Central London CTC blog

An unusually early train from Paddington with only two coaches, but a Birdy and six full sized bicycles squeezed on, followed by another at Ealing. We met our leader David , who had cycled out to Burnham.

A bright, sunny but chilly start and the mornings ride found ice patches on the route through the Beeches, with plenty of pot holes on the back roads. There were only Snowdrops as the first sign of Spring. We made good progress through the hills, and were ahead of schedule for the planned lunch stop, so continued to “The Whip” beside the windmill at Lacey Green.

Richard left after lunch, avoiding the hills that David had planned for the afternoon. Over Bledlow Ridge and across the grain of the Chilterns, then down into the Hambleden valley. We crossed over the weir there with the Thames in full flow, then south to Twyford.

The train back had grown to three crowded coaches. Fifty quality miles on the first ride in March, with plenty of good hills: well worth the early start.

950m total ascent!

I had led a record number of two-star riders before but that was at the upper limit. Now we made another season record, as only four of us proved to be all-weather cyclists.

The forecast was highly accurate: heavy rain began early morning and continued without break through to lunch. The advantage for us was lower traffic levels and the fun of occasional large puddles; the disadvantage was that we were cold and damp. At least we were able to test our wet weather gear and find out what worked (and more often what didn’t).

Our route was south from Tunbridge Wells across the High Weald. There were slow climbs and quick descents, mostly on quieter roads, with water flowing downhill in the roads along the way and flooded fields in the valleys. We took our roast lunch at the Blackboys Inn in the village of that name.

We continued on to Uckfield but took our northward journey back by train, honour satisfied that we had made our usual Sunday ride despite the hills and rain, even if just 36km this time.

I tried hard to find an excuse for not riding the 100km on Saturday, but none came. So 06.30 alarm, coffee and cereal, out the door at 07.30. To a flat rear tyre – slow puncture on the Landy. Divert to petrol station to inflate, then a clear run round the North Circular and up the M11 to Patmore End. Once off the main road, the verges were sodden and muddy, the ramp to the Victoria clubhouse almost liquid. Collect Brevet, slither back to the roadside waiting for the off. There’s a good entry, the local clubs in force, familiar faces, a few nervous newcomers. more »

Some pictures from Bill Bailey’s Ride on 17th January

Frustrated by the weather for weeks, this Sunday was the first opportunity for many to ride for some time and hence a large turnout for the January ‘Little Green’ was to be expected. Even so the group of 18 that assembled was probably a record for the month. Those Londoners who left the train at Knebworth were joined by several local riders and we climbed up Swengleys Lane under blue skies and helped by a useful tailwind. Large patches of snow were still lying in fields on the higher ground but thankfully even the smallest lanes were now free of ice. more »

“I counted them out, and I counted them in again…”

It could all have been so different if we had got unlucky.

A surprising nine of us took the train to Twyford for another of Keith’s South Chilterns routes hinging around the marvellous Reformation pub in Gallowstree Common, Oxon. Most of the lying snow had gone but it was very frosty, so we rode gingerly on some of the bigger lanes. The pace was pretty slow as we kept a sharp eye out for patches of frost, but though freezing, the weather was glorious, banishing that frowsty feeling of the too-many days of Christmas. more »

Colin Wing’s ride was most erudite. It was a series of stops at statues and buildings in Central London that were based on the architecture of antiquity or in a couple of cases were the real thing. In most cases he had in his folder a picture of the classical original it was based on. The tour included the statue of ‘Achilles’, actually Castor or Pollux, commemorating The Duke for Wellington, the screen by Apsley House, The Duke of York’s column, Cleopatra’s Needle [in reality much older than Cleopatra], the remains of the Temple of Mithras discovered in 1954 and parts of the old Roman and medieval wall near The Museum of London where we had a welcome break for warm drinks. After thawing out we went on to St Pancras Parish Church and, a real curiosity this, an interwar office block in Egyptian style designed shortly after the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Thanks Colin for such an interesting and well researched ride.

Jon McColl organised a wind-down *** for post Christmas, and we met at Highbury corner for a ride out into Essex aided by a following wind. Roger Cline did the first 30km before his cold got the better of him, leaving Dawn, me and Jon to be pushed across the flat and relatively car-free lanes to lunch at Green Tye.
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