Elmbridge Cycle

Despite what I said last month, there will not be a ride this Sunday.

As a consolation there will be an extra ride on Easter Sunday 31st March. This will take the form of an Easter Egg Hunt and will involve cycling around the local area using clues and a map to help you locate “easter eggs”. You’ll be in a team of two or three and you can expect to cycle about 15 to 25 miles depending on how enthusiastic you are feeling. We ran it for the first time last year and it was tremendously successful, so we are doing it again this year.

More details will be provided nearer to the time.

The next regular ride after that will be Sunday 14th April.

Walton Bridge

Following some publicity in the local newspaper most of the lights on Walton Bridge are now working again. Many thanks to Charlotte of the Surrey Herald.

Muddy Lane

Do you know the path, called Muddy Lane, that links Byfleet to Wisley? If you do, and if you have cycled along it in the past then I would like your help. Muddy Lane is a very strategic route for cyclists heading south from this area, there are few safe alternatives.

It has been used without hindrance for many years, but recently the landowner has decided that cyclists are not welcome and is trying to prevent anyone from using the lane. We (the Woking Cycle Group and the Elmbridge Cycle Group) are intending to make an official change of use application, so that the right to use this lane is preserved. For this we need to identify people who have cycled this path at any time between 1983 and 2009. Did you, or do you know of anyone, who may have used this path during this time? If so, please get in touch with me, your help will be much appreciated.

On 20th February Vicki and Chris Holmes had their bicycles stolen.

Vicki says “Our garage was broken into and all our bikes stolen. It appears to be a targeted theft (no other garages were broken into and no other items stolen). As you can imagine, we are pretty devastated as this was a collection built up over many years.

We would be very grateful if you could keep your eyes out for any of these bikes (online, car boot sales, or out on the road) One of the bikes is unique and custom-made and therefore very istinctive, with personalised engravings. Photos below.

There’s a REWARD and our eternal gratitude to anyone who can help trace these bikes.”

Thank you
Vicki and Chris Holmes
Mobile 07803 297007
Vickiholmes67@hotmail.co.uk

Make: ATUM22 Custom made titanium bike – unusual and distinctive


Distinctive engravings on frame (above)
Initials CRH engraved on head tube
Name engraved on seat post HOLMES

Make: Litespeed

Make: Giant Trance 2 MTB
Difference from picture below: bike had been fitted with gold hubs and cables, and white handlebar grips

Make: Ribble Road Bike
Difference from picture below: white bottle cages had been fitted

Make: Specialized Myka Pro MTB

This month’s ride is this Sunday, 10th February.

Our route this time will be out through Addlestone, circling round to West Byfleet, Ripley, then West and East Horsley before coming back to Weybridge through Ockham and Cobham. The total distance will be about 25 miles and it’s all on road, some sections will be on main roads.

The route map is here: http://bit.ly/V4cCom

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am on Sunday.

The next ride after this will be 31st March which is Easter Sunday, so we’ll be having the second annual Vaguely Interesting Easter Egg Hunt.

Walton Bridge

This is just a word of warning about the conditions on and around Walton Bridge. As you probably know, a nice new bridge is being built and will be ready this summer. Meanwhile the conditions on the old bridge have become very hazardous for cyclists. They were never good, but there is now distracting construction activity, degraded road surfaces, frequent changes to the road layout and the street lighting seems to have totally failed. It is unlikely that conditions will improve until the new bridge is opened.

Walton Bridge is currently highly dangerous for cyclists. Please take care if you have to use it.

This month’s ride is this Sunday, 13th January. With luck the snow will hold off until Monday.

The route on Sunday will be out along the Thames towpath towards Staines. From Staines we will bear south towards Thorpe and Lyne before turning back towards Chertsey and Addlestone. It’s a relatively short route this month, about 17 miles, on mainly quiet roads with some stretches of off road paths.

The route map is here: http://bit.ly/ZDJVwV

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 10th February.

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 9th December at 11am.

This month our destination will be Newlands Corner. The distance will be about 25 miles and is all on road. Some sections of the route will be on quite busy roads, so this ride is best for reasonably confident cyclists. There’s also a bit of a hill up to Newlands Corner, but you’ll only have to do it once and we’ll be stopping for lunch at the top.

The route map is here: http://bit.ly/SJMwWt We will head out along Redhill Road and then parallel the A3 as far as Burpham, from there we cut through to Trodds Lane and up to Newlands Corner. The return will take us to West Clandon, Send, Old Woking and West Byfleet.

The hours of daylight are quite short at this time of year. While I do not plan to be back after it gets dark, we could easily be delayed due to punctures and/or breakdowns. For this reason please remember your lights.

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next regular ride after this will be Sunday 13th January.

Boxing Day

There’s a possibility that I will organise an extra ride for Boxing Day, December 26th. If I do I will send out details a few days before. If you would be interested in riding on Boxing Day please let me know.

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 11th November at 11am.

This month the ride will take us south into the countryside towards Effingham and Bookham, then looping back through Cobham and Esher Common. The distance will be about 18 miles and is mostly on road with a couple of short sections on good quality tracks and paths. The route map is here: http://bit.ly/UxKINc Lunch will be at the Medicine Garden – unlike last month’s ride, I have personally checked this venue for suitability 😉

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next ride after this will be Sunday 9th December.

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 14th October at 11am.

This month the plan is to do a 20 mile route that loops up through Shepperton and Feltham then skirt the airport towards Stanwell and back through Staines Common and Chertsey. As usual we’ll be meeting outside the Hand & Spear pub, near Weybridge Station at 11am. There’s a detailed route map here: http://bit.ly/UHMW2u The ride will be about 20 miles at a leisurely pace.

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next ride after this will be either Sunday 11th November or more likely on Sunday 18th November which is a slight deviation from the usual schedule.

Cycle Wales for the Brompton and Harefield Hospitals

Two weeks ago a group of eight of us cycled the length of Wales to raise money for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals charitable funds. The trip was very successful with everyone completing the whole 250 mile route that included quite a few big hills. The fund raising has been particularly successful with over £5,350 raised so far. There are some photographs of the trip here: http://bit.ly/SRCePg

The Olympic euphoria for cycling has been and gone, it’s back to school for many this week and we are starting to see the old cyclist battle lines being re-occupied. Here’s a round up of some good and bad from this week.

Firstly, an upbeat article from the Surrey Advertiser on Monday (featuring a few quotes from me) about the potential for an Olympic cycle legacy in Surrey: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2119810_cycling_routes_needed_for_olympics_legacy

Sadly this was followed on Wednesday by news of a cycling fatality on Rydens Road in Walton. I don’t know the details other than a skip lorry and an elderly cyclist being involved, but there’s no excuse for a fatal collision on a road like this in good weather and broad daylight.

On a further downbead, Richard Nye, the editor of upmarket glossy publication the Richmond Magazine, which is owned by Sheengate, has disgraced himself by saying that the only good cyclist is a dead cyclist in this month’s editorial Here, page 9. He then claims to have shouted “Bastardo! Cycling Swinehunt! (sic) Two-wheeled son of Beelzebub!” at somebody while stuck in the discomfort of his own traffic jam.

This is a great pity as Sheengate ran a very nice article, featuring one of our recent cycle rides in the July edition of the Elmbridge Lifestyle Magazine. I’m pleased that not all of Sheengate’s editors share the same attitude as Richard Nye.

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 9th September at 11am.

A couple of months ago we planned to check out the new Bike Beans cycle cafe in Ashtead. Due to terrible weather and some mechanicals we didn’t get any further than Wisley. So, with the weather looking a lot more promising this Sunday we are going to try again.

As usual we’ll be meeting outside the Hand & Spear pub, near Weybridge Station at 11am. Heading out towards Downside, Fetcham and then skirting Leatherhead. Lunch will be at the Bike Beans cycle cafe in Ashtead. We’ll return via Ashtead Common, Oxshott and Esher Common, so there’ll be a bit of slightly off-road riding through the commons. There’s a detailed route map here: http://bit.ly/Ly5IAx

The ride will be about 25 miles at a leisurely pace.

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next ride after this will be on Sunday 14th October.

Cycle Wales for the Brompton and Harefield Hospitals

In two weeks time, Chris Dallas and a few other regulars from the Elmbridge Cycle Group will be raising money for Brompton and Harefield Hospitals charities by cycling the length and breadth of Wales. That’s about 250 miles and 3,500m of hills over 4 days of gruelling saddle time. Starting in Holyhead, finishing in Chepstow and crossing three mountain ranges.

The ride is for a really really good cause. Chris’s son Elliott was born with a heart condition and, over a very long and worrying time and many surgical operations the Royal Brompton performed miracles for Elliott. Chris now wants to give something back for the wonderful care Elliott received. If you’ve enjoyed any of the Elmbridge Cycle Group bike rides in the past a small donation would be a great way to show your appreciation and help these hospitals carry on their very important work.

You can read Chris’s whole story here: http://www.justgiving.com/teams/rbhtwelshcycle or you can make an online donation via Just Giving to any of the following:
Chris: http://www.justgiving.com/rbht-welsh-c2c
Norman: http://www.justgiving.com/Norman-Johns1
Barbara: http://www.justgiving.com/Barbara-Rossouw
George: http://www.justgiving.com/CyclingWales2012

Surrey SuperCycle

Another fundraising event coming up is the Surrey SuperCycle on Sunday September 16th. Anyone can take part in this one and raise money for your choice of a dozen different charities. The event takes place at Dunsfold Airfield near Cranleigh where you’ll be able to cycle anything from 1 to 100km on the famous Top Gear racing circuit. Open to everyone including children, young people and those with disabilities. You might even meet some people there using it as last minute training for a ride through Wales 😉

More details here: http://www.surreysupercycle.org.uk

The next Elmbridge Cycle Group bike ride will be this Sunday 12th August at 11am.

The weather forecast is good, so rather than stopping at a pub for lunch we will be having a picnic this time. Please bring sandwiches, or whatever else you’d like to eat and drink

As usual we’ll be meeting outside the Hand & Spear pub, near Weybridge Station at 11am. The route will head south-west past St Peter’s Hospital and out over Chobham Common to Windlesham Arboretum which is little known, but a bit of a hidden gem. We will stop here for a picnic before heading back via Windlesham, Chobham and Addlestone. The detailed route map is here: http://bit.ly/NlanYn

The ride will be about 25 miles at a leisurely pace, suitable for road bikes.

If you want to come, just turn up at the Hand & Spear at 11am.

The next ride after this will be on Sunday 9th September.