Next Sunday's ride - Twickenham to Uxbridge

Next Sunday we will meet as advertised at Twickenham Wetherspoons,  the William Webb Ellis - and follow an adventurous route to Uxbridge. Our lunch destination will now be The Rusty Bike Cafe in Uxbridge, a nice community cafe with a limited menu, so you might want to bring something with you if you don't fancy their menu.  Quite a bit of off road but much of it is tarmac - nothing too hairy.

Best bike parking at Twickenham is just opposite, outside the police station, but you may not be able to see your bike from inside the pub.

18 miles to lunch, a bit less back to tea at Shepperton.  Not to  missed!

C&M Ride Sunday12-6-22

A small turnout at 11's, Nauticailia, as Bob and Ann had gone to The Old Moat at Horton by mistake. This had changed weeks ago, it pays to read the website rides list which is up to date on any changes, or txt, or phone the ride leader.

The cafe wasn't open I when I arrived as no Barista had appeared yet. It was soon in full swing and busy, Simon and Dave arrived shortly then Keith, Pam and Graham, much chatter and coffee imbibing departure time soon arrived, just as did Ray. Dave left us shortly afterwards, he had done a 70+ mile ride the day before.

There was a bit of a headwind as we set off, through Charlton, Ashford and onto Stanwell Moor, and Colnbrook. Just after crossing the M4, the off-road started a lovely route to Thorney and past Thorney Golf club and onto the hidden road. We were soon at Cowley and onto the last off-road section on the Colne River Trail next to Uxbridge Moor. Then onto a short section of the A4007 up to Uxbridge Moor and then a short ride to lunch at Flowerland GC. At this point Keith headed to make his won way home.

 

Although they were busy service was very quick and the food excellent. We had our lunch in a lovely setting outdoors shaded amongst masses of fauna. Warm and well-fed, but on we must go. Down to Iver, Thorney and across Harmondsworth Moor, Harlington and onto tea at Restaurante Saloio, where we sat in the rear courtyard drinking tea, coffee and beer for some. It again was hard to leave and the chatter was endless. Not long after we left, Graham left us at Hatton Cross and we carried onto Bedfont where Pam headed west for Ashford. 

The last 3 of us headed to Hampton where the trio said farewell, Ray about 100 metres to home, myself, about 4 hundred metres and Simon around 3 miles. Another great day on the bike with like-mind friends.

Tony..

Jubilee Sunday June 6 2022

Just six (GFH, Dave, Ann, Diane, Pam, Tony) arrived at the Sunrise cafe in Upper Halliford and only the first two continued.

The outward journey took us through Charlton, Staines(party in Lammas), Wraysbury (unintended visit to station by leader) Colnbrook and Langley. North of the station we turned onto NCN61 with its hint of country. During an unscheduled stop at the (previously unused?) Langley Park Cafe a retreat was debated. So it was NCN 61 to Iver then familiar ways through Richings Park, etc, etc to Ashford where we went our separate ways.

Jubilee Sunday had started with heavy overnight rain but the ride (if not the roads) was dry. Definitely there was no repeat of  Saturday's sunshine and heavy rain returned in the evening. Under 50 miles. 

Change Of 11s June 5 2022

Sunrise Cafe (0830-1430, TW17 8SE, TQ094682) in Upper Halliford. Roughly 1/4 mile N of Squires just beyond the Goat pub/restaurant.

Who knows what other changes the 2022 Jubilee will bring so we'll decide on the day. For me the 2002 Jubilee meant four days of more or less continuous rain in SW Scotland. 2022 must be better.

May 29 2022 - Frensham and Selborne

Surbiton station was busy with bikes heading for central London. In contrast I was "no mates" until Steph arrived for her first C&M ride in three years. At Bentley two became six as Simon was on Platform 2 with Lillian, Ed and Ray unloading in the car park; Ed seemingly unaffected when a bike landed on his head. Woeful navigation added 100 yards on the busy A325 to the short mileage to Alice Holt Visitor Centre/Cafe where amongst a sea of visitors we found Dave who'd cycled from home. 

East through Millbridge and Tilford we meet head-on the London (actually Brooklands!) to Brighton Classics Rally, Rural Life being their 11s stop. Before Rushmoor we turned west to Frensham Little Pond where Dave and Steph forded. Emptier roads now led to the faster flowing Lindford ford which only Dave braved - concrete base, around six inches deep. Beyond Bordon  was a climb past Temple, not particular hard but unexpectedly steepest at top where a portaloo was put to good use. 

In Selborne Dave headed for Alton railway station. In contrast we settled on the Gilbert White cafe. It was quiet until Simon's bottle of beer became a fountain on opening; he was more than happy to accept a two for one offer - the second being almost frothless. The leisurely lunch concluded with cakes for two gourmands and a loose toilet door handle.  

With two cars to rescue we headed back through the village taking quiet roads towards Blackmoor and Binsted. We paused only briefly to admire Oakhanger MOD "Balls", The double climb to Binsted was unwelcome - all seemed lost. But the downhill was fast and furious. And under ten minutes to wait at the station.  

A contribution from Gilbert White aka Ray

   

  

Sunday May 29 2022 Train assisted to/from Bentley

Surrey and Hampshire ride of between 25 and 30 miles; exact route decided on the day. It could include easy(!) offroad sections where alternatives might be fast link roads like the A325, A287 and B3009.

If you intend to ride all/part way to 11s, let me know in advance and I'll stretch 11s to fit.

Since my initial survey a normal train service has resumed hourly  (out: 0830, 0930, 1030, etc) back (14:23, 15:23, 16:23). Fast to/from Woking so

0930   Surbiton Railway Station. Buy a Sunday Out Return to Alton (not Bentley).
           There's no difference in price; Alton has a half-hourly service from 1315.  
1020   Arrive Bentley for offroad through the forest to:
1030   11s Alice Holt Cafe/Visitor Centre.
1330   Lunch  Selborne (hopefully, around 15 miles from 11s)
Back to Bentley with no teastop (but you decide) ,around 10 miles. 

Green route I'll take through forest. Tracks are "family friendly "- firm but stony!
Green cross (just off A325) is start of tar-maced route to visitor centre.

Ride Report - Sunday 22 May 2022

A lovely day saw Bob, Tony, Simon, Diane, Sabrina, Bernard, Graham and I meet at Morrisons, Weybridge for elevenses.   Apart from a slight niggle over the huge difference in cost (but small difference in size) between large and medium coffees, this cafe is definitely the best value for elevenses in the area, and it has straightforward order-and pay-at-the-counter system unlike some local garden centres I could name!

Everyone was keen to get back out into the sunshine and we set off promptly towards Windlesham, where Ray Wren joined us.    Despite a slightly circuitous route to Windlesham we had still arrived there in plenty of time to cover the additional few miles to The Kings Arms at Bagshot.   Simon discovered this pub for us last year and it too serves capacious meals at very reasonable prices with quick, efficient service.

Bernard was all right, really, he was just resting his head!   Suitably refreshed and with plenty of time in hand we headed for tea at Great Cockcrow for the first time this year.   There have been some changes there and the friendly couple who have been serving us teas every summer since time immemorial have now departed.   The cakes aren't quite as good now, but it would still be a good place to stop even without the trains!

Thanks all for your company and thanks to Graham for back-marking all day.

 

Plans for Sunday 22 May 22

Sunday's ride will begin from Morrisons, Weybridge as published.

Lunch can still be at The Claude Duvall, Camberley if wished, but  could be moved to The Sun, Windlesham, or The Kings Head, Bagshot if preferred, enabling tea at Great Cockrow Railway.

Please let me know if you any strong preferences.

Lunch 15th May

                                                      Lunch at Assembly Rooms, Epsom.

May 15 2002

Just four (Anne, Graham, Jennie, Keith ) at Stoke DAbernon and no ride due to conflicting forecasts of rain. For me a return through steady drizzle increasing intensity as I neared home 

Ride Report - Sunday 7 May 2022 (Chobham & Gold Valley Lakes)

 

It can never be a good start to a ride to arrive at your chosen elevenses venue only to find a curt notice stuck on the door informing you it no longer opens on Sundays (this despite your online checks beforehand)!   Never mind, we are resourceful folk at the Cheam & Morden.   The Hangar Cafe, Fairoaks would not have us, so we made alternative arrangements at Basil and Blue, Chobham, instead, and very satisfactory they proved.

After that it was a straightforward and pleasantly shady ride of twelve miles, via Pirbright and Ash to our next culinary nemesis, The Lakehouse Eatery near Aldershot.   It was our first visit here and first impressions were good.   It was a lovely day and The Lakehouse is in a delightful waterside setting.   First impressions are so often wrong however - even though we had reserved a table and it was still early lunchtime we were told before we had had the chance to order that there was an hour's wait for food (by the time we did actually order, this had increased to an 'hour and twenty minutes at least').    Fortunately, these dire predictions proved to be somewhat exaggerated and we had all eaten within an hour.   The chip butty is particularly recommended.

The return leg to Addlestone was a bit longer than the outbound route and there was more of a military theme as we passed through North Camp, Mytchett, and Bisley, still arriving in good time for tea at Addlestone.

Simon, Graham, Ann, Lilian, Diane, Sabina, Bernard, and Dave S joined me for the whole ride, and Bob, Tony, Carolyn and John were just out for elevenses.   Thanks to all for your company and thanks to Graham for diligently back-marking all day.

Plans for Sunday 7 May 2022

As published, Sunday's ride will take us from Fairoaks Airport, Chobham (leaving punctually as close to 11.00 am as possible, please) to Gold Valley Lakes, near Aldershot, and back to Addlestone for tea.   The route https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/102724769 is about 32 miles there and back.

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.