Central London CTC blog

‘It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play’

When the Beatles released their Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, those of us who were twenty then also remember another song

‘When I’m Sixty-four.”

Back then it seemed

‘Many years from now”

Paul met us at Welwyn North to lead a ride celebrating his safe arrival at this age. The day promised to be fine, sunny and hot as we were enjoying an Indian summer. Thirty riders assembled at the station and Eleanor and Susie joined us for the group photo.

The group photo.

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We met at St Pancras on 24 July ready for our Sunday ride, but unfortunately the day did not begin well.

As normal we had left our bikes in a stack while we gossiped nearby and shopped for tickets and breakfast. When we came to move on we found we were one cycle short, the top bike having disappeared, a rather rusty substitute left close by. It seemed a passer-by had decided to trade in his bike for a better model without paying the difference.

The moral is that we need to immobilise our bikes whenever stopped in London, even if in the group and only waiting a few metres away. Most of leave our bikes unlocked at the station at the start of rides, so it could have been anyone of us left without our wheels. more »

An impressive (for a winter ride) 16 riders met at St Pancras on 23 January.  We had all been saving since Christmas for a trip on the HS1 train.  There were very few others on the train and we were very soon in Ashford, where we met those who had been travelling for hours on the slow train.

We took a quiet route out of Ashford and then along a Roman road up to the Greensand Ridge, over the top and down onto the flat lands of the Romney Marsh.   more »

There were only six at Euston, but Peter Turner and four others were waiting at Watford.

It was a cold damp ride through the Chiltern lanes to lunch at Bourne End by the canal. The pub had welcoming open fires, and Paul Lohr’s new GPS toy became the centre of discussion amongst the nerds.

Back at Watford we found a cafe in the park, and took tea outside in January drizzle.

I had tried to lead this ride before, in the winter, but torrential downpour had deterred all but three riders and forced an early finish.  A summer Sunday (18 July) finally brought compensation.

Eighteen riders were ready at Tunbridge Wells to head out through the High Weald for a morning of climbs and descents though wooded hills.  By lunchtime I had only lost two of the group (we arranged to meet them again at tea) and we took a break at the Blackboys Inn in the village of that name.

Then a cycle through the town of Uckfield and a long but gentle climb on a quieter route to the top of the Ashdown Forest. As ever there, we found spectacular views of heathland and the surrounding countryside, today in bright sunshine, slightly marred by the many drivers who see the 40mph  limit clearly marked as there only for decoration. more »

The weather held up but the tyres let us down. Seven turned up last Sunday for the easy two star ride run as an alternative to the tougher two/three star event in Kent. The weather forecast had been dire and I was half expecting the ride to be rained off but in the event we had some light drizzle but nothing worse. Our problems came from another source. more »

Seventeen cyclists set out from Haywards Heath on 16 May, to see what lay to the west.

The morning ride took us through the High Weald. After a first busy section we took in a succession of small hills though villages, past ponds, farms and woods. The group maintained a strong pace and we arrived at the Black Horse at Nuthurst before opening time.

Entering the village at Slaugham

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Puncture repairs near Pleshey

I’ve put a few photos from yesterday’s  two-star ride in Essex into the photo gallery.

There’s also a map of the route here.