Sunday 29 October. Ride to the Club AGM at West Stoke

The mornings ride today was very short just from Chichester to West Stoke Village Hall for the Club AGM.

After a short period of rain early on before the start the weather was fair and mainly sunny with temperatures up to 15C though with a chilly northerly wind. I was the leader and I was joined at Chichester Cross by Martin, Arthur, Russell, David, Bill, Terry and Mike so 8 out on the ride. A lot more went direct to the hall.

We took a fairly direct route west from the center and then along Clay Lane. We then turned off on a little used route along Mouthey’s  Lane to cross the B-Road just east of East Ashling and on to Lye Lane between autumn trees.

We soon arrived outside the small West Stoke Village Hall in plenty of time before the start of the meeting,

At the Hall more members joined some by car and some by Bike including Richard, Dave and Jan, Freda and Jim, Jim Jennings, Colin, Philippa, Chris Dart, Lynn, Graeme and Avryl. A total of 20 attended in all.

After the meeting we made our separate ways back home

My mileage for the day from Pagham was 18

Here is another picture taken at Newhaven during Storm Brian a week ago Saturday. I knew there would be some pretty big waves there and a safe place to take pictures so got a train over there for the event. 1000 pictures taken while there

Edwin

Saturday 28 October ride to Willows Tea Rooms Barnham with leader’s Steve and Carol Woods.

We met for the start of the Ride at Bognor Library at the earlier Winter Start Time of 1.00pm.

Weather was dry and bright with a turnout of 21, with 2 new riders Guy and Jane. We decided to split the group in two, Steve leading the first group followed by Russ who lead the second group with Carol as the back marker keeping in contact with Steve via walkie talkies.

We left Bognor library heading towards King George Playing Field, Felpham to meet up with Graham. The large number of riders can be seen going into the distance in the picture as we went on the cyclepath round the Playing Field.

Following on to Comet corner where some lovely drivers let us all cross A259. Headed out to Bilsham and on to Yapton. Turned right in to Church lane at the end of the road turning right. Went over railway crossing turning left into Lake Lane, at the end of the road left, then under Barnham Railway Bridge.

Willows tea rooms was on the right by the windmill. We had called ahead to let Chris know how many to expect and roughly what time.

After some Tea, Coffee and delicious cake we sat enjoying the lovely Weather

Carol led back turning left out of the tea rooms and then left in to Hill Lane, on to Hoe Lane cycle path and back lanes through new housing estates to the library.

Total mileage 14.42 miles

Carol

Sunday 22 October London Ride

The weather today was fair after the rigours of Storm Brian on Saturday. Though still windy the strength was much reduced and it stayed dry throughout the ride. It was though notably colder with temperatures of about 11C. The ride was led by David Sinclair who had devised a great convoluted route with many paths and back streets. There were 12 on the ride in all. On the train from Bognor there were David, Michelle, myself, Maureen, Tony and Alan. On the train from Chichester there was Jeff and Bob and Christine (Shoreham). Meeting us at Victoria there was Roger, Alan’s son Paul and his friend Dan. We had regrouped by the Whistlestop Store and none of  noticed our disobedience of the very large sign.

To start off we took a lot of backstreets from Victoria  to Westminster passing some closed off streets where they were filming Mary Poppins 2. Not sure if they filmed yesterday as they might have had some unintended realistic effects. Then it was on via Horseguards to The Mall which is closed to traffic on Sundays, normally this is full of pedestrians but there must have been something special going on. First a policeman told us to ride single file and then a little further on we were directed off to the side.

After riding along the closed off to cars Constitution Hill Road we negotiated Hyde Park Corner via the pedestrian lights and rode the cyclepath through Hyde Park. Then it was backstreets to the Paddington area to join the Regents Canal shared use path. At a brief stop I took the opportunity for a group shot with a less than ideal backdrop but the path was too narrow elsewhere.

We continued on the path passing London Zoo and Camden Market and eventually coming out at the North end of Kings Cross where there is a major redevelopment underway. At a quiet new square we found a cafe for elevenses.

Leaving the Cafe we passed the offices of a fairly well known firm.

Next we took the only busy road of the day, The Seven Sisters Road passing The Emirates Stadium to get us NE to the Walthamstow Wetlands Centre where we stopped for 20 minutes to look round the freshly opened last Friday Visitor Centre. Then we joined the River Lea shared use path to stop for lunch at a riverside cafe next to the Rowing Club. We just managed to get a free table. Despite a long queue service after ordering took minutes so they were pretty efficient.

We continued on the Lea Path south to the Olympic Park and a few phone calls to meet up with Jeff who had missed lunch to spend more time at the Park. We opted out of Ice Creams as it was too cold.

A short way on we met up with Jeff and stopped for a group photo.

The route was not without its obstacles and where they want cyclists to dismount they put a ridged surface on  not possible to ride except by a determined mountain biker.

The return route from near Canary Wharf took us on the CS3 Cycle Super Highway where a good part of the road space along the North Bank has been put aside for cyclists separated by a kerb from the cars. The first picture is on Lower Thames Street between the Tower of London and London Bridge. The second picture is on the Embankment approaching Parliament and Big Ben somewhat obscured by scaffolding.

We returned to Victoria with 10 minutes to spare before a train home at 5.02. The route covered 28 miles and our thanks to David for working out the intricate route taking us away from traffic most of the time.

 

My latest picture was taken at Newhaven on Saturday with a long lens from a safe location at lunchtime at the peak of the storm. I would say it was the right call to cancel the Saturday afternoon ride.

See a larger picture and more details at https://www.flickr.com/photos/edwinjones/37842599822/in/dateposted-public/

Edwin

Sunday 15 October. Ride to Hayling Island

The weather today was exceptionally warm for the time of year reaching 18C due to a flow of air coming from the far south. Early cloud gave way to spells of warm sun with light winds.. Harvey was the leader and he was joined at Chichester Cross by Bob, Arthur, Sam, Lynn and newcomer Bill with Edwin behind the camera making 7 out in all.

We headed out via West Street and Clay Lane among beautiful Autumn colours. Then it was on via Woodmancote and Westbourne to stop for elevenses at The Garden Cafe, Emsworth.

Then it was on along the cyclepath alongside the main road before crossing to take the tunnel under the A27 and stopping briefly to regroup.

Then down the Hayling Billy cycle trail and the cycle path over the bridge to Hayling Island. Then it was on via the lane to Northney to our lunch stop at Meadow Farm Nursery Cafe. We were able to sit outside round one big table.

For the return route we retraced via Northney and the bridge and then took the path along the waterfront adjoining Langstone Harbour.

Then we turned off on a path heading back towards Havant. We then took the backroad via Warblington and the cyclepath  alongside Southleigh Road and across to Westbourne. Then it was more lanes round to Woodmancote and a stop for tea at the Woodmancote Arms. Bill left us here finding it was too many coffee stops for the miles. He probably had a point but the rest of us enjoyed the break.

We then retraced our route on the South Coast Cycleroute lanes and back to Chichester. Mileage from and back to Chichester was about 32. My mileage from and back to Pagham was 42.

My latest special picture was taken 9 days ago at the Natural History Museum in London showing the Blue Whale skeleton. The large number of people in the hall were removed by taking 34 pictures and using an automated process in Photoshop to delete anything which moved apart from 2 people which I choose to keep.

For more details see https://www.flickr.com/photos/edwinjones/37615989832

Edwin

Saturday 14 October. Ride to Blossoms, Cafe Stansted

There were 10 out today on the Saturday Ride to Stansted from Chichester. It was fairly cloudy with sunny spells and a warm and unseasonal 18C due to a flow of warm air from the south. Edwin led in place of Richard who had gone to Yorkshire. He was joined at Chichester Library by Sam, Alan, Chris, Carol, Steve, Bill, Andy, Sue and Kathryn. Sam was there to give Richard a ride on Sam’s electric Bike. Didn’t work out but Sam rode with us anyway for the first time on a Saturday Ride. Bill is a newcomer from Devon staying temporarily in Chichester.

We took a route out via West Street and the South Coast Cycleroute lanes via Woodmancote and then on via Westbourne and a lane via Aldsworth to stop for tea at Blossoms Cafe, Stansted in the Garden Centre. We were separated at the Cafe as some of us went straight to the Garden while others made the error of asking staff about the Garden and being told it was closed. The being closed bit actually meant in practice there were no cushions on the chairs.

The return took in Westbourne before taking a different route back via Southbourne and a lane via Hambrook. Then it was down to the main road and back to Chichester on the cyclepath alongside.

Mileage from and back to Chichester was about 20.

Edwin

Sunday 8 October. Ride to the George and Dragon, Dragons Green

The weather today was mainly cloudy though dry with light winds and temperatures up to 16C.

The start was 9.00am at Walberton Pond. Russell was the leader and he was joined by Sam, Bob and myself so 4 out on the day. We headed out north via Shellbridge Road and Singleton Common with the leaves just starting to turn.

Then it was a short stretch of main road before turning off on the lane via Madehurst up to Whiteways Roundabout and down to Houghton. We had been passed by classic cars and there was a major event on at Amberley Museum. Then it was on via Amberley and Rackham and passing heather.

Then on to Wiggonholt RSPB Cafe for elevenses.

I had gained a cold a few days ago so decided to head back from elevenses. The rest continued planning to take a route via West Chiltington and passing on a lane near Shripney and on to Dragons Green for lunch. Bob sent some pictures via Smartphone including one of a bike above the Pub door.

Another one shows a Grave in the Pub Garden

Despite cutting short the ride an 8 mile ride to the start meant my mileage for the day was 41.

On Friday I went to London and took in the new Postal Museum and Mail Rail at Mount Pleasant. Mail Rail is a mini underground Railway under London used to transport letters which closed in 2003. It reopened last month to take tourists. I got lucky with a lot of no shows and 4 empty seats in front of me in the glass enclosed mini carriages making for unobstructed views. With a lower shutter speed the walls are blurred.

Edwin

Sunday 1 October. Ride to Compton

A few words regarding today’s ride. No photos unfortunately.

I was met at the Cross by just Sam and Bob, so only 3 out on today’s ride, which was not surprising given the less than favourable weather forecast. A comparison of weather forecasts seemed to indicate that today’s promised wind and rain would arrive at Fort Nelson (our lunch destination) around noon and at Chichester by 1pm, so we decided to set off on a very flexible route, being prepared to stop and head for home if/when the rain arrived. We took the usual route out to Woodmancote and then on to our elevenses stop at the Village Café in Rowlands Castle. It was still dry and by now quite warm so we were able to sit outside. for once there were more walkers than cyclists at the café and evidently it was muddy going on foot by the look of them.

A  quick look at the weather timings and a  route re-jiggle later we headed off up the Finchdean Road, through Idsworth and over the hill to an early lunch at the village stores Café at Compton. At this point we were strong contenders for the annual CTC award for fewest miles travelled per coffee stop. ( 2 cafes in 18 miles and some of those miles were a return trip to Rowlands Castle when Sam realized he had left his wind proof behind! Luckily it had been handed to the counter staff by another customer) Again the weather was kind enough for us to sit outside at Compton, not many other cyclists around for a change though.

It was then back to Chichester, taking a slightly different route to usual, arriving back at 1pm, just as with almost military precision, the rain started. Not quite sure how we timed it so well!

Total mileage was only 29 miles, however it was a very satisfying ride without really going anywhere! ‘

Russell