April 20th 2013 Bognor - Whiteways Lodge Roundabout - Arundel Ride

We were down in Bognor this weekend.  On Sunday morning I woke up to a glorious sunny day (unusual this year) with very little wind.  I had had it in the back of my mind on the Saturday that I might ride Sunday but with the weather as cold as it was I wasn’t expecting to carry it through.

I got up Sunday and upon seeing the sunshine I decided to grad the opportunity and get a few miles in.  I hadn’t got my carbon bike with me nor had I my favourite Peugeot steel bike so I had to make do with a Raleigh Quasar 10 speed racer (with aerodynamic Reynolds 532 tubing) which I had bought in 1984.  I didn’t have my Speedplay pedals or even my SPD pedals so I had to make do with cages on the pedals.

I pumped up the tyres and I was off at 09:00 am. I headed into Bognor then up the A29.  In the last few times I had been riding this route I had been riding into a headwind at this point but this morning it was glorious. 

For some reason I find climbing on the steel bikes smoother and easier than on the carbons so although I don’t have such light gearing I usually make the top without a granny wheel.  This morning I was flying and soon got the 11 miles to the top of Bury Hill, Whiteways Lodge Roundabout.  I then went down the London Road towards Arundel and rode through the village.  It never ceases to amaze me that even early morning all the parking spaces in Arundel are full but there is no one about.  Arundel is so nice, with a castle, a cathedral and various churches all on the side of the hill looking across the river and the plains towards the coast.  I just wish it wasn't littered with cars (why didn't they have the forethought to build an underground car park under the castle 700 years ago?).

As the weather was still good and it hadn’t clouded over I headed out towards Swanbourne Lake and the Wetlands Centre then kept on the road which climbed back up the hill until it came to a dead end just past South Stoke.  As I couldn’t see any alternative I turned around to head back.  At this point a mountain biker arrived.  I asked him whether there was any way to get across to the main road which would lead me back to the Whiteways Lodge Roundabout at the top of Bury Hill.  He said yes there was and described a convoluted route along the river, across field and woodland and over many styles and kissing gates. 

The route sounded complicated so I thanked him for his instructions but advised him that I would head back the way I came.  He stopped me and advised he had all the time in the world on this lovely morning and would escort me (he later advised me he was "living the dream". He was a plumber who worked mornings but cycled afternoons, and he wasn't even Polish).  We set off.  Fortunately the ground was dry and the paths and fields not to cut up so my 700 X 23 tyres managed without too much difficulty (although crossing one field going uphill they were slipping when I wasn’t smooth enough).  I had the advantage over him in that my racer was lighter than his mountain bike as we climbed over and carried the bikes over styles and kissing gates.

Once we got back to the road at Amberly Working Museum (an old quarry now converted to a museum with vintage vehicles, a steam train and a working forge and printing press) I went back up the road (B2139) to the Whiteways Lodge Roundabout then back down the London Road bypassing Arundel and back to Bognor.

 

The overall ride was a gentile 30 miles.

 

The Vintage Jaguar Owners Club had a meeting at Amberly this morning so there were lots of vintage vehicles on the road.

 

Also, I think this is the only time that I haven't been stopped at the railway crossing on the way out at Woodgate and on the way back at Ford (as in Ford Open Prison).

When I downloaded my Garmin to Strava I was very surprised to see I got a PB and two 2^nd fastest personal performances on segments even though I was on the old racer.  I must have done the basic Bognor Whiteways Lodge Roundabout circuit 40 or 50 times over the years on various bikes and today there was no wind so why I was so fast this day I don’t know?

Weekend of April 27th Downs Link: Christ’s Hospital to Guildford Ride

The Downs Link is an old disused railway line that ran from Guildford to Shoreham on Sea that went under the axe of Dr Beeching.  The total length is 37 miles and the route has been converted into a cycle and walking path.  Last summer The Wife and I cycled the second half of the ride, 19 miles from Christ’s Hospital to Shoreham, and subsequently I organised three families to do the ride.  However, I had never ridden the first half of the ride between Guildford and Christ's Hospital.

On Saturday the weather was cold, it wasn’t looking too bright and I was aching from playing squash on Friday night so I had no motivation to go out on my racing bike.  I had cycled first thing in the morning the four miles to Kingston to pick some documents up then after recovering in the churchyard cycled back home.  I had forgotten to take my Garmin to make sure this mileage (8 Miles) was logged on the Guildford Peloton Challenge.

With no motivation but lots of guilt to be considered I decided that today was the day to attempt the Guildford to Christ’s Hospital leg of the Downs Link.  My motivation was to see if it was as scenic as the other half of the ride.  I didn’t want to do it alone so at 11:00 am I telephone Big G and got him out of bed (Big G is an Investment Banker who works long hours in the week and likes to catch up on his sleep at weekends.  That’s his excuse anyway).  After much cajoling, countering of excuses and discussion about the weather and the accuracy of the BBC weather forecast I convinced him to ride.  I picked him up at 12:00 and we drove down to Christ’s Hospital near Horsham and parked in the Station car park.

We started the ride just after 13:00 with an overcast sky.  I was on a very heavy Landrover Vivorata and Big G was on a very old steel Specialized Hard Rock.  The track surface was damp but solid with surprisingly little mud.  We were dressed in full winter gear, gloves, fleecy tights/leg warmers and waterproofs over our cycling jackets.  Despite all that clothing we didn’t overheat.

We came across various groups of walkers and dog walkers.  Other than one hill which we had to walk up (the train used to go through a tunnel but that was blocked and you have to climb over the hill on a steep path) it was reasonably flat and quite scenic in places.  As you get near to Guildford you follow the Wey and Arun Canal (see below for more detail).

The route was all off road and for the most part obvious but in some places the signposting could have been better.  We followed the route getting lost once or twice but soon getting back on track.  We did get confused for a short time where Sustrans Route 22 leaves the Downs Link at Shalford where there was a distinct lack of signposting. 

 

We got to within a mile of Guildford where the Downs Link path goes onto the road for the ride to the town centre of Guildford and we decided to not bother with that last bit.  We were a bit tired, more than we expected considering we had only cycled just over 17 miles, so we stopped and ate some flapjack Big G had thoughtfully packed before turning back the way we came.

The route back reaches Cranleigh after 7 miles and goes behind the High Street.  We stopped at Costa Coffee for food and drink (not very acceptable but at 16:30 on a Saturday not much choice).

With about 3 miles to go we had our first and only rain shower which resulted in a noticeable drop in temperature but didn’t last very long.

 

The return journey was a total of 34 miles and it took us, including stops, just short of 5 hours.

In conclusion, whilst it was enjoyable it is not as nice as the Christ’s Hospital to Shoreham leg of the ride and we will stick to that for the family ride later in the summer (when it arrives).  Big G has concluded it is time to get a new mountain bike that weighs a few Kilos less so he will be off to Corridori cycles in Banstead in the coming week to discuss his options with Guy the owner.  I will have to make do with my Landrover Vivorata.

I dropped Big G off and got home at 19:00.

 

Wey and Arun Canal

The Wey and Arun Canal is a 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the south of England, between the River Wey at Shalford, Surrey and the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts of two separate undertakings – the northern part of the Arun Navigation, between Pallingham and Newbridge Wharf, which opened in 1787, and the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, which connected the Arun at Newbridge to the Godalming Navigation near Shalford, south of Guildford, opened in 1816. The canal was built with 26 locks.

Passing through a rural landscape, there was little freight traffic to justify its continued existence, and the canal was officially abandoned in 1871.

Without maintenance, the canal gradually became derelict over much of its length. However, since 1970, active restoration by The Wey & Arun Canal Trust has resulted in several miles of the waterway being restored to navigable standard. Work is continuing, with the ultimate aim of re-opening the entire canal to navigation.

 

Guildford Peloton Mini Strava Challenge #2 Week 4 April 15-21 2013

Steve W to All:  Thanks for the stats as usual. My ride in Liege was paniagua, and I took some turns at the front of groups (not wanting to be a choad!)

I watched the pros in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege yesterday. 170+ miles and they still have the stamina for sprinting at the end. Can they really be dope-free?

Duncan S to Steve W:  Steve. Pardon my lack of vocabulary but what does "paniagua" mean. Couldn't find it on Dictionary.com and it is puzzling me?  I think I get the significance of the word "choad".

 

Two big rides this week from Steve, who took part in the Liege Sportive (probably still nursing a Leffe-induced headache..) and Mike - Chapeau guys. Steve takes the stage and retains his lead on GC with Mike up to 3^rd and strengthening his hold on the Polka Dot jersey.

Mini Strava Challenge #2
Week 4 - Monday 15/4/13 - Sunday 21/4/13
Name	No. of Rides	Miles Ridden	Climbing (ft)				Ranking - Miles			Ranking - KoM			Green Jersey Points			Hilly Index			Avg Ride (miles)
Steve W	6	182.6	13,295				1			1			8			72.8			30.4
Mike R	2	129.9	8,099				2			2			7			62.3			65.0
Craig S	2	105.4	7,543				3			3			6			71.6			52.7
David C	3	82.9	3,786				4			4			5			45.7			27.6
Justin C	2	49.7	2,262				5			5			4			45.5			24.9
Duncan S	1	30.2	1,563				6			6			3			51.8			30.2
Michael C	0	0.0	0				=8			=8			0			0			0
Jon S	0	0.0	0				=8			=8			0			0			0
	16	580.7	36548.0													62.9			36.3

 

Mini Strava Challenge #2
General Classification
Name	No. of Rides	Miles Ridden		Climbing (ft)		Ranking - Miles		Ranking - KoM		Green Jersey Points		Hilly Index		Avg Ride (miles)
Steve W	26	659.7		37,738		1		1		30		57.2		25.4
David C	11	458.9		20,448		2		3		24		44.6		41.7
Mike R	10	422.3		30,649		3		2		22		72.6		42.2
Justin C	10	389.2		18,747		4		5		22		48.2		38.9
Craig S	6	274.6		19,755		5		4		15		71.9		45.8
Jon S	4	219.0		10,100		6		6		10		46.1		54.8
Duncan S	6	191.6		9,367		7		7		12		48.9		31.9
Michael C	3	103.1		5,164		8		8		3		50.1		34.4
	76	2,718.4		151,968								55.9		35.8