Meeting the requirements; Nonsuch Beginners 9 July

By Paul

With a fairly long All Day ride due on the morrow and my consequent need to get to church on Saturday evening, I was given a string of parameters for Saturday's ride by my various managers.

Not too long, for fear of exhaustion the next day and so I would be back in time, but long enough not to be a short ride; no hills but something different.

No hills is the most difficult thing around here, and unless we are going to do the Wandle Trail again, requires the redefinition of what is a hill.  Great Bookham Common was deemed too far, so I opted for Richmond Park by a different route.  The hills there are all in the mind.

There were fewer riders at Nonsuch Park, perhaps because of the Sunday ride, but Maggie and I were happy to take out a small group and Sabrina and Bernard were keen to join, as was Alan and that might have been it had Alyson (returning to Beginners for the last few weeks after a long absence) not got chatting to Maggie and had John B not been keen to show us his suggested innovations to my route and then, as we set off, up the path with his usual perfect timing came Steve W, who tagged on.

A good size group then.  John took us through the most convoluted twists and turns in Stoneleigh and Old Malden in order to avoid the main road and the traffic lights at Worcester Park.  It was an enjoyable route, and certainly traffic-free, but not one I would want to take trying to get to Wednesday elevenses in time.  We used the well-ridden path crossing the Hogsmill to descend the Col de Berrylands and then into Kingston Market and along the Kingston Riviera.  Then John took over again in Ham, taking us to Ham Gate along Church Road; picturesque and a history lesson on the prison that used to be there.

Up the non-hill into the park, we went across the top, past the Ballet School and made our way to the increasingly expensive cafe at Roehampton Gate.

John Baggins (Bilbo's brother) put on his magic ring after tea and cakes and disappeared from view.  Please tell us if you see him again.  The rest of us split up along the way home through Raynes Park and Lower Morden to get back home at 5.30; 27 miles door-to-door.

A good ride.  Thanks to all for the company.  And thanks, John, wherever you are, for showing us something new.