mikeee
Well-Known Member
- Location
- City of Culture
mikeee currently in North Yorkshire but starting the long journey darn sarf!!!
Will be at HPC for 2am.
See you all soon
Will be at HPC for 2am.
See you all soon
Winchester to London (well Croydon actually) - 28 March
- Thread starter rb58
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
mikeee
Well-Known Member
- Location
- City of Culture
Many apologies for this late message, unforeseen travel delays earlier this evening have left me with an impossible timescale to make it down in time for the departure tonight. Sorry again about this.
Mike
Mike
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
No worries Mike. Next time.
Mark Grant
Acting Captain of The St Annes Jombulance.
- Location
- Hanworth, Middx.
I'm afraid I am going to have to duck out. Pressure of work.
I have a rush job for a regular client.
The joys of self employment.
I have a rush job for a regular client.
The joys of self employment.
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
Hard luck Mark. Next time mate.
Mark Grant
Acting Captain of The St Annes Jombulance.
- Location
- Hanworth, Middx.
I was looking forward to it.
That was going so well, until @sagefly got booted off the train by an officious guard. Hope you're on the next train.
Boo! I commuted on that line for years and never had a problem with a bike. what was the issue?
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
Too many bikes.
Note to self. Next time you ride down from London to Winchester for a 9.00 start, leave at 3am,
not 2.00am. Winchester McDonalds is a weird place at 7.00am on a Saturday.
Thanks to Ross for organising this and Tim for the two-up roll into Croydon. It's always good to put faces to names and makes me realise I should make more of an effort to get out on forum rides occasionally.
The ride itself was lovely, with plenty of variation and better weather than promised by the Beeb. Highlights for me were popping my White Down and Boxhill cherries (well and truly splattered in the case of White Down). Also, chapeaux to the drivers of Surrey. Some of you are world-class front-bottoms.
The ride itself was lovely, with plenty of variation and better weather than promised by the Beeb. Highlights for me were popping my White Down and Boxhill cherries (well and truly splattered in the case of White Down). Also, chapeaux to the drivers of Surrey. Some of you are world-class front-bottoms.
OP
OP
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
That was fun. Two of us left HPC at 2.00am and successfully got every red traffic light between there and Hammersmith, before finding the flyover closed and having to take a diversion through the side streets - streets @Eddie_C knew well, so no real delay. Uneventful progress to the 24-hour M&S at Bagshot for a quick pit stop. We were on the direct A30 route and after a while realised the M3 must be closed as there was certainly more traffic than we expected, but not bad. Basingstoke came and Eddie decided to jump the train as he was suffering from lack of match fitness due to a non-cycling injury (that'll teach you to go ice skating!). But not before an encounter with a handsome barn owl - the second in two weeks for me.
The final leg to Winchester was uneventful, zero traffic, although I got soaked in a cloud burst and the headwind picked up, but I was in McDonalds just after 7.00 - about an hour early - for breakfast.
@Bollo joined me, then @StuAff and we picked up @Trickedem, @sagefly and his mate at the station before negotiating the motorway underpass first time and onto the lanes. It's a splendid route. Rolling, but nothing fierce, through the best Hampshire countryside. Past the watercress fields, the steam railway, the early warning system, and the money houses, we were pushed along by a nice tailwind, picking up breakfast in Borden, then on into the Surrey Hills. I was starting to tire - on reflection a Bagel and a bacon sandwich was probably not adequate fuel to get me over the hundred mile mark, although I have eaten all the pies so had plenty in reserve. A couple of navigation errors got us to Whitedown via a slightly different, but probably nicer way. And then we went up. The 18% came and went, probably surprising a couple of the group, and before we knew it we were in Dorking. I was over 140 miles at this point so decided the train was the better option. Paul and Tim headed on to Rykas, Box Hill and Croydon. I hope Croydon didn't disappoint @Bollo .
Good riding with you all - see you out on the road! And yes, Paul, you need to get out with us some more.
The final leg to Winchester was uneventful, zero traffic, although I got soaked in a cloud burst and the headwind picked up, but I was in McDonalds just after 7.00 - about an hour early - for breakfast.
@Bollo joined me, then @StuAff and we picked up @Trickedem, @sagefly and his mate at the station before negotiating the motorway underpass first time and onto the lanes. It's a splendid route. Rolling, but nothing fierce, through the best Hampshire countryside. Past the watercress fields, the steam railway, the early warning system, and the money houses, we were pushed along by a nice tailwind, picking up breakfast in Borden, then on into the Surrey Hills. I was starting to tire - on reflection a Bagel and a bacon sandwich was probably not adequate fuel to get me over the hundred mile mark, although I have eaten all the pies so had plenty in reserve. A couple of navigation errors got us to Whitedown via a slightly different, but probably nicer way. And then we went up. The 18% came and went, probably surprising a couple of the group, and before we knew it we were in Dorking. I was over 140 miles at this point so decided the train was the better option. Paul and Tim headed on to Rykas, Box Hill and Croydon. I hope Croydon didn't disappoint @Bollo .
Good riding with you all - see you out on the road! And yes, Paul, you need to get out with us some more.
