Elmbridge Cycle

Our next ride will be on Sunday 11th January at 10am. More details nearer the time.

Meanwhile, happy new year.

This month our ride, on Sunday 14th December, will be a short one followed by a seasonal lunch at the Oatlands Chaser in Weybridge.

The ride will start at 10:00am outside the Hand & Spear in Weybride and will be about 20 miles. We will head south towards Effingham and Bookham before looping back through Stoke D’Abernon and Esher. The planned route can be viewed here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/594125876

The ride will finish at the Oatlands Chaser where we will be stopping for a Christmas Lunch. I have pre-booked the table but need confirmation from everyone who wants to eat. There will be a 3 course festive menu for £21.95 with several choices for each course. The menu can be viewed here: http://www.theoatlandschaser.co.uk/pdf/xmas2014/theoatlandschaserweybridge-festive_menu.pdf

You can, of course, join us for the ride and skip the lunch if you don’t want to overdo the turkey too much before Christmas day.

If you want to come, just turn up, no need to let me know unless you want the Christmas lunch. If you want the Christmas lunch please let me know as soon as possible so that I can confirm the reservations.

This month you are getting two rides for the price of one. On Saturday there is an off-road ride to Peaslake, and Sunday will be a normal ride to Crane Valley Park.

Saturday 8th November

This ride is for mountain bikes only. Starting from West Byfleet at 9:00am we will be taking an off-road route all the way to Peaslake. The route is approximately 30 miles with several decent hills. The route map is here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/574301012

Please let me know if you plan to come on this ride.

Sunday 9th November

On this ride we will be heading north-east following the Thames towpath to Hampton Court, then through Bushy Park then to Crane Valley Park in Hounslow. Our return will use the little known cycle path that is parallel to the A316 and leads us through Sunbury and Halliford back to the Thames towpath and from there to Weybridge. We will stop at a pub or cafe for lunch somewhere along the route.

The route is about 20 miles, and will be a mixture of quiet roads and paved cycle paths. The route map is here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/574889780

A hybrid or sturdy road bike would be most suitable for this ride.

We will be meeting at the Hand & Spear, near Weybridge Station at the regular time of 10:00am. If you want to come, just turn up, no need to let me know.

Christmas Lunch

The next ride after this will be Sunday 14th December 2014. This will be a short ride followed by Christmas Lunch somewhere in or near Weybridge. More details to follow.

This month’s ride will be this Sunday 12th October.

We will be riding from Weybridge to the Tower of London where you’ll get a chance to see the #TowerPoppies which are 888,246 ceramic poppies marking the centenary of the start of the First World War. On the way we will pass through Covent Garden where Alex Chinneck’s floating building is currently on show. The return will be by train from Waterloo although some people may choose to cycle back.

The route will take us from Weybridge to Kingston, then through Richmond Park and on to Putney, Brompton Cemetery, Exhibition Road, Hyde Park, Constitution Hill and the Mall before arriving at Covent Garden and then on to the Tower of London. The total distance will be about 25 miles and is mainly on roads or good quality paths, so any bike should be suitable. The full route map is here if you want more detail: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/555862816

We will be meeting at the Hand & Spear, near Weybridge Station at 9:00am. Note, this is an hour earlier than normal.

If you want to come, just turn up, no need to let me know. If you are planning to cycle back from London don’t forget to bring lights.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 9th November 2014.

This month’s ride will be this Sunday 10th August.

This is the day of the big RideLondon cycle events, so our route has been chosen to give the opportunity to see some of the day’s activities. In particular, our route has been designed to intercept the professional riders at the top of the hill climb on Ranmore Common. They do two circuits of this section of the course, so we will have two chances to see them pass.

We will be meeting at the Hand & Spear, near Weybridge Station at 12:00 noon. This is two hours later than normal as the roads in Weybridge will be congested with riders on the London-Surrey 100 for most of the morning. We will cycle out through Cobham and Effingham up to Ranmore Common. There we will be able to find a prime position to watch the professional riders tackle the steep climb up from Westhumble to the top of Ranmore Common. Our return will take us back through Bookham, Effingham and across Ockham Common back to Weybridge.

The route will be about 25 miles and is on-road all the way so any bike should be suitable. The full route map is here if you want more detail: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/497324908

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 12 noon on Sunday.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 12th October 2014. There will not be a ride in September.

Our next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 13th July at 10am.

Instead of a normal ride, this month we will be holding the much postponed third annual Easter Egg hunt. Briefly you’ll be riding in twos or threes and will need to navigate to various interesting places around the area where there will be some kind of “easter egg” to find. Since it’s the day of the World Cup final you’ll actually be looking for soccer balls rather than easter eggs.

There will be no fixed route, but expect to cycle around 20 miles or so depending on how many short-cuts you know or can find. The route will be mostly on-road and mainly in or around Walton-on-Thames and Hersham.

The start will be at the usual place, outside the Hand and Spear pub near Weybridge Station at 10am. We should finish back at the same place by about 1pm, for a late lunch.

If you want to come, just turn up.

The next ride after this will be on Sunday 10th August, the day of the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100.

An extra ride for you this month.

This is an all-day ride from Weybridge to Shoreham-by-sea, returning by train. The route will take us to Woking, Guildford and then follow the off-road Downs Link path all the way to Shoreham. A mountain bike or hybrid is most appropriate for this ride.

We will be making an early start, 7:00am at the Hand & Spear near to Weybridge Station. There will be a second pick-up at Woking Leisure Centre at 8:00am. The ride will take about 8 to 10 hours so would expect to be in Shoreham by about 5:00pm. Return will be by train, costing about £25 and taking about 2 hours to get back to Weybridge.

If you are interested in coming on this ride please contact me by email so that I know who to expect on the day.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 13th July 2014. Weather permitting, this will be the re-run of the Easter Egg Hunt, rebadged as a soccer themed treasure hunt as this is the day of the World Cup final.

This month’s ride will be this Saturday 7th June. Saturday not Sunday.

We will be meeting at the Hand & Spear, near Weybridge Station at 10:00 am. The route will take us west along the river Thames to Staines, then to Dachet and along the Jubilee River to Bray. After lunch at the Bray Lake Watersports Centre we will return via Windsor and Virgina Water. The ride will be about 40 miles, generally flat and mostly on-road.

The full route map is here if you want more detail: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/433916130

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 10am on Saturday.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 13th July 2014. Weather permitting, this will be an untimely re-run of the Easter Egg Hunt which was abandoned due to heavy rain in April.

This month’s ride will be this Sunday 18th May.

We will be meeting at the Hand & Spear, near Weybridge Station at 10:00 am. The route will take us south to West Byfleet then along Newark Lane to Ripley. This is currently closed to vehicles so ought to be quite pleasant. From Ripley we’ll head to West Horley and then, depending on the group’s sentiments, up Shere Lane to the brink of the North Downs. From there we will turn back and, with a promise of downhill all the way, we will return via Effingham, Downside and Redhill Road. The ride will be about 25 miles and will be all on-road.

The full route map is here if you want more detail: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/416064620

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 10am on Sunday.

The next ride after this will be Saturday 7th June 2014 (note this is a Saturday not a Sunday).

Oatlands Drive

The Elmbridge Cycle Group was formed in 2008 as the result of a mass protest about the safety of the chicanes on Oatlands Drive in Weybridge. In the last few weeks the last remaining traces of those unloved chicanes have been eradicated. The cross hatchings in the middle of the road, which forced cars to drive too close to cyclists, have been removed and a marked cycle lane now connects Weybridge to Walton and over the bridge to Shepperton. This is great progress and we are very pleased to see it happen. Enjoy cycling on Oatlands Drive.

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 20th April at 10am.

It’s Easter Sunday and time for the third annual Easter Egg hunt. I’ll explain the full details on the day, but briefly you’ll be riding in twos or threes and will need to navigate to various interesting places around the area where there will be some kind of “easter egg” to find.

There will be no fixed route, but expect to cycle around 15 to 20 miles or so depending on how many short-cuts you know or can find.

The start will be at the usual place, outside the Hand and Spear pub near Weybridge Station at 10am. We should finish back at the same place by about 1pm, for a late lunch.

If you want to come, just turn up.

The next ride after this will be in four weeks time on Sunday 18th May.