The Return of the All Day Ride to Worthing - a Series of Fortunate Events

It was an eclectic mix of riders who signed up for the October ride - riders drawn from all sections. We unfortunately lost a few in the run-up due to various illnesses and whatnot, but fortunately gained Karl, who I placed with Steph my very able sub-leader. Unfortunately I forgot to tell Karl, so he promptly followed me out of Nonsuch Park making mine a group of 7 riders, and Steph's a group of 5, but no matter. As everyone had arrived promptly we were fortunately able to leave a few minutes early and via a dirt track to avoid the Park runners eagerly lining up, and it was nice to see Colin and Carolyn there for the run. 

The route to Tanhouse Farm was fairly standard, with maybe some tweaks here and there as this was intended to be a route on quieter roads. Up and over the North Downs, the highest point of the day, and then down through Betchworth and Brockham and out towards Newdigate. Fortunately the rain only started as we approached our elevenses stop, and was at its heaviest when both groups were safely inside. And fortunately I didn't need my sunglasses much after that, as I had unfortunately broken them within the first 6 miles.

First leg under our belts, we set off again, a little late due to waiting for the rain to pass over and the unfortunate situation of only one toilet being open. We took a fairly straight line through Rusper and Littlehaven, staying wide of Horsham town centre and heading to Copsale and Maplehurst, finally arriving at Partridge Green where the pub was expecting us. I didn't need to have booked as the pub was pretty empty, the food was basic but reasonably priced and served by friendly staff. Steve left us there after lunch to cycle back home and clocked up quite a few more miles.     

Karl keeping his gloves safely behind his back....or was he??

Angie was meeting us at Worthing, so a quick update sent to her and off we went again - the last leg through Ashurst and picturesque Steyning, with the South Downs looming ahead. Fortunately for us there were just a couple of short sharp climbs to deal with and then it was over the River Adur and onto the Downs Link, where it was then flat for the rest of the way. We got as far as the Shoreham memorial before unfortunately the rain started again, so jackets went back on. We decided to continue the ride, having got this far, and started along the NCN2 coast path from Shoreham to Worthing, but by the time we got to Lancing I was fed up with cycling headlong into the rain and wind. Fortunately we had stopped right beside a lovely café right there on the cycle path, so made the decision to go inside for our hot drinks, cakes and sea views. Steph's group came past not long after and perhaps wondering about all the parked bikes they stopped, and joined us inside. Which was really fortunate, as Angie had meanwhile discovered that the intended tea stop was in fact closed for a private function which perhaps had surprised even themselves, as they hadn't mentioned it days earlier. 

Blinking cyclists photo-bombing the River Adur 

Fortunately the rain had stopped again while we were inside, so we completed our route along the coast path and then took a right through Worthing to land up at the station, where fortunately the ticket office was just being re-opened, allowing those of us in my group who were unfortunately without an advance ticket to purchase one with a group discount. And so we made our various ways home, with some train journeys being more fortunate than others.

Five Go Down To The Sea

Thanks to Steve and then Simon for back-marking, and for their company along with the rest of my group of Rob, Alan, Bob and Karl, and especially to Steph for sub-leading.  Let's do it again!   

Rob's amazing video gives a taste of the day and can be viewed here: CTC SW Worthing 2024

Steph writes: 

Steph's group set off quickly after Diane's and by cutting through a footpath just cleared the main avenue before hundreds of Park runners began to chase us.

The toil up onto Epsom Downs was rewarded with slightly misty views but a downhill run through Pebblecombe and beyond made the first 17 mile chunk to Tanhouse an easy wheel.  There were lots of cyclists out and the queue at the one working toilet was growing but Helen asked them to open the "staff only" facilities and soon we had wee'd and were on our way again. This middle 17 mile chunk was a mixture of pleasure and pain, the great green cycle bridge helped us avoid the centre of Horsham but the 17% climb on Kerves Lane was a muscle builder to help us tackle the lesser but more frequent uphills that were to come. Lunch at Partridge Green with our big bowls so full of melted cheese (we couldn't see the baked potatoes) fortified us as rain fell outside.

The last 17 miles were a challenge, Steyning was beautiful, St Botolphs church was charming, but the rain began to batter us as we crossed the bridge in Shoreham and turned right for the coastal deluge!  We battled through and were rewarded by an earlier tea stop than planned and fantastic views across the sea as the rain stopped but dark clouds and a turquoise sea were highlighted in the shafts of sunlight.

A quick game of Grandma's Footsteps by St Botolph's

The Bridge On The River Adur

A fab day out. Thanks Diane for routing so neatly into thirds and my friendly followers, Helen, Arwyn, Lorraine and Paul (who was invaluable in helping on the route around Horsham and lending me a charger to get my phone going again).

UPDATED Worthing Ride 12th October - Group Details

There will be 2 groups leaving 5 minutes apart from Nonsuch Park Mansion House, and we need to be mindful of Park Run which also starts at 9am - so will take an alternative route out of the Park via Warren Farm.  

Group 1 - Diane leading 07740 699966 

• Rob 
• Steve W (peeling after lunch)
• Alan
• Simon
• Bob
• Andy (meeting us at Tanhouse Farm)

Group 2 - Steph leading 07909 774234

• Paul J
• Karl M  
• Lorraine 
• Arwyn
• Helen
• Maddie TBC (meeting us at Tanhouse Farm)

For those meeting us at Tanhouse Farm - I expect to arrive there sometime after 10.45am. 

Lunch is at The Partridge, Partridge Green and tea is at Coast Cafe, Worthing.

I will email to those whose email addresses I have. Any questions, please shout asap. 

Remember warm layers and lights. 

UPDATED Invitation to All Day Ride to Worthing - Saturday 12th October

It is my pleasure to be leading the last Saturday All Day Ride of 2024, on 12^th October, to Worthing. It seems this will be the 3rd time for the Saturday Gang to visit the coast, Tony having previously led the ride in 2018 and 2014. Back then the rides took place in July, but for us perhaps the roads and cycle paths will be quieter in October. 

We will gather at Nonsuch Park at 8.50 am (for the first group to leave at 9am - carefully following the Park runners) to make the most of the daylight, returning by train to East Croydon from where those returning to Cheam can cycle with me to West Croydon for the 2^nd train. 

I have chosen the flattest route I could find, but it's not without a climb or two, given the need to cross both the North and South Downs. Elevenses will be at Tanhouse Farm in Newdigate, lunch will be at The Partridge (https://www.facebook.com/ThePartridgePub/) in Partridge Green and tea will be at The Coast Cafe (https://www.coastworthing.co.uk/) in Worthing. There is some off-road as we come into Shoreham on the Downs Link, it's usually a good surface of hard grit.  

Please note:
1) the forecast is for sunshine and clouds, but a bit colder so bring warm layers
2) you may want to purchase an advance train ticket - I recommend the Super Off Peak Day Single rather than a specific train, in case of delays 

3) do remember to bring lights 

I'm planning for 2 groups with my sub-leader Steph. There are a couple of places still available, please contact me (dianelporter@hotmail.com  or WhatsApp 07740699966) by Friday 6pm if you'd like a place.

I remember a huge sense of achievement when I completed this ride in 2018 and want to share this opportunity with you. This isn't a rider for absolute beginners but if you can cycle up to 35/40 miles and get up to Walton-on-the-Hill then you'll be fine and you can of course use any train station to turn for home sooner if you wish.    

  https://swlctcbeginners.blogspot.com/2018/07/saturday-14th-july-tonys-ride-to.html

Addendum:

Here's the route we followed: https://www.komoot.com/tour/1824085869?share_token=aynAmjUpaDKDVXBnjVNIPMyEt29wOyUs2w3aeyvfQfehnNqLvJ&ref=wtd 

And tea was taken instead at Perch, Beach Green, Lancing - a lovely cafe right on the NCN2.   

 

September 28th - Short ride to Nork & Banstead

The short ride this week was due to head to tea at Banstead, via Nork - some up, some along and then some glorious down, following the official route for most of the way but avoiding the track near Nork Park. Here Paul kindly took over for the diversion, and also, as the cafe in Lady Neville Rec is still closed, led us to The Lodge cafe in Tattenham Way Rec instead, which was just delightful. Moreover, the garden was warm and sunny, and we could sit outside with our drinks, cakes and bikes. 

The Lodge

One more short diversion, this time to the viewpoint, which 60% of us had not seen before, and we were on our way through the back streets of Banstead to start our descent. Paul and Maggie left us before Belmont, and I parted ways with Paul and Colin as we reached the outskirts of Nonsuch once more. 

The Viewpoint

An enjoyable ride on the last Saturday in September.

Choices; what choices? Beddington Beginners 21 September

Colin injured, the brief Indian summer on the wane with the harvest moon and early warning from Karen that we might have a first-timer with us, which of our regular rides would the leader choose?

Crystal Palace were at home, so anything in a north easterly direction would be unwise and the Crystal Palace and Streatham rides, both of which pass Selhurst Park, were definitely out.  It was the annual Wandle Weekend, so an easy option up the river to Morden Hall and beyond or to Lower Morden was also unwise.  One regular does not like Oaks Park, another wants to avoid hills (ruling out Farthing Down), someone does not want to ride the broken glass path at South Norwood Lakes.....come on, girls and boys, give the leader a chance.

What about Coombe Woods?  On the plus side a short, quiet ride to a pleasant tea room which we have not visited in ages, on the other hand a few busy road crossings and steep gravel tracks to suggest the risk analysis needs to be taken from the shelf and dusted down.  And surely Haling Park Road is every bit as steep as Farthing Down, if you look at the right angle, only a bit shorter?

Beddington Park

Coombe Woods it was.  We said goodbye to Ray who had come to see us off, and Paul, Anna, Roger, Alison (making a rare and welcome visit to Beddington), Maggie bringing up the rear, yours truly in the lead and a warm welcome to Jacqui, who turned up with such a nice road bike that we wondered if she would find us a bit tame.

Lloyd Park

It did not begin too cleverly, a wrong turn and then a heavy shower that had us hiding under a tree and changing into rain gear.  But the sun-kissed boulevards of the London Borough of Culture had us stopping again to take the clammy waterproofs off and we had a pleasant afternoon negotiating the tree roots of Lloyd Park and Coombe Wood and the slippery, slidy steep gravel path out of the woods.  I was a bit rusty on a route not recently ridden and sprung upon me at the start, but we found our way through and newcomer Jacqui sprinted past me up Haling Park Road.

We hope she comes again. 

The sun shines on Bermondsey. 2024 Greenwich Ride, 14 September.

Paul J's report from the last group

This year my usual co-leaders (and quite a few riders) were unavailable either for the ride itself or the recces, and it is not a ride most people would like to lead without riding the course first because it is complex, in order to make maximum use of parks and riversides and alleyways and, where that is not possible, of side streets.

But in my hour of need Karen and Roger'n'Anna stepped up to the plate and I am extremely grateful that they did, for they took it seriously, embarking on their own recce without me, and did the job splendidly.  

We were blessed with perfect weather, a cold bright morning turning into a mild, sunny day with a bit of a breeze.  Including leaders we had eighteen in all in three groups. 

The start was disrupted a little when we heard that Karen had suffered a puncture coming over with the Cheam contingent, so we re-ordered the departures and got Anna & Roger's group out on the road.

A peloton awaits departure

When, thanks mainly to Tony, the three latecomers arrived with a fully restored tyre, Karen went next, and we left a five minute gap and then followed on, my group consisting of Maggie, Stuart, Paul G, Justine and Karl.

Riding in a group it is simply not possible to keep up the normal pace in a complex urban ride such as this but it did not matter much.  The traffic in Croydon was relatively light, there were a few dog walkers and children on their bikes along the Railway Park but the big event of the first leg was that outside Croydon Arena we came across Matthew and Thomas, and they rode with us to elevenses at Kent House Coffee and Flowers and then went about their birthday present buying business.

Roger'n'Anna's group, the Brunels, at elevenses

Old friends

A coffee clatch of cyclists at Kent House

The Pool and the Ravensbourne rivers were their usual selves as we made our way through parks and across Lewisham town centre (where the traffic lights are mere suggestions) and up on the Blackheath.

Greenwich was at its most royal in the sunshine; Wordsworth might have thought that Earth had not anything to show more fair than the view from Westminster Bridge in 1802 but he should have come up here.

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by a sight so touching in its majesty

                Paul J's group, the Newtons close to the Meridian

Apart from getting poor Stuart's order wrong, the Dog and Bell was its usual earthy self and we had a new route through the Russia Dock woodlands to the Angel at Bermondsey Beach, with brief history lessons along the way about Brunel and the naval gibbet and Turner and King Edward 3rd. and Doctor Salter's moving daydream.

Southwark Park was quiet but there were crowds in Burgess Park because of a festival, the upside of which was that Brixton Windmill was open for tea.  And that was the last time all eighteen of us saw each other, as we made our several ways through Tooting Common, Merton Abbey and Morden Hall Park to home.

Thanks to everyone for the splendid company and especially to the leaders for going the extra mile (!)  

Roger's report from the first group

Let them eat cake

 

It was a perfect day for a ride and we got to Beddington in plenty of time, only to discover that, despite Paul trying to contact them, there was doubt that the message that sixteen riders might be arriving for elevenses at Kent House had got through to them.  Planning, however, is Paul J's middle name and he had conducted a risk analysis on the most important aspect of the ride and bought cakes and  plastic knife; Maggie asked Anna to carry them to Kent House just in case.

We - Rob, Ken, Paul, Sharon, Anna and Roger - were the first group and we set off on time taking the usual route from Beddington to Croydon, Roger relying on memory and Anna on Beeline. We encountered dog walkers and strollers as we made our way alongside the railway and by the time we were approaching Kent house we were more than willing to let Beeline take the strain.

Just as we were leaving elevenses Paul J and Maggie arrived with their group so the cakes were handed over and with a lighter load we set off, depending increasingly on Beeline, which was remarkably reliable considering such a complex route. Complexity aside, it turned out to be a lovely ride alongside the rivers and through the parks, and this time not encountering too many sleeping “Lime” hire bikes blocking the path, or deaf strollers who wondered in astonishment at the source of the ringing in their ears.

Having ridden to Greenwich several times before, the one constant on the route had always been the steep hill leading to Blackheath. Today, though, we tried the revised route and a slightly less daunting hill that still left us gasping and wondering if it was really true that the highest point on the ride had been at Croydon.

The view did not disappoint as we stood there in a mass of tourists taking selfies. Rob was active with his GoPro – if only to prove we had all survived the climb - and then it was the swift descent down to the river, dodging the wandering tourist and dog ambling across the road and negotiating the excavations and diversions, to arrive alongside the Cutty Sark.

Roger'n'Anna's group at the Dog & Bell

The route around and along the Queens Path was complex and again we would have been lost without Beeline, which, just to see if we were paying attention, occasionally switched to "telling the time" mode when one desperately wanted to know turn left or right, but ultimately did identify the next move in time.  Burgess Park was very busy with bike riders seeing just how fast a hire bike could go and having no particular regard for the convention of riding on one side of the road or the other and slowing for pedestrians.  Drums thundered and music played, and the park filled with wandering groups just out to enjoy a walk and listen to the music. We tried several ways out of Southwark Park until we hit on the right one and even Beeline got confused, commanding Anna to “KEEP STILL” while it calibrated its giro – but in the end we made it to Brixton and the Windmill and, mindful of the no cycling rule, pushed our bikes to the green by the windmill ready for another injection of coffee and cake. Paul B left us there and Tony joined us for the final leg through Tooting Common and on down into Morden Hall Park.

It was a lovely ride on a route that was convoluted and impossible to memorise but was always interesting

Karen's report from the middle group

Mishaps and Malfunctions:

My day didn’t start on a positive note, incurring a puncture before we’d even left Sutton. Thanks to Tony and Karl for coming to my aid.

Things could only get better….

So it was a somewhat delayed departure for my group, consisting of Dawn, Frank, Alice, Helen and Tony. Paul’s group was chomping at the bit so we set a healthy pace to and through Croydon. Thereafter we made our way via fairly quiet residential streets and parks, reaching Kent House elevenses in good time (and well in advance of Paul’s group!)

Beeline started (intermittently) giving me the silent treatment, acting as a timepiece rather than a navigation device.  So there were a few minor (soon remedied) deviations en route to Greenwich.  The fine weather had drawn throngs of tourists to the Royal Observatory viewpoint, competing for photo opportunities!

Our lunch at the Dog & Bell was served fairly promptly, although Tony’s selection took a little longer for some reason. We managed to get a head start on Paul as one of his group also experienced order difficulties.

Karen's group, the Pepys, at the Dog and Bell in Deptford

At this point Beeline failed to reactivate, so I had to rely on my phone screen (not ideal with my poor eyesight!). The afternoon was a mixed bag, which included delightful riverside paths and parks, taking us through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, with (for Blackadder aficionados) more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing.

Alas, approaching Camberwell, my phone battery was dying and, to make matters worse, my mobile charger wasn’t working! Tony consulted his 30-page route planner but I was fairly optimistic we were close to the familiar territory of Camberwell and Brixton.  I was extremely relieved when St Giles’ Church hoved into view.

Just enough phone battery helped to navigate the maze of streets leading to the Brixton Windmill where my reliable back marker Tony had to leave us. After some liquid refreshment and comfort breaks we powered through Clapham and Tooting.  Thereafter, Helen offered to take the helm and led us through quieter sections of Colliers Wood towards Morden Park, where Frank left us.  We said our goodbyes to Alice and Worcester Park, leaving the remaining tres amigas to make our way home.

Thanks to my group for your support, especially when the gadgets were conspiring against me!

Greenwich ride 14 September 2024

 These are the groups, which will leave at ten minute intervals from Beddington Park from 10.00am, though we may adjust the order of departure depending upon events.

Group One, the Pepys; 

Karen Cochrane in the lead 07970 847 216 

Helen (please download the ride Helen to give Karen assistance)

Rob 

Frank B

Dawn

Tony H (please also stand by to help with the route)

Group 2, the Brunels;

Anna & Roger in the lead 07939 036 939

Sharon

Paul B

Ken

Alice

Group 3, the Newtons;

Paul J in the lead 07718 753 234

Maggie (to help with directions)

Justine

Paul

Karl

Stuart A

Please see your individual emails for complete instructions.