Sunday the 1st of May

11's will now be at the George, Staines, Wetherspoons.

And lunch at the Pineapple,  Dorney.

Approximately 19 undulating,  bordering on hilly, miles to lunch and afternoon tea by referendum.

Tony..

24 April - West Horsley to Godalming

We covered some unfamiliar routes today, or to put it another way, I got a bit lost.   But it ended well.

Birthday boy Ed

Looking forward to the ride(?)

It started well too, with rousing singing to celebrate Ed's birthday at West Horsley.   Bob, David W, Ann, Lilian, Keith, Graham and Robert formed the choir, which I'm sure was appreciated by all the other customers.   After we had sorted out a big muddle by the staff trying to split the bill, we got under way, up Shere Road as the first hill, and after that we decided it was to be pretty much the only hill.   Ed sensibly made his own way to Godalming while we tackled Albury and through to Bramley.  Here we went a bit off-plan and tried the Downs Link, which led us to the famous sewerage path through to Farncombe.  Very pleasant and fragrant it was too, thanks to a favourable wind direction.

Albury

David W left us at lunch, but as we sat down for lunch Ray joined us, having chased us from West Horsley.  Ed and Lilian caught the train back from Guildford after lunch.  The plan was to ascend Guildford High Street but I decided to change the route to follow the Wey towpath, which went swimmingly very well until I missed a turn in the vicinity of Stoke Park, leaving us in unexplored territory on the wrong side of the A3!   Despite all the dry weather we had to hike past a shocking patch of mud, but after that it was actually a fine off-road route back to Burpham, where we took the A3 cycle lane back to Ripley for tea.

Lost in the jungle, somewhere near the A3

A very enjoyable day out.   Thank you all for your company.

Past Easter Tours

 Simon Mitchell bought a photo display with him to the Salisbury Easter Tour, with pictures from past tours, and a list of all he Easter Tour destinations right back to 1951.

Here are the pictures from the Easter Tour part of the display.

Thank you to Simon, and I think also to Pete Mitchell who organised many tours in the past and kept records and photos for our enjoyment.

C&M Easter Tour 2022 - Salisbury

This year's Easter Tour, delayed from 2020 by Covid, was based at the ancient Red Lion Hotel in Salisbury.  46 people attended including quite a few newcomers, and four others would have joined us but for last-minute problems - you were very much missed.  The group was a mix of off-road riders, on-road riders and quite a few who came along to enjoy the excellent company and hospitality, and to explore Salisbury.  People arrived by various methods including riding all/part of the way, trains and cars.

Rides were organised on Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of time to socialise, and the weather was perfect: sunny and not too hot.   The hotel provided evening meals, and Simon Mitchell had organised a display of photos, including photos of previous Tours and a list of all the Easter Tour destinations going right back to 1951!  (See separate post.)

On Saturday Steve led 23 road riders north and west to ride past Stonehenge on a grassy track which was "reclaimed" from an A road a few years ago.   The close proximity to the stones led to an extended stop for photos, more photos, just one more, etc, before we finally got under way again to elevenses at a Methodist church hall in Shrewton.    We then ventured across the rolling plains to Chitterne and Codford (no, I'd never heard of these places before either).  After a pub lunch we meandered back on very quiet roads along the beautiful Wylye valley, a very relaxed ride allowing us to chat and enjoy the lovely scenery.   An alternative, longer route to the village of Imber was also offered by Steve as a self-guided bonus, but nobody took up his kind offer.    Imber was taken over by the military many years ago for use in urban warfare training, and is only accessible to the public at Easter.   Several had been there on previous Easter Tours and say it is well worth a visit.

Sunday's ride was led by Pete Beyer and headed south to the New Forest.   We headed down the river Avon valley, but the roads did not co-operate and seemed to delight in finding short, sharp hills wherever possible on the way to elevenses, which was outdoors at a golf club near Hamptworth.   Soon after that we entered the New Forest and the hills became more gradual with long stretches of open heathland and plenty of ponies and cattle grazing at the roadside.  

 Pete managed to find a pub in Rockford, just south of Fordingbridge, which served us quickly with good meals, and we were under way on small, quiet lanes again to Salisbury, where he treated us to a bit of exciting off-road near Salisbury racecourse.

I don't have details of the off-road routes, except to say that on the first day they rode north to a pub that can only be reached by a track, and on the second day they went south. By coincidence we met the off-roaders by Salisbury racecourse on the way home.

Five furlongs left to go (cathedral in the distance)

I think it is fair to say that everyone had a wonderful time, made even more special by being made to wait during the Covid pandemic.   All the arrangements worked well and we are all extremely grateful to Steve and Ann for their hard work over the past three years to ensure it went ahead so successfully.

Our wonderful hosts

Ride Report - Sunday 17 April

 

I hesitate to use the phrase 'skeleton crew', but today we felt we were the ones left behind to fly the flag for the Cheam & Morden while everyone else was away enjoying themselves!   Anyway, us dregs (Bob, Terry, Ed, Pam, Ray W and I) met for elevenses at Leatherhead.   Bob and Pam made their own ways home leaving the rest of us to toil up to Headley, and then tackle the climb of Hurst Road, where Ed outsprinted the rest of us by a country mile!   After that we headed, with some trepidation, for the track across Walton Heath Golf Club.   It was rideable, but winter had taken its toll - one section was blocked by a fallen tree, and there were the dried remains of what must recently have been some very large, very deep puddles, of the sort which would submerge a Land Rover!    

We decided to stop short at The Sportsman at Mogador instead  of battling the expected crowds on the North Downs Way to get to our planned stop at Reigate Hill.    There was plenty of room in the garden at the Sportsman, the service was speedy and efficient, and there were good light snack choices.

After a relaxing break it was off back long the track the other way and then homewards via Tadworth and Tattenham Corner.   There remarkably clear views of London and beyond from the racecourse today - never mind the Post Office Tower and Woking, we are pretty sure we could make out the Stokenchurch aerials on the north western horizon!

Anyway, thanks to all for your company.

Ride Report - Sunday 10 April 2022

 

It was a lovely sunny start to the day and we tempted to sit outside at Squires Garden Centre, Upper Halliford, our elevenses venue, but decided it was probably still just a little too cold!    Simon, Pam, Keith, Ray, Robert and I set off for lunch, Tony joining us for part of the way, while Bob made his own way home.

Today was really all about the 'lunch' at the brewery tap of The Big Smoke Brewery, Esher, but we did a token ride of a totally unnecessary 13 miles to get there, zig-zagging round various lesser-known paths, alleys, private roads and other backwaters in Sunbury, Shepperton, Weybridge, Walton and Hersham.

At the Big Smoke we sampled various unusual comestibles, some of which weren't actually even liquid in nature!   A portion of chips presented particularly good value.   This time we did sit outside but our original suspicions were confirmed - it was far too cold!

Thanks all, and I hope you were suitably mystified by the ride!   I throw down the gauntlet - what about a ride around the hidden corners of Richmond, or Runnymede, or even Sutton!

Plans for Sunday 10 April 2022

As published in the rides programme, our rather unusual ride on Sunday will be a mystery tour starting from Squires Garden Centre, Upper Halliford, and taking us for a 13 mile jaunt round some hidden corners of Walton, Weybridge and Hersham you never knew existed!    And as a bonus, I'm throwing in some hidden corners of Sunbury and Shepperton too!    No hills to speak of.  Lunch is at a pleasant riverside location (food and drink available).   There is a planned route but I'm not publishing it for obvious reasons!

As with all Cheam & Morden rides, booking is not essential, and we can always assist with getting you to the starting point if you're unsure, but do give plenty of notice for this.