Nonsuch Park short ride May 25th

 By Karen 

And then there were…. three:

The long ride to Garsons Farm headed off first.  A new (to me) member called Paul joined me for the short ride to Horton Lane, and Colin joined us shortly after.

It was the first time in ages I’d led the Horton Lane ride and the 2-day dry spell meant we could follow the far-more-appealing Hogsmill route.  It was quite unrecognisable in places - so overgrown I almost missed the footbridge towards Chessington!  Paul greatly enjoyed the (mostly) off-road route and wished he’d activated Strava.

We’d just taken our seats at the Old Moat when we spied Bernard at the opposite end of the outdoor area.  He pretended not too notice us, so intent was he in his task of rearranging the furniture.  His labours were in vain, however, as Sabina, Audrey and Dave subsequently joined us.

                                               Sabina, Colin and Paul at The Old Moat

Suitably refreshed with cake and coffee (and a natter), we made the short journey back to Nonsuch without incident.

Football ? What football ?? May 25th

 What else could you possibly want to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon than ride your bike?  A large number of Saturday cyclists turned up at Nonsuch Park and we soon divided into two groups for the long ride while Karen and Paul B disappeared on the shorter ride.

Nigel led a faster paced group while Tony went at a more sedate speed. Or so we thought, because as we arrived at the Ewell traffic lights, Tony had disappeared having cycled across.  Nothing to fear though, he was waiting at the next junction. And so we made our way to Garson's farm. Over the bridge at Ewell West, then on through Chessington, Hook and Claygate to Garson's Farm. 

Just as we could smell the tea, we about turned. "Let's try the cricket pavilion!" Great idea! The sun was shining and  two local teams were playing, what a lovely plan. But the cricket pavilion wasn't serving tea and cake so we about turned and joined Nigel and the others back in the farm cafe.

                                               Nigel's group with helmet stand!

                                             Tony's group - helmets on the table!

Now Tony decided that our return route would be through an estate of "unaffordable housing".  We stopped to admire the River Mole stretching between and below the beautiful houses. A little further on we were outside the gatehouse of Esher Palace. A stunning tower, all that remains of William Waynefletes design which inspired Hampton Court.

 

Then back past Sandown Park, Weston Green, the Dittons and we went our various ways at Worcester Park.

Thank you Tony, for leading a very enjoyable ride.

NB To everyone who told me "they" were going to lose. Paul was extremely happy when he got home ⚽️!

Not quite the MEDiterranean; Beddington Beginners to Merton Abbey Mills, 18 May

A sunny(ish) day, albeit with a bit of a cold wind, a new rider, Ken looking chipper, Ray and Chris able to come to the start on their tandem to see us off, there was a lot to smile about on Saturday despite Roger not being well enough to come.  Get well soon, Roger.

At Beddington Pavilion

Rob is our new potential member.  He bought an electric bike during Lockdown and soon got bored with it, so a few weeks ago he dug it out of storage, took it to the Kingston Bike Exchange and exchanged it for a Ribble gravel bike and has not been out of the saddle since, completing his longest ride so far (25km) last week in aid of charity.

So we decided to go to MED; no real hills, 22Km door to door and see how he got on.  The answer was, splendidly, and the feeling seemed mutual because he has joined Cycling UK!  We hope he becomes a regular.

It was good to see Ray and Chris again, and Ken was in such a good mood he bought the coffee and cakes; thank you, Ken.  The order seemed to be a bit complex for the young lady serving us and while we thought for a while that although it was an unwanted surplus we had got an extra free cup of tea by mistake, it turns out it was in exchange for a completed loyalty card.  Well, I suppose worse things could have gone wrong!

 

 

All Day Ride to Egham, Saturday 11 May

By Roger Parsley

Anna and I rode the course a few times in its various iterations and got it down to 50 miles (door to door).  We warned the Landlord of the Crown that we might turn up with a dozen riders the following Saturday and Maggie put a notice on the blog advertising the ride so we awaited a deluge of requests.

On the day, we arrived early at Nonsuch and were joined by Carl and Alice and Tony. We waited in vain for anyone else to turn up, but we were a group of five who headed off to Walton.

The cool morning had given way to a steady heat as I warned about the lethal potholes down the left hand side of Ditton Hill and the sneaky and deeper ones invisible in the shadows and lurking in the centre of the carriageway. Hitting any of these at speed would be interesting, potentially expensive and probably painful.

These though were but a sample of the renowned Surrey Pothole, so bad in some places that stretches were a lacework of holes and ridges where you could never relax your attention or grip.

We made good time and the cakes at the Barn Café in Walton were excellent, so we set off up and over the bridge and followed the north bank of the Thames which in places was a living picture of colour and calm. 

Not too many runners on the Thames path and the deep ruts and holes had dried out as we scrambled through Staines and in good time made it to the Crown in Egham where we ordered food and relaxed in the rear garden.

We discovered that Alice had a flat front tyre when we set off after lunch and it was all hands to try and find the cause. We did in the end but it took us another twenty minutes to get rid of the sliver of metal that had penetrated the tread but defied all attempts at removal. Eventually it was forced out and the tyre pumped, but we were now later than planned so Anna set the pace and at a steady 13 miles an hour we sped through Surrey.

Tony left us at Chertsey so the four of us made it through to Shepperton through the crowds enjoying the river and on to Ferryboat Café arriving in plenty of time before it closed at 5pm and enjoyed iced coffee and cake!

Then back up Walton Lane and on to Lower Sunbury and ultimately through Hampton and Cobblers Walk and the back entrance to Bushy Park where Alice left us and on to Kingston and back to Worcester Park, saying goodbye to Carl there before we headed home to Sutton. We enjoyed every one of its 51 miles.

Roger

PS. The battery on Anna’s bike showed over 50% capacity left – so in theory we could have set out again….!

 

All Day ride to Egham May 11th

From Anna

 The all-day ride on Saturday 11 May is to Egham, led by Anna and Roger.  The first stop will be at Walton for coffee, then we will enjoy a light lunch at The Crown pub and tea at The Ferry coffee shop at Shepperton.

We meet at Nonsuch at 0930 for a prompt start at 0945.

There will be urban bits, riverside and scenic bits, and the odd small incline to test your thighs, but nothing too onerous.

Please WhatsApp or text Anna on 07939 036939 if you want to come.

The Crown want to know our lunch orders in advance, so please peruse the menus here and let Anna know what you want to eat.  It would be helpful to have this info before Thursday if possible.

See you on Saturday