Sunday 17 June Ride to Hindhead amended to Kirdford

The weather today was mainly dry despite really threatening looking quite dramatic clouds. Temperatures reached 17c but it felt cooler due to the very strong SW wind. Russell was the leader and he was joined at Chichester Cross by myself, Sam, Bob, Paul and Mike. Chris saw us briefly at The Cross before going Bell Ringing and then meeting us again at elevenses and the rest of the ride so 7 out in all.

We headed out via West Street and then the Centurion Way cyclepath north to West Dean. Russell was planning to get to Hindhead and then needed to be home early so set a brisk pace. At West Dean we joined the main road and continued north to the top of Cocking Hill where we stopped to regroup and I got a photo with some dramatic clouds.

We continued with a fast descent down Cocking Hill. With no other traffic around there was no doubt that we all set off the “Slow Down” speed warning sign coming into the 30mph area for the village. Sam maxed at 41mph and I was on 38. It is notable that speed limits do not apply to bicycles, only motor vehicles. The nearest offence for a bicycle is “Wanton and Furious Riding” and only applies if injury is caused.

After braking we turned left on a quiet lane to Bepton and then Severals lane to Stedham aiming to stop for elevenses at Rotherhill Nursery Cafe, only to find on arrival that it was closed for Kitchen Renovation. Russell’s schedule was now out the window and we decided to head to Garfields Cafe, Midhurst for elevenses and amend the lunch stop to the Cafe at Kirdford.

We took a cyclepath and lane to Midhurst and stopped at the Cafe which was very busy and some parts of our order took a little time. Just as well as totally coincidentally Chris had decided to stop at the square to check his map and found us by accident.

We continued on lanes to South Ambersham where I headed south having decided on a shorter ride. The rest headed north planning to go via Lodsworth and Lurgashall to Kirdford and then back via Houghton and the Khyber Pass to Arundel.

I went home via Heyshott and then the remote lane to Cocking. I stopped at a field entry to take a picture of a field and the clouds. Only a mobile was used so some editing was needed.

My mileage for the day from and back to Pagham was 48.

My latest major picture was taken on Wednesday at 4.50am with a view looking down from Bury Hill over a Poppy field to the mist in the Arun Valley. The picture was shown on BBC South Today Wednesday Evening as one of the 3 weather pictures before the local weather. The picture has gained a lot of interest having been viewed on Facebook by 9000 people and gained over 1000 “likes” As a result a lot of people are going there and I heard today from one ladies post on Facebook that the Farmer has had enough and told her to get off his land.