All day ride on March 19th to Downe Village, Kent.

  This ride will leave from Nonsuch Park Mansion at 10am and ride via South Croydon and Selsdon to the top of the North Downs at Titsey Hill. Then via Westerham to Downe Village for a lunch stop. 

  The return will be via Shirley village to South Croydon,  Beddington Park, and Carshalton.

This will be a hilly ride to stretch those early season legs and hopefully there will be good views from the top of the North Downs. Last time we did this the tops were shrouded in low cloud so bring lights.

Some of the road surfaces in the smaller lanes are indifferent and gravelly if there is any rain, but easily rideable on a road bike.

  Total distance will be 35-40 miles and I aim to be back by 4pm.

Fancy a challenge for 2016?

  Are you over 50 and wondering what sort of challenge on the bike you need for 2016? One possibility is to go for a distance target with a group who ride around your standard without having to go too far to the start. June 15th is the day.

Tri-ennial Veterans' rides have been organised by CTC groups since 1928, and are intended as a sociable, non-competitive day out in the Surrey countryside. We are offering three distances: 100 miles, 100km and 50km. All routes are figures of eight around the base at Brockham, with light refreshments at lunch and at the end of the ride. A CTC badge is available at a cost of £4 to riders over 50 who complete the 100 mile route in under twelve hours. All riders will receive a finisher's certificate.

The number of riders is limited to 80: please register with Simon Lambourn. The entry fee of £5 covers costs, including refreshments at the base.

  Details of how to enter, and the routes on offer are on the SWLondon DA blog. I hear that places are filling up fast, so register your interest before too late.

All day Intermediate ride on Saturday the 20th February

  Fixing a date in advance in February to have a ride is always a chancy business weatherwise. It can either be cold and sunny, or wet, cold and windy. The weather was this time overcast and with a strong westerly wind when five riders set off from Kingston, with patchy rain in the forecast for midday. By then I calculated, we should have the wind largely behind us after rounding the westerly edge of Heathrow Airport, and in the event this proved to be the case.

  It took us only an hour via Bushy Park to reach a halt at the information Centre in Bedfont Lakes Country Park. The wind was directly in the face while riding, and the path in the Park rather wet in places. We rounded the airport with jets thundering overhead on takeoff and on cue patchy light rain began as we turned east and the long straight roads to Harlington via Sipson and Cranford. I wonder how much longer this stretch will be rideable if airport expansion goes ahead, but right now a good speed can be maintained with the following wind.

  We arrived at Osterley after a ride of just over two hours and in time for the cafe to open. Not surprisingly, the park was rather deserted as it was raining more heavily with a strengthening cross wind, and was still doing so when we left an hour later to ride back via Richmond and Richmond Park to the end of the ride by the A3 at New Malden. At times I began to wonder if riding in February was really worth it, wind and rain being the ultimate turnoff. Two days later I think it probably is, as you get a good workout and soon recover when warm and dry at home.

  It was good to see Eddie riding again after a long absence, his bike and gear immaculate as usual, and thanks to Godfrey, Toni and John for being so resolutely cheerful. Total distance was 33 miles.

Here we are after lunch at Osterley in assorted rain gear.

Dream on. Views of CS5 .

  I was crossing Vauxhall Bridge last week and took this of the recently completed stretch of Superhighway from the South Bank towards Pimlico.

  If only this sort of cycle lane standard was more widespread in the suburbs, we would see many more people choosing to cycle as the default transport choice.

All day Intermediate ride on Saturday 20th February

On the 20th February, meet outside TKMax on Kingston Bridge at 10am to
ride around Heathrow to lunch at Osterley Park.
Returning via Richmond Park.
No hills and a distance about 35 miles at an easy pace. Should be finished by about 4pm, so lights are not now essential.

Saturday ride to South London Parks.

   It was a pleasant surprise to see so many braved the cold on the 16th January. Luckily there was no wind and it was even possible to detect some warmth in the sun if you faced it and stood still. David was wearing headgear, but Anna had only a bandana. I failed to get a photo of David's headgear unfortunately.

We set off across Morden Hall Park and threaded our way through the backstreets of Mitcham  and Tooting to Tooting Common. Here the dividing line on the shared footpath has been removed with the odd sign asking people to be considerate. Apparently there used to be a lot of conflict between walkers and cyclists as each group claimed ownership of their particular lane. With this solution people are trusted to behave responsibly.

 After the common we went up Streatham Hill and down to Dulwich Park which, as usual on a Saturday, was crowded with all sorts taking exercise and thence on the long downhill stretch to Peckham Rye cafe and much needed warmth with sustenance.

 Wrenching ourselves back into the cold we rode past Nunhead Cemetery and up to Telegraph Park with great views of the city and points west, Big Ben barely visible throug the tower blocks springing up in South London. Back down quiet backstreets to Peckham Rye Lane and its cosmopolitan crowds we then crossed by the Library to the cycle path along the old canal which ran to Surrey Quays, an oasis of green between housing estates

 We turned into Burgess Park, built along the line of another canal where Mike recalled living and going to school and at the end turned of into Addington Square, another fragment of early Victorain London with its grand terraces. Next to this is an establishment called after Steptoe and Son, which is true to the TV series of the 60's and defies description.

  After negotiating a very urban stretch across four main roads we arrived at Route 3 and the pleasant stretch through Lansdowne Gardens and Larkhall Rise.

  Here the group split and the remainder went down to Battersea Park and a ride along the Thames to Wandsworth. This is a building site with both the Ram Brewery and Southside being redeveloped but behind it runs the Wandle Trail which we followed back to Morden Hall Park Cafe where the ride finished with welcome hot drinks and cake. By now the temperature was plummeting.

  I recorded 29 miles with no mechanicals or flats. Many thanks to Tony for back marking.

Photos are by David.

 

All day ride on Saturday 16th.

"The all day intermediate ride on Saturday the 16th January will
depart from outside the National Trust cafe in Morden Hall Park at
1030am. We will head in an easterly direction aiming to visit as many
South London Parks as possible and returning up the Wandle Trail to
Morden Hall Park by 4pm. We will stop for a break in Peckham Rye.
This is an entirely urban ride at an easy pace with the occasional
hilly bit near the start towards Streatham. In the event of extreme
bad weather, the route may be altered."