28th December - Short Ride to Malden Church

It was another cold day, but thankfully no wind (although Karen was convinced otherwise) or rain. I had already seen various members of the Saturday Gang turning up for the long ride (or not) so I was uncertain how many would still be available for the short ride. In the end we were six, Sabina and Bernard keeping me company along with Karen and Colin and joined by Wednesday rider Patrick on his first Saturday ride. 

I was once again charged with taking everyone on the Malden Church route, with tea in Costa at World of Golf which was so busy that we had to squeeze around a table intended for fewer folk. Heading back we avoided the muddy stretch by The Hogsmill and came through the alleyway instead to the St John's the Baptist Church, where we briefly stopped for a look at the old and new façade and a photo op by the house next door. 

Note to self - not all bridge photos will be pretty

Doesn't my bike look great?

As it was turning to dusk, the route back through Old Malden, Cuddington and Stoneleigh was much improved by the Christmas lights. 12.5 miles approx. and back in the Park before 5pm.    

Four weddings and a fun ride; Beddington 1-o-clockers 21 December

It wasn't that my alarm didn't go off, but my step-measuring pulse-measuring electronic wristwatch is stuck on British Summertime because I can only change the time via the app on my mobile phone and my new phone does not recognise my old watch and the two of them are still sending Bluetooth messages to each other without success like a disputative couple trying to find each other in a busy supermarket.

In sixty nine million years time on a small blue planet orbiting an insignificant star in the NGC 1300 Galaxy my watch's bluetooth signal will be detected by green-headed aliens with pointy ears and they will recognise that there is, after all, a civilisation somewhere out there, recognise my plight and respond with a helpful solution.  But their response will take another sixty nine million years to get back to me and by then I will probably have another new phone......

NGC 1300.  My bluetooth signal is the little white dot left of centre.

Anyway, it is confusing having a watch that is permanently an hour out, and it led to me thinking that I had an hour to spare.  So at twenty to one Maggie gets home from a hospital visit expecting to find me loading the drinks bottle and fixing the lights and instead I am sitting at the breakfast room table having a leisurely light lunch and marvelling at how much I have got done on a cycling Saturday.

I am supposed to be leading the one-o-clock Beddington Park ride.  Cue chaos, just like the beginning of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.  Lots of rushing about and expletives and pulling on cycling togs and forgetting helmets and Maggie never did get to eat all of her lunch and I never got a cup of tea and she was ahead of me but I think I got to Beddington Park within the traditionally accepted ten minute leeway.  Certainly I got there to a group of grinning faces, to whose owners Maggie had related my incompetence.

And a good job we got there too, because Colin was not there, and Sharon was in in acute need of being cheered up, and Anna had come on her own because Roger is still not fit to cycle and Ken was there, and they were all hoping to be led somewhere.

The shortest day of the year is a perpetual disappointment because, ignoring the astronomical leap-second  it is just as long as any other day, it just has the fewest daylight hours.  Thus on a fine, chilly, blustery but beautiful winter's afternoon a short ride was called for.  I decided to aim for MED at Merton Abbey Mills, because the journey back delivers Ken to his home well before dusk and the cakes, though not cheap, are absolutely delicious.

Today (because of lack of lunch) Maggie and I were allowed a whole cake each.  Orange polenta and Ginger with pumpkin, both shared.  Yum yum yum.

The cycle ride.  Phipps Bridge beside the folly, taken by a press ganged passer-by in case you wondered. 

Oh, yes, we had a cycle ride too, and everybody got home before dark and I delivered Ray's Christmas card (therein another shaggy dog story, to be told another time) and Sharon had a nice afternoon, which was important.  

Short Report for Short Ride - Leading Leaders 14th December

   

From Karen

Short Report for Short Ride - Leading Leaders

For the short ride to Ashtead Common, Colin was fortunate to be led by not one, not two, not three, but four ride leaders: Colinq, Helen, Steve and myself. So not much chance, hopefully,  of losing Colin or losing our way!  We also enjoyed fairly light traffic and bright sunshine, a welcome break from the dank weather of late.

It was all going so well until we reached Ashtead high street and spied Handleys staff removing the outside tables. That's okay,  we weren't thinking of sitting outside anyway.   Alas, the café was in fact closing.  After some pondering,  the ever-resourceful Colinq was first to make a suggestion, so off we headed to The Woodman (or so I thought!).  Our initial coffee plans having been thwarted, my thoughts turned (obviously) to perhaps my first mulled wine of the festive season.  It was not to be ......Colinq sped ahead and turned in the opposite direction, heading towards a parade of shops. We stopped at the Ashtead Cafe which, contrary to its "greasy spoon" appearance, served quality hot drinks and cake.

                                                                   Coffee at last!

Darkness descended all too quickly as we headed back through Ashtead Common, all of us managing to avoid slipping on the occasional mounds of wet leaves. It was completely dark when we reached the Nonsuch path potholes.  My front light wasn't man enough but Colinq saved the day......

 

A Christmas card from Paul Carpenter

 

 

                                                        Merry Christmas everyone 🎄 

The Customer is always right; Nonsuch 1-o-clockers 14 December

Ten of us turned up for a ride at Nonsuch Park on Saturday, and Roger had walked to meet everyone and remind us he was still alive and recovering well from his pacemaker operation.  Early days, but I have not yet downloaded the App which will remotely control him so I can stop him charging past me up hills and send him to buy the coffees.  Good to see you recovering, Roger.

Despite Wednesday's experience I was game for the scheduled ride up Box Hill but there were those who, for incomprehensible reasons, don't like going up hills and I was persuaded to offer the punters an alternative.

A month ago the Hampton Court area would have offered a sensible target for a decent length ride without serious hills but as we approach the shortest day one has to think about getting there and back before the Christmas shopping traffic in the dark.  Then the light bulb came on; we have not been to L'assaggino in Kingston for ages.  Nice cafe, nice coffee, within winter range.

So that is what we did.

The slow riders discuss shortening the ride 

The faster riders consider how far they can go

Steve took those with a steeper inclination and itching for a bit more pace and I took the rest through Old Malden and New Malden to Ladderstile Gate, down the hill to Kingston Gate and thence to L'assaggino.  It turned out a decent ride, 40km door to door and an enjoyable one in weather that was mild compared with recent days and indeed nearly sunny.

Inside Ladderstile gate

We didn't have the heart to tell him there is going to be a cull tonight.

   

Contributions for Sou'Wester required

 From Paul

I am short of material for the next Sou'Wester which I will be putting together mid January. So if anyone is doing any interesting riding or has a tale to tell about cycling, please put pen to paper, ie fingers to keyboard. Adventures you might think are run of the mill are often of great interest. So share, please.

A four way split; Nonsuch 1-o-clockers 30 November

Saturday afternoon provided cycling conditions as good as you are likely to get on the day before meteorological winter; the temperatures were milder and the drizzle was holding off.  Nevertheless it was a pretty miserable day, yet all-in-all we had twenty one riders turn up at Nonsuch, albeit some of them a bit late!  Six of them chose the 2-o-clock start and the short, roundabout ride to Carshalton, and eventually we had fifteen for the earlier ride.

The destination was Leatherhead and it was obviously sensible to split the group, so Nigel took off with Paul, Karl, Lorraine, Rob and Stuart and Ken, Anna and Karen joined Maggie and me in a more modestly paced group.  By the time I took off we knew that John and Kasumi were going to follow and in the end a group of four, led by Steve, took a ride to Bocketts Farm, a mile or so past Leatherhead.

We had an uneventful trip, though there was a lot of stationery traffic around Ewell, and we ducked in to Lucio's in Leatherhead just as the ominous black cloud came over.  Nigel's group had already hung up their bikes at Charlie and Ginger's.  We did well, finding seats inside and the shower finished by the time we emerged to ride home.

The leader seems to be hiding behind his saddlebag

The consensus was that we needed to go home by a different route and Ashtead and Epsom Commons turned out to be quite passable despite the recent rains.  It was dark just as we were getting home, and Wallington at the moment is a traffic nightmare with Manor Road closed for days because of an unsafe building and impatient drivers clogging up the few alternatives.

A decent, well-timed ride then.  Thanks everyone for the company.