After very cold and gloomy weather of one sort another for all our Sunday rides in December, it is just possible that Sunday 1 January might see slightly better conditions (sunshine might be asking too much)!
We will be meeting for elevenses, as published, at Colicci Cafe, near Roehampton Gate, Richmond Park from 10.00 am.
No lunch ride has been planned on this occasion, but a short trip is possible if there is any interest.
Happy cycling for 2023!
Yet another bleak and cheerless Sunday (a rare event, the third dud in a row)! Dire Met office warnings of ice and freezing rain had caused us to move elevenses closer to civilisation (although prices at The Pheasantry could hardly be described as civilised)! Despite this, my expectations that any other Cheam and Morden riders would be mad enough to brave the elements were low. Imagine my surprise then when I was joined by no less than Diane, Tony, Simon and Paula! Well done and thanks all! Rain began to set in as we sat and chatted and there was understandably no appetite to go anywhere but back home!
For some reason there will be no C & M ride on Sunday 25 December (when the weather will very likely be sunny, dry and mild) but on Sunday 1 January 2023 we will continue our tour of Royal Parks cafes with our traditional first-footing elevenses meet at Colicci Cafe, Roehampton Gate, Richmond Park (all welcome)!
The next 'normal' ride (the first in what seems like a long time) will be on Sunday 8 January and we will hope for better things!
Merry Christmas to all C & M members and thanks for your company during 2022!
A severe weather warning for icy surfaces and freezing rain is in force for today. Rain may now begin any time this morning. In view of this, our elevenses meet today has been moved from The Old School Cafe, Longcross to The Pheasantry, Bushy Park. Apologies for the short notice, but this will put most people closer to home.
The Longcross and Chobham ride will be rescheduled for 2023.
If you are coming to elevenses, do take great care and look out for any worsening of conditions!
Today was very, very cold and unrelievedly gloomy day, probably the antithesis of good cycling weather! Still, not for nothing is 'Per ardua ad Wetherspoons' the unofficial motto of the Cheam & Morden and no less than two of us (Keith and I) mustered at elevenses at The Old Moat Garden Centre to fly the flag.
Flag flying is one thing, but continuing to lunch on such a beastly day would have been going over and beyond, so we unanimously resolved to end the official ride at elevenses and make our own ways home from there.
The catering arrangements at The Old Moat were fine but the heating arrangements were less than optimal and I started off from elevenses already cold, so the next part of my ride found me 'well chilled'! I hope Keith fared better!
To say today was somewhat gloomy would be an understatement - it was like twilight all day from sunrise to sunset, and bitterly cold. However, these intemperies failed to deter Tony, Ged, Graham, Ray and Terry from joining me for elevenses at Morrisons, Weybridge. Disappointingly, their catering arrangements were rather less than optimal on this occasion (a very slow moving queue only to be told there was no coffee available) and I think we will put them on the subs bench for a while!
It was such a revolting day that only Ged, Ray and I were tempted to continue to the planned lunch stop at The Cinnamon Cafe, Windsor. The cold got to Ray after we had descended Crimp Hill and he decided to turn straight for home and add new gloves to his Christmas wish list, once his fingers had thawed out, that is!
That left Ged and I to soldier on to the Cinnamon Cafe where the catering has never been found to be at all lacking, and where you move through the long queue at remarkable speed! Refreshed and inspired we rode back to Shepperton at remarkable speed too, and went our separate ways. Thanks all for your company.
A damp start so it was no surprise that we were but five (Bob, Dave, Robert, Simon and me) at the Vineries. Briefly we were joined by two Beers (who had other plans).
On Sunday 27 November we will now meet at The Vineries Garden Centre, Effingham (instead of The Queen Stage). Graham has very kindly devised a route to take us on to lunch at Woking.
If you're disappointed we won't be going, as published, to The Queen Stage, then fear not - we are due to have lunch there in a couple of weeks anyway!
Bob, Mark, Diane, Sabina, Bernard, Keith, Terry, Graham and Brian joined me at elevenses on a lovely sunny morning. All of us except Bob set off to follow the route Simon had devised to take us to The Royal Oak at Brockham, where Simon, who had been due to lead but was unexpectedly unable to ride with us, had also booked us a table. The lovely route took us over Headley Heath, down Pebble Hill and around Betchworth and Leigh, in territory but rarely visited these days by the C & M.
Bushey Park for 11's saw a good turnout, It was 13 altogether, including a not often seen Richard Delaware, it was nice to see him. I had planned a shortish route, about 17 miles altogether to lunch at the Alisa Tavern, Twickenham. A lot of the route I hadn't used in years and a lot of when I used to run.
Cobblers Walk to Kingston gate, and then back roads to Broom road and onto Teddington lock and across the river. Then left onto Riverside Drive and through Cut Throat alley and onto the pleasant off-road of Ham Avenues to Ham common.
Then Richmond park, bushy as you would expect on a Sunday with mini Peletons flying everywhere. Out of Richmond gate and down Queen's road to the path by Richmond lodge. This leads to a very pleasant path through Sheen common, just be careful of the tree roots.
I had planned a slight detour to view the Wembley arch from Berwyn road in North Sheen, but the weather was against us, it was visible on Friday when I reccied. On to the Thames and over Chiswick bridge and Dan Mason Drive to the Promenade, but turning left into the very long but wide alley that leads to Burlington Lane. At this point I realised that we were behind schedule, so a change of route was called for, so into Stavely road and a brief stop to view the memorial to the first V2 rocket that landed in England in No 5 Stavely road. Killing 3 people and injuring many more.
On now by a directish route to Kew bridge and along Brentford high street, Syon park and back to roads to lunch. Fully booked inside but they had an outside Marque and booths with heaters, it was nice to see Simon join us for lunch after his morning duties in the band at the Remembrance ceremony in Twickenham, much banter and then time to move on. A request for a tea stop was called for, so a short ride to Marble hill park cafe ensued. Numbers by now had dwindled and only 6 sampled the delights. Again more banter and touring tales from Ed delighted the group.
All good things must come to an end and off we departed before dusk really marred our final miles home. A great crowd and lovely to see so many out.
Tony..
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| The Fox at Hanwell |
Twickenham to Hanwell is a piffling four miles as the crow flies. But - as the Graham rides: that's a completely different proposition. Graham was unfortunately unable to lead today's ride but he kindly sent us his route, and since David had led last Sunday and last Wednesday, it seemed only fair that I offered to lead. How difficult could it be for me, a local?
All was well at elevenses, where a healthy crowd of Bob, Mark, Diane, Tony, Pam, David W and David V, Ray and myself indulged in an unhealthy amount of unlimited coffee, before eight departed, leaving Bob to make his own way.
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| I think it's through here ... |
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| And then through there ... |
Graham's route promised walking over two London bridges, and the first of these was Teddington Lock, on the way to Ham gate of Richmond Park. But Graham's ingenious and, it has to be said, adventurous route caught me out half a dozen times in about half a mile, as we twisted and turned over muddy bridleways and lumpy rabbit tracks in Ham Common. Sighs of relief were breathed when we emerged back onto tarmac. In Richmond Park we were held up by a large herd of deer stag-ing a sit-in on the cycle path for a while, but eventually they decided to move on. After crossing Richmond park, the second river crossing was Hammersmith bridge, (where Dave V left us); route-finding a bit more straightforward but still requiring plenty of concentration along the back streets of Chiswick, Acton and Ealing.
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| Oh, deer! |
We reached The Fox at Hanwell a bit after 1.30pm. It was extremely busy, and we fretted over whether we would finish our meals by nightfall, but the service was excellent and we were away by around 2.15pm, a relatively (for Graham) straightforward route south through the highlights of Osterley Park and Mogden sewage works.
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| I narrowly escaped being put in here at lunchtime for my poor route-following. |
By 3.30 we were saying goodbyes to Pam and Ray (Dave W having departed at lunch time), and the remaining four went into Squires Garden Centre, Fulwell for tea. Three of us ordered scones with our tea, but Tony, to be different, ordered a six-foot Christmas tree, which had the waitress a bit bemused. After a dry ride, I think it rained just as we were having tea, so I hope you got home OK and not too wet, Pam and Ray.
Thank you to Graham for his enjoyable and, at times, very exciting route. I'm doubly sorry that you weren't able to join us - now I know how much work you have to put into leading one of your lovely intricate rides I will appreciate them even more in future! Thanks also to David W and Tony for back marking, and to all for your forbearance with the various missed turns, sense of humour, and great company as always.
After an extra hour in bed Sunday's ride is as appears in the newsletter and elsewhere, that is, Spoons Twickenham to Fox Hanwell. A notional teastop is Squires Fulwell after 25 miles but some might wish to continue to say Bushy Park. Sunset is around quarter to five.
We'll be crossing two London bridges on foot. The only lengthy offroad is along the Canal to Norwood Green.
Expect to be in bed with flu or cold. Feeling miserable. Next update: probably Sunday am
Still coughing so I've emailed my route to Dave if he wants to use it
It was the wettest start to a Sunday morning for many months and only a hardy few (Simon, Graham and I) met for elevenses at The Watchman, New Malden. Fortunately, the forecasts were right for once, and by about 11.00 am the sky looked markedly brighter and the rain started to ease off, so we decided to proceed with the planned ride to Canada Water.
My route was a little quirky and took in such unusual sights as the Wombles' bench outside AFC Wimbledon and the other Albert Square, before we began an unofficial attempt on the record for passing under railway arches in south London!
It was considerably brighter by the time (1.00 pm) we eventually reached Decathlon, Canada Water. Bikes were safely stowed in the bike park inside the store. It was important to do things in the right order here - by doing our shopping first we obtained till receipts to get a 10% discount in the upstairs cafe. The cafe, like my route, was a little bit quirky, but the food and drink were fine. The problem was with the loud music blasting from a fitness class next door! Eventually it stopped but it wasn't a comfortable experience while it lasted!
Eventually, we made our way back the short distance, under sunlit skies, to Waterloo station where carriages awaited us! I am rather glad I decided not to ride the whole way home as I hadn't been indoors long when the skies blackened over again and torrential rain resumed!
Thanks to Simon and Graham for their company and for loyally turning out on such an unpleasant morning, and to Simon for the photos!
This Sunday's ride will begin from Wetherspoons (The Watchman), Fountain Roundabout, New Malden. You may remember that it was scheduled for earlier in the month but had to be postponed because of rail strikes.
The lunch stop is the Lodge Cafe, Decathlon, Canada Water. The route to lunch (about 13 miles) is an interesting and surprising cross section of south London, pretty much all on cycle paths of one sort or another, and takes in such magnificent sites as the Wombles' bench and Albert Square (no, not that one)!
Posters in Decathlon say that a till receipt will get you a 10% discount in the cafe so it may be worth doing your shopping first (after checking the small print), but remember that Decathlon only take card payments. There is limited cycle parking inside the store, but a goodish lock is still advised! Toilets in the basement.
After lunch the route https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/134333128 takes us on three more miles of quiet roads and cycle paths to Waterloo station, where carriages will await us, although it continues another eight or nine miles to Richmond Park for those who wish to cycle home.
In these difficult times, it is good to know that at least two things are in abundant supply. One of these is acorns. It's been a good year for acorns. We know this because the roads are peppered, nay, piled high with them in some places.
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| Full inside |
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| And two more outside |
We started the day with an excellent turnout at Addlestone's Golden Cafe, which was standing room only by the time we were ready to leave. Several were only out for elevenses, having heard that David W had been called for duty elsewhere, perhaps helping talks at Chequers? But a hardy four companions set out along the acorn-infested roads. We rode a panoramic tour of the autumn colours of Foxhills, Stonehills, and Coxhill Green (strangely all fairly flat), before the day's highlight, the ford at Pennypot. None were brave enough to risk it, although we did establish that the water was less than a foot deep.
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| Where was David W when we needed him? (Photo: Pam) |
The ever-changing menu at the Kings Head gave us new choices and we were served promptly, just warm enough to sit outdoors. Tony suspected his coffee was made with acorns, in a development which could have been a Green initiative, or simply cost-saving. After lunch we were entertained by riding past the large mansions in upper Windlesham and Sunninghill, passing Hatton Hill, Benjamin's Mount and Mount Pleasant on the way to Windsor Great Park. Despite all this, the hill-o-meter was still registering "mildly hilly" and never even reached "undulating", until we reached Breakheart Hill on the way to the Guards Polo club.
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| Breakheart Hill |
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| Reaching the summit (Photo: Tony) |
The other thing that is abundant at this time of year is U-turns. Unfortunately I contributed to the surplus as I whizzed down a lovely hill towards Wick Gate, not where we wanted to be at all. I suggested a dodgy looking path through the trees to the loyal followers. Pam even confirmed that she had full confidence in the leader, so I knew I was in trouble. But after a bit of fairly mild off-road, bumping across a field of grass, a bridge and a track, culminating in a sign saying "No Cycles" pointing to where we had just come from, we emerged on the broad sunlit tarmac uplands of the path round Virginia Water lake. It was swarming with people. And acorns. But we managed to find our way to the exit, and without further drama, made our way via St Ann's Hill to Nauticalia at Shepperton, whereupon a lively and enjoyable discussion sprang up, covering such diverse topics such as the culinary uses of quinces, and a multitude of ways to prepare porridge.
It's a pleasure to be part of such a sociable and fun group of riders. Thank you to all who came along.
Steve D, Diane, Tony H, Graham, Pam, Robert, Terry, Maureen and Ed joined me for elevenses at The Queen Stage, Effingham Their peak trade on Sundays seems to be between 10.00 am and 10.30 am with a large queue forming then, but it was much quieter immediately before and after this period. It was a cold but sunny start and far too cold to sit outside in my reckoning, but the constant passing of other customers between the two outside areas meant it wasn't much warmer inside in the otherwise comfortable area we occupied!
By the time we left lunch it had warmed up considerably and we our short, bog standard ride to Walton Bridge was punctuated by frequent stops for successive items of outer clothing to be removed. Enjoy it while you can.
In summary, a fairly unexceptional sort of ride (none the worse for that) on a pleasant day. Thanks all for your company.
A wet start did not deter Simon, Tony, Pam, Graham, Robert and I from meeting at Morrison's, Weybridge. Morrison's is good providing you allow enough time to negotiate the rather long queue which can develop for coffee and food! So it was that some of us set off for Windsor with thirsts slaked and on full stomachs, others not!
By the time we were on the road it had stopped raining and even showed signs of brightening up. We took a slightly quirky route to Egham where my plan for us to climb Prune Hill was foiled by closure of the level crossing. Curses! Even worse, other level crossing closures in the area were causing traffic to back up in Egham town centre! Birthday Girl Pam came to the rescue and led us adroitly through a car park and a warren of back streets to bring us out near the bottom of Middle Hill, which today had to stand in for Prune Hill. After gliding down Crimp Hill, our route into Windsor took us along the path of the Queen's funeral cortege, at least as far as the Long Walk. Crowds were out in force in Windsor but we easily found a table in the haven which is the courtyard seating behind the Cinnamon Cafe, where things were as excellent as ever!
Dehydration and malnutrition staved off, we headed via Datchet, Staines and Laleham for tea at Shepperton Lock.
Many thanks to all for your company, and to Simon for back-marking, and many happy returns to Pam! I must say that going out on one of my rides would not be my idea of a birthday treat!
Sincere apologies for yet another short notice change but in view of a rail strike the day before, the rearranged London Marathon and planned climate change protests (!!!), our ride to Bermondsey on Sunday 2 October has been postponed until 23 October.
The ride on Sunday 2 October will now start from Morrisons, Weybridge and head to lunch in Windsor, either at the Cinnamon Cafe, or The Windelsora as preferred.
Apologies once again!
Hillingdon Track Ordanary Racing
The route back was shorter and still involved some off-road. No tea stop was required and at Fulwell the group started to disperse. A great group and a grand day's ride and a rare opportunity to witness such an event. Thank you all for joining me, and thanks to Simon for back marking.
Tony.
