Elmbridge Cycle

This weekend is our annual Easter Sunday Egg Hunt (SWIDT).

Starting from the Hand & Spear at Weybridge Station at 10am on Sunday our Egg Hunt will take you on a tour of the area looking for eggs. In teams of two or three cyclists, and using a map and a clue sheet you will have 2 hours to find as many answers as possible.

You can ride in a team of two or three. Don’t worry if you don’t already have a buddy to ride with, you can be paired up with someone suitable at the start. There will be no fixed route, but expect to cycle around 20 miles or so.

The start will be at the usual place, outside the Hand and Spear pub near Weybridge Station at 10am. You will finish back at the same place by about noon. There may well be prizes for a good performance.

If you want to come, just turn up.

The next ride after this will be on Sunday 7th May at 10am. Note, this is the first Sunday in May not our usual second Sunday of the month.

This Sunday our ride will take us to Ranmore Common.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 25 miles.

Starting from Weybridge, we will head south down Redhill Road, crossing the M25 at the A3 junction. From there we go through Martyr’s Green to Effingham and then a long uphill drag onto Ranmore Common. After that its downhill all the way to Westhumble, where we will stop for lunch at The Stepping Stones pub (or maybe Denbies). The return route will be through Leatherhead, Fetcham, Cobham back to Weybridge.

Total distance about 25 miles. The full route is described here: https://www.strava.com/routes/7602378

The route is completely on-road any bike would be suitable. It is more hilly than our usual routes but that should help to keep you warm in this cold weather.

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 16th April. There will be no ride in March. Our April ride will be on the third Sunday of the month, not the usual second Sunday. Since that will be Easter Sunday It will also be the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

This Sunday we are “Beating the Bounds”. The circular route traces the outline of the borough of Elmbridge without at any time going outside it.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 25 miles.

The route will take us clockwise around the borough. Passing through Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames, Molesey, Thames Ditton, Long Ditton, Claygate, Oxshott, Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham and back to Weybridge. We will stop for lunch at the Old Plough in Stoke D’Abernon.

Total distance about 25 miles. The full route is described here: https://www.strava.com/routes/7333216

The route is mainly on-road although there are a couple of gravelled paths so a hybrid would be best for this ride.

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 12th February.

Surrey Cycle Map

Surrey CC have launched an on-line map that shows current and envisioned cycle facilities for the county: Cycle Infrastructure map. It shows all existing cycle facilities and suggested routes where they think a new cycle path or lane might be feasible. Take a look, it’s quite interesting.

This Sunday our monthly ride will head north to Crane Park and beyond. The Crane Park riverside is at it’s best at this time of year and is a delight to ride through.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 30 miles.

The route crosses Walton Bridge, through Shepperton via the delightful ford in Watersplash Road, around the back of Sunbury, then through Hanworth Park and on to Crane Park. Following the Crane River for 3 miles we reach Twickenham. From there we pick up the River Thames for a mile or so in front of Marble Hill House, before crossing the bridge into Richmond. Up the hill and across the park we will stop at the Boho Cafe for a light lunch. From Kingston we will take the Portsmouth Road and the back route through Thames Ditton and Hersham to bring us back to Weybridge.

Total distance about 30 miles. The full route is described here: https://www.strava.com/routes/6993782

The route is on-road or on good quality cycle paths for the whole length so a road bike or hybrid would be best for this ride.

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Next Ride / Christmas Lunch

Our next ride will be on Sunday 11th December. This will be our Christmas Lunch ride. We will take a short ride before a long festive lunch at the Jolly Farmer in Weybridge. If you have been on any of our rides this year (or previous years even) then you are very welcome to join us. Please let me know by Friday 18th November.

Unfortunately, due to a conflicting commitment, there will be no ride this Sunday. Our next ride will be on Sunday 9th October.

Apologies for the cancellation and for giving such short notice. Hope to see you all in October.

Our ride this month will be on this Sunday 14th August at 10:00am. Weather permitting our lunch stop will be a picnic by the Heron Pond in Bushy Park.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 30 miles.

We will be following roads and a selection of paths through the back of Hersham, Esher and Long Ditton to Kingston. From there we will complete a circuit of Richmond Park and then head back through Ham and Teddington to Bushy Park. We will stop at the Heron Pond for a leisurely picnic so bring with you a packed lunch and something to sit on. We will return to Weybridge by following the Thames towpath from Hampton Court.

The full route is described here: https://www.strava.com/routes/6073950

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 11th September.

This Sunday’s ride will be out to the North Downs.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 25 miles.

Our route will take us through Downside and across Great Bookham Common. Then through Effingham and up Greene Dene. Then down Shere Lane to West Horsley where we will stop for lunch at the King William IV pub. After lunch we head back via Ripley and West Byfleet.

The full route is described here: https://www.strava.com/routes/5656796

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 14th August. Weather permitting this will be our summer picnic ride.

Campaign Updates

The application to upgrade Muddy Lane to a bridleway (to allow cyclists to be able to use it) was submitted to the Surrey Planning and Regulatory Committee on 8th June. The committed voted to approve the application and the council will now prepare a Map Modification Order. This is unlikely to be the final episode of this long running saga because those opposed have the right to appeal and this could give rise to a public enquiry. Watch this space.

Norman Johns’ petition to have the footway on Byfleet Road upgraded to a shared use cycle path was presented to the Elmbridge Local Committee on 27th June. It was well received and the committee was sympathetic to the need. As is often the case it would be very expensive to do and there is no available budget for this kind of think. There was some discussion about a more modest approach which would make life easier for both motorists and cyclists without creating a fully fledged shared use facility.

As a result of work done by members of the Elmbridge Cycle Strategy Task Force, on 6th July Elmbridge Borough Council agreed in principle to a cycleway in Weybridge between Brooklands Lane and Weybridge Station. This will form part of an aspirational route dubbed the Byfleet to Thames spine. This would ultimately provide a much needed link to the Basingstoke Canal and all points south.

Our ride this Sunday will be to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen. As part of her 90th Birthday celebrations there are lots of street parties organised for this Sunday, including one on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. We are not invited but it might be quite a site to see.

We are encouraging people to dress up a bit for this ride. Anything related to royalty would be appropriate – kings, queens, princes, princesses, crowns, tiaras, red, white and blue.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 25 miles.

We will follow the traditional route into London, crossing Bushey Park, Richmond Park, Putney Bridge, Brompton Cemetery and Hyde Park.

The ride will be about 25 miles one way, with the option to take the train back from Waterloo to Weybridge or cycle another 25 miles back after lunch.

The route for the outbound leg is here: https://www.strava.com/routes/5283749

If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 10th July.

Muddy Lane

The Surrey Countryside Access Group have completed their report on our request for a change of status of Muddy Lane to a bridleway.

Their recommendation is that the footpath should be changed to the status of a bridleway which is what we want.

Their report and recommendations will be presented to the Surrey Planning and Regulatory Committee this Wednesday. However, even if approved at this committee it is likely to go to appeal which will mean public hearings and further delays before we will be able to cycle on Muddy Lane again.

This Sunday, with a forecast of glorious weather, we will be heading out towards Bookham. The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear pub near Weybridge Station, and will be about 25 miles.

We will start by heading in a south westerly direction towards New Haw, then curve around through West Byfleet, Ripley and East Horsley and then Bookham. We will take a lunch break at the National Trust cafe at Polesden Lacey. Our return will be across Bookham Common, through Downside and then Redhill Road back to Weybridge.

The ride will be about 25 miles with lunch stop. Most of the route will be on quite roads, but some parts will be off-road on gravel paths so not suitable for your best road bike.

The full route map is here: https://www.strava.com/routes/4859811
If you want to come on the ride, you can just turn up.

Our next ride will be on Sunday 12th June. There will be celebrations on this day for someone’s special birthday (not mine) so watch this space for announcements about what we might do.

Petition

Norman Johns has organised a petition to encourage Elmbridge Borough Council to upgrade the footway along Byfleet Road to a shared use cycle path. He needs as many signatures as he can get, so please sign if you have not already done so: http://petitions.surreycc.gov.uk/A245CycleRoute/ The end date for the petition is quite soon so please look at this immediately.

Charity Rides

I am regularly contacted by local charities that have places available on organised rides. This includes this year’s Ride 100 on 31st July and the London to Canterbury Cycle Challenge on 11th September. If you are interested in either of these then please get in touch with me.

This Sunday is our annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Starting from the Hand & Spear at Weybridge Station at 10am on Sunday our Easter Egg Hunt will take you on a tour of the area looking for hidden easter eggs. In teams of two or three cyclists, and using a map and a clue sheet you will have 2 hours to find as many answers as possible.

You can ride in a team of two or three. Don’t worry if you don’t already have a buddy to ride with, you can be paired up with someone suitable at the start. There will be no fixed route, but expect to cycle around 20 miles or so.

The start will be at the usual place, outside the Hand and Spear pub near Weybridge Station at 10am. You will finish back at the same place by about noon. There will be prizes, kindly provided by Woking Cycle Users Group.

If you want to come, just turn up.

The next ride after this will be on Sunday 8th May at 10am. There will not be a ride in April.