Battersea Park ride 10 April

We were the first sub group from Nonsuch Park at 10 am, but we didn't stay in front for long...first stop was back to my house (only just off the route) to pick up a pair of gloves Anna lent me last time we were out together in October! Our group was Roger and Anna, Diane, Sabina and Bernard, all looking forward to a leisurely all day ride. Our second stop was in Old Malden, where Diane's front brake suddenly needed some attention. While a running repair took place, we were passed by Tony's group. Soon sorted and we followed on their tails towards Motspur Park but soon lost sight of them. Up through New Malden, we had a little detour as we took too early a turn on the way up to Ladderstile gate. We decided to coffee at Painswick Park, where the cafe is usually a little less busy than the ones in Richmond Park, so detoured through Isabella plantation, which was looking pretty as we walked through with our bikes. None of us had followed the route from Putney bridge before, so we were all looking out for the cycle route signs and paying attention to the route map from time to time as we headed along the north side of the Thames towards embankment via Chelsea. Then across the bridge to Battersea Park for our picnic by the river. It was quite chilly, so we didn't linger over lunch, but decided to circle the park before heading towards Clapham Common. Alas we left by the wrong gate! Fortunately Roger used to live in the area so he set us along a nice direct route and we were soon back on track! Familiar paths across Clapham and Wandsworth Commons lead us through to Broomloan Lane and with great pleasure we joined the peace and greenery of the Wandle trail following the noisy traffic by the old greyhound track. At Morden Hall park we bid farewell to Roger and Anna, who headed for Sutton while the rest of us made our way back towards Worcester Park and Cheam. Many thanks to Tony for planning a wonderful route for us and to all the group for your pleasant company on the day.