A Group Ride, Weds. 8th July 2026 from Weybridge to Aldershot and Cobham.

 You are invited onto the A Group Ride on 8th July from Weybridge to Aldershot and Cobham. Elevenses will be at Cafe Verditer, 34 Baker Street, Weybridge, lunch at Wetherpoons, The Queen Hotel, Aldershot, and tea at Gails, Cobham. 

It's 21 miles to lunch, with 24 miles to tea - all on road. (The route is based on David Ward's ride to Aldershot, and the Queen Hotel in October 2022).

https://connect.garmin.com/app/course/482937064

In view of expected high temperatures I plan to start the ride early, with the weather cooler, and with the first group away at 10am. Should riders wish, a 'train assist' return from Aldershot could be taken.

Fiona and David are your sub-leaders of the faster and medium paced rides respectfully, whilst I will lead a leisurely paced group.

(Please note there are no secure bike anchor points at the pub, and bikes should be chained together on the forecourt of the pub off Victoria Rd.).

Please reply on Spond by Monday 6th July, or by email if you wish, should you want to join the ride.

Groups and departure times will be sent out on Tues.

(What with child-minding, four months injured off the bike, and trips to Nepal and New Zealand, this is my first lead ride since August 2025: be prepared to get lost!).

I look forward to riding with you.

Lost; B Group from Cobham to Kingston via Woodmansterne, 1 July

The day had begun chilly and the Tolworth closure meant the traffic was a bit heavy along Rushett lane but there had been frustration last week with the heatwave forcing the cancellation of the long ride out to Eton and despite a couple of late withdrawals we had twenty four turn up for the Bs.

By the time the first group set off the sun was strong but offset by a cooling breeze.  But once we were past Great Bookham we were cut off from the outside world by the lush vegetation.  Chapel Lane and then Little Switzerland felt like a trip through some secret forest and then we were on top of the downs with that glorious view over the Epsom Racecourse and out to the north west, as far as Wembley's arch.

 Tim's group making their way up Mill Way 

Paul's group at the top of Leech Lane

Tim and his group at Tattenham Corner

We all felt we'd had a good ride, pretty fast by B Group standards, but we had not made that much headway on the chasing groups as they joined us sitting at tables set up for the afternoon football match in the garden of the Woodman for lunch.

Well, two thirds of them joined us.  Where was Bernard and his group?

Should I text them?  Had they had an accident?  No, we would surely meet them as we went back along Banstead Lane???  No!  They were lost.  Gone.  Wandering somewhere in the secret woods.  Was I destined to go down in history as the man who lost an entire group on a ride?  The George III of cycling?  There will have to be a Board of Enquiry.

Creepy.  The last known sighting of Bernard & his group

It was when we got down to Cheam that I got a call from Martina.  They had missed the Woodmansterne turn and were lunching in Cheam Park instead.    

So on we hammered to Kingston Church where the lady was clearly planning to close at three despite the advertised closing time of four and the promise of further custom.  I shan't be using them again.

We had our tea and coffee and awaited the others, Julie and Ray were the only survivors of John's group who needed refreshment so we went to Costa in the market where you can guard your bikes easily and there we were joined by Tim G and Bernard and Sabina, who had managed to find their way to Kingston, reporting that Dawn, who had determinedly slogged her way up the inclines (having practised yesterday in a car!) had left them to buy an electric bike.

Thanks everyone for the company.  Thanks Jane and Keith for putting up with being omitted from the riders' list.  Thanks Tim and John and Bernard for leading, and thanks, Gill and Julie for each buying me a coffee.  I hung around in the hope that some other nice woman might buy me a third but it was not to be.

EVIDENCE TO THE BOARD OF ENQUIRY 

Filed by Bernard P

Sub leader number three  write up for Wednesday ride 1^st July 2026

Cobham – Woodmansterne (or as it turned out, Cheam) - Kingston

Elevenses.  The British Legion café.  Squadron Leader’s instructions to subbies.  Time, approximately 10.45 am... fifteen minutes before subbie number three begins the ride.  I smiled and continued daydreaming about football world cup glory with me scoring a hat trick in the final whilst something was being said about lunch in Banstead, avoiding peskily dangerous roads and turning right or was it left at some roundabout, “... and that’s how to avoid that busy road, altogether much safer.  See everyone at the Woodman for lunch!”  I agreed that it was a very good idea to keep safe... in fact it was one of the top three principles I lived my life by.  The room was filtering out as the other groups departed and I marshalled our riders.

Outside it was hot, heavy with sun.  I attempted to cool the riders with a sprinkling of some homespun humour, “anyone got the route?”.... I chuckled but no one else did... it drew worried expressions. “Just joking!”  At that point Sabina reminded me to turn Garmi on.  I wobbled slightly.  Garmi made his usual burping sounds as he woke up.  I pressed ‘ride’ but nothing happened.  All eyes were fixed firmly in my direction.  I was starting to feel quite sweaty.  I pressed ‘ride’ again but nothing.  I had forgotten to convert my recorded recce into a course... this was a blunder that if it ever got out would ruin my reputation as a subbie.  I had to keep cool.  I could feel the perspiration collecting above the rim of my eyes and then the trickling of hot salty sweat made its mercilessly way down my brow... but worse I now had a hostile invader in my helmet or so it felt as an intense itch started to manifest itself at the back of my cerebrum.  I desperately tried to visualise Garmi’s written instructions within that cerebrum of mine but to no effect... I had never bothered to read them... who does! I’m a go-along intuitive sort of individual and often this works, sort of, and when it doesn’t, well, Sabina comes to the rescue.  I scrabbled through Garmi’s settings, found some options for rides, routes and courses and decided the best I could do was press one of them... pressing the wrong one would delete the recci ride altogether.... plan B would be to follow road signs and stop to ask intelligent looking individuals for directions along the way.  As is my way in times of unbearable stress I crunched my eyes shut and blindly pressed one of Garmi’s options, which one, I have no idea to this day.  Garmi made a gurgling noise followed by a kind of low pitch buzzing and ending with a popping sound... I opened my eyes and saw that the course was loaded.  I felt light and joyful... so full of happiness that I forgot I was supposed to be leading a ride until I looked up and saw all eyes fixed on Garmi and me.  "Let’s go!”

Soon we were out of Cobham and into the gentle rolling landscape of the Surrey Hills; lots of green speckled with dainty yellow flowers or perhaps weeds, whichever, very pretty.  A red kite glided above and away.  Wagtails skimmed low across the flat of the land.

There were hills to climb too.  They took their toll on me; I felt their weight, their load.  For some reason my bike felt heavy and the tyres rode thickly, but the real issue was my own physical limitations.  My calf and thigh muscles felt tight, and my lungs could only process so much air at a time.  Luckily, I was not in a race doing this for a living or I would be in trouble.  Chapel Lane albeit the easier side was tough and so was Lodge Bottom Road and Tattenham.  It was as if the rubber of the tyres was melting into the tarmac of the road and they were becoming one unified heap of slodge (a made-up word but that’s what it felt like, slodge).

Approaching Banstead I remembered something being said about avoiding turning one way or the other at some roundabout and staying alive.  And so with my intuition in full throttle mode I went straight on at the roundabout which took us down Sutton Lane instead of left into Woodmansterne Lane.  For a short second or two Garmi indicated we were off route but within the blink of an eye it showed we were back on track.

Very soon I sensed my riders’ unease, “where are we going, isn’t lunch supposed to be at the Woodman?”   I was puzzled too.  By now we should have reached the pub but it was nowhere in sight.  I expected it would pop up in view at any moment but it never did.  I had every faith in Garmi... he’s never wrong or at least he’s less wrong than me.  Soon we were in Sutton and then Cheam.  It was as if the Woodman had vanished, disappeared as happens in hideous dreams,

My fellow riders were very good about the situation.  Sabina came to the rescue... from her nannying days she knew of a cafe in Cheam Park.  This was a very impressive piece of leadership on her part... no Garmi, no map just a thorough sound knowledge of how to get to where we needed to get.

There was a summer’s day’s feel about the place... mothers chatting at one table whilst their children, toddlers, played and lolloped in the grass about them, friends and couples enjoying each other’s company, pet dogs happily snoozing away the day and a gentle happiness embracing everyone.  Just right for our weary legs.

Refreshed back on our bikes we got and Sabina led us safely back into Kingston where we finished our ride and met up with the other riders in Kingston Market Place.

All riders rode magnificently; they were, Anne, Dawn, Martina, Sabina and Keith who kindly back marked.  Thanks to Paul for putting together a great route.

Now how did we miss the Woodman Pub?  Well, I should have turned right on that roundabout in Banstead into Woodmansterne Lane where the pub is located.  By not doing so I went straight into the afternoon section of the ride and that’s why Garmi said I was back on course without me realising that I had cut our lunch stop.  Thanks to great co-riders and Sabina’s leadership skills all was saved and we had a great bike ride.

B Group Ride - Wednesday 8th July '26.

Our ride from Weybridge will take us through Chertsey and Virginia Water to Windsor Great Park and beyond to Woodend. Lunch is at ‘The Duke of Edinburgh’. 

The afternoon ride will take us back via Ascot racecourse, Windsor Great Park, Englefield Green and tea at Walton-on-Thames.

Please reply by Monday evening to be included on the ride list. 

Email - timgibbons1@virginmedia.com

WhatsApp - 07756961505

Look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday. 

TimG.

MWW Cobham to Walliswood 1st July 2026 - Ride Report

 Ride organiser Fiona gave us an extended route and balances it off now with a slender report .. 

A beautiful warm day for setting off amongst the Surrey Hills.
We did a fair bit of climbing, just over 1000meters in 59 miles.
The Scarlett Arms were ready with amply filled sandwiches to give us much needed energy for our return climbs up Pitch and then Combe.

Thank you to my group for a good paced ride, good company and to Janice for back marking. 

Dave Vine writes.. 

When I signed up for this ride, without reading the small print, I was somewhat daunted to learn of a 35 mile ride to lunch. But on the day an early start with a well-matched team (Brian, Richard, and Frances) with Frances taking numerous turns on the front, helped to make it a most enjoyable experience.

On the way we stopped at Dunsfold Village Hall, which fortuitously was open, where we were invited in by the local ladies to top up water, and use their toilets. Thanks Dunsfold Ladies. 

We stopped briefly to inspect the grounded the Hawker Hunter, recently discovered by Neil, though clearly it had been there some time. 

All the groups sat together for lunch in the Scarlett Arms garden, speedily served and devoured.

Riding back, Ockley Road was blocked by road resurfacing lorries, conveniently next to an alternative route, Holmbury Road. It’s rarely climbed by us, but now thankfully resurfaced it was a useful alternative to Pitch Hill, though no less challenging. After Peaslake we rejoined Fiona’s “official” route.

The almost final climb of Combe Lane was frustrated by motor traffic blocking the road by the steep turn, which seems to happen more frequently nowadays. The frustration was thankfully dissipated by the long downwind stretch to Cobham where, Frances having parted company at Effingham, three of us stopped for tea.

Thanks everyone for your company, and to Fiona for an excellent route.

Neil writes.. 

This was my first sub-lead for a long time. I reccied on Monday two days before which was just as well as my attention to reading the route on my Karoo was scatty and I made several mistakes. The 35 miles to the pub was a long stretch but it delivered really good views and sections, some seemed new to me. Not many riders asked for a slow group, just Pete B and Gina (and Geoffrey from the Scarlett). We set off from Cobham early, we found our individual paces were well matched. We each enjoyed the scenery and lanes, especially between Wonnersh and Dunsfold.  

We looked inside St Marks Blackheath, the art and crafts church..

We had a break in the shade at Dunsfold village store. then viewed the Hawker Hunter. The jet was sadly neglected. 

I asked Gemini to smarten the picture up, it did a good job, on us as well. 

On the return roadworks thwarted the ascent via Pitch Hill so we went via Radnor instead, possibly more difficult? Gina overcame her doubts and rode all the way up Coombe Bottom and then we flew the remainder mostly downhill to Cobham.

An excellent day out,  it's a thumbs up from us for the occasional longer ride in good summer conditions.
Many thanks to Fiona that was a super route and organisation.

Dieppe Raid 2026 - Discount for ferry bookings now available

Two alternative 20% discount codes are available for ferry crossings, one for over 60s, on any crossing (as far as I can see) and one for any age but on specific crossings.  From the Dieppe Raid/Tour des Trois Vallees Facebook page:

20% discount code for booking DFDS ferries now issued.  The wait is finally over ! The code is LTV26.

It applies to these routes:

• 18 and 19 September: Newhaven-Dieppe (8h30 departures)
• 21 September: Dieppe-Newhaven (12h departure)

https://www.dfds.com/en-gb/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/ferries-to-france/newhaven-dieppe

This discount cannot be used in addition to the 20% Over 60 discount mentioned below.

An earlier post says: The 20% discount for over 60's reduces return fare to £44.80. Book at: https://www.dfds.com/en-gb/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/ferries-to-france/newhaven-dieppe/senior-discount

Ride invitation B Group Wednesday 1 July

You are invited to join me on the ride from Cobham on 1 July

We are going to go over Great Bookham Common to Chapel Lane, down to the Steeping Stones, across the A24 to climb Little Switzerland and then through Walton, Tattenham Corner and Banstead to the Woodman at Woodmansterne.

After lunch everybody except Fixie can just take the feet off the pedals and coast down through Cheam and Worcester Park, past Berrylands to Kingston Church for tea.

There's a few ups and down in the morning but Little Switzerland is the only fruity climb.

The current draft of the route can be found here.  It is subject to what we find on the recces on Friday and Monday; a final version will come out with the running order on Tuesday.

No pre-ordering for lunch.  The forecast is for gentle, cooling snow.

Please let me know by e-mail before Monday bedtime if you would like to join me and the team of super-trained, expert sub-leaders.

Paulandrewjames1949@yahoo.co.uk 

CANCELLED - Egham Wednesday 24 June

In accordance with club guidelines, the ride from Egham has been cancelled due to a Red weather warning being in place for extreme heat on Wednesday.

This applies to all groups (A & B) that were due to start from Egham.