaves
through backstreets and passes allotments and parks before popping out
on the rural Little Woodcote Estate, perched high enough to have a
clear view back to London and famous for its black weatherboarded
houses that Surrey County Council built to turn WW1's returning
soldiers into market gardeners.

An uphill climb ended at the carved Woodmansterne village sign for a
regroup before trundling along country lanes to lunch at The Mint.
We've often been conscious of getting here early because you can't
book so we were lucky to get two tables after arriving at 12:45. Food
is always good but takes a bit longer when they're busy.

The afternoon features the amazing vista of Epsom Downs as you round
Tattenham Corner. It's hard to explain but you've just descended
through a residential area and can only see houses when suddenly,
everything is removed, leaving just the vast green expanse of the
Downs. A saddle was playing up at this point and nobody really had a
suitable tool but Nonsuch Park was pretty much downhill all the way
and they had a Dr Bike at their "Awareness Day" event. They also had a
reproduction penny farthing to play on which provided an extra bit of
entertainment!

32 miles, out for 8hrs. See the pix on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollardshillcyclists/sets/72157622244876669
or
http://tinyurl.com/phc076

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SOUTH LONDON INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED CYCLISTS

Last call for those who'd like to be at the inaugural meeting. It'll
cost you a tenner to attend a 2.5hr friendly social evening where top
tips on advanced riding techniques will be dispensed, demonstrated and
discussed.

We'll run the events on a regular basis but there'll also be further
evenings that concentrate on a particular aspect of advanced riding.
Your hosts (Steve Watkin and myself) are both highly experienced
cyclists, qualified to teach skills and lead rides. Drop me an email
if interested.

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NEXT WEEK

First up is the 3rd Saturday of the month Beddington Park ride.
They're slightly slower than PHC rides and great for those new to
cycling or just getting back in the saddle. The ride leaves the park
cafe at 2pm. http://www.pollardshillcyclists.org.uk/beddingtonpark

Sunday is the big London event - the Skyride. If the weather is good,
there could be 100,000 cyclists pottering around the circuit of closed
roads in Central London. We're an official feeder ride so it's hard to
know how many of us there'll be. I still need more experienced riders
to help out so please do email if you're coming. We'll be following a
nice route over commons and along backstreets and we'll also be
bringing everyone home. Meet outside the library at Pollards Hill for
a 9:30am sharp departure.

Mark
PHC Co-ordinator
07711 688189

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