B Group ride report Teddington to The Fox at Hanwell

I’m not sure what the record number of riders for a B group outing is but I think we must have been pretty close last Wednesday. Thirty of us set off in perfect riding conditions for an urban jaunt through Richmond Park, down to the river at Mortlake, over to Kew Bridge and onwards to The Fox at Hanwell for lunch.

Ali and her staff did us proud and suitably refreshed we continued north along the canal returning to Teddington via Osterley and Twickenham, to tea at Bushy Park.

A big thanks to my sub-leaders and by way of keeping this report short and sweet, I just asked them for a ‘highlight of the day’ each.

From Brenda, who it should be said, had a nightmare recce on Sunday, but did a brilliant job on the day:

My highlight was seeing Teddington lock bridge on the horizon and realising I’m following the route at last , as opposed to my bonkers inside out , upside down , round and round in circles backwards recce the Sunday prior , oh plus it was a treat to only do the sewage works once that day not 4 times 😂 👃 😝!

A great day out 🚲 🌞

From Julie:

One of our highlights was to see the Three Bridges after coming off the grand union canal (where the road goes over the canal while also going over the railway line). My group hadn’t seen this before!

Also we were fascinated seeing how a canal can travel up a hill at Hanwell locks.

From Bernard:

"A very pleasant ride was had by all on this perfectly measured route giving everyone plenty of time to get home in the afternoon before darkness fell.  The highlight was the sunshine in late autumn bringing out the best of the colours at this time of year.  Our riders were Keith, Grant, Chris, Sabina, Dawn, Mick, Tim and me.  Many thanks to Tim for back marking and Sue for planning the route. "

And from me, my highlight was certainly to see  so many of our members out enjoying the ride! And of course Ian pleased that he had been served lunch before other customers....

Invitation to a B Group ride on 4th November

We will meet at the Royal British Legion for Elevenses then head out into the hills, taking High Barn Lane up to Ranmore Common Road.

Our destination for Lunch (18 miles) will be The Crown Inn in Capel which we visited and enjoyed on September 2nd but the route will be fairly different and somewhat less challenging this time.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/57468699

Please look through these menus and, when you reply to this invite, let me know what you'd like to eat.

'Our kitchen takes pride in serving proper home-cooked food.' Yum!

Note that they (and we) won't know what the Pie of the Day will be until Tuesday.

After Lunch we'll ride through Brockham towards Dorking then up Box Hill for Tea at The Village Café in Walton on the Hill.

Please reply to me by late afternoon on Monday and advise what you'd like for Lunch.

Alan, Julie and I are looking forward to leading you.

~ Tim

A’s October 28th - Ace Café & Harrow-on-the-Hill

It’s that time of year again when we have to think about getting everyone home before dark. In our favour this Wednesday it was half term so quieter roads than usual, and a big bonus was the weather, dry and even sometimes sunny.

We have not recently visited the Ace Café, first introduced to us under the leadership of Frank Cubis, whose untimely death was 10 years ago. Nor had we recently been to Harrow-on-the-Hill, pioneered as a destination by Hans and Mike R. For this ride I “borrowed” (actually, copied) the route used by Neil C in October 2021 so I knew it would work, subject to recce.

Working backwards from a planned 3.30 tea stop at Richmond Bridge, meant leaving Elleray Hall around 10.30, with an early lunch at the Ace around 12.00, where I hoped for speedy service to send us on our way promptly.

This plan defied all conventional wisdom, leaving the longest distance and most of the climbing to the afternoon, but on the day it worked. Apparently undeterred by this breach of custom, we had 15 riders, so two groups, and I was fortunate to have Neil C to lead a group (and to take me round on the recce).

My group (Graham K, Patrick, Neil W, Sue C, Andy and Guy) left first, with Neil’s group (Clive, Gina, Simon, Jennie, Dave E and Karl) shortly after. The morning went smoothly with occasional pauses for sightseeing atop bridges, including the canal aqueduct over the North Circular.

 

The Ace Café, which seemingly never changes, welcomed us and served us promptly, and there were even a couple of us who chose to lunch outside in the sun. Before we left I was asked by the manager when we would return, which was nice to hear. We departed on time for the challenging bit of the day. 

     

 

The route took us up Horsenden Hill and Harrow Hill, climbing the latter via Music Hill or Garlands Lane, depending on whether you preferred steps to speed bumps and pave. Unfortunately en route one of us suffered a broken chain and had to go home by train.

Lord Byron’s viewpoint is now compromised by trees, but some of us did our bit to get full value from the climbing effort, though we failed to spot the gleaming spires of Basingstoke as promised on the viewpoint plaque.    

 

From here it was largely downhill to the Grand Union Canal for 3 miles of towpath to Southall. The towpath is a mixed blessing; it gets you a long way without interruption or traffic, but it does get boring, and occasionally bumpy. Thereafter we took familiar roads back to Richmond Bridge. Neil’s group arrived first, and mine just after 3pm.

Thanks to Neil C for leading his group, Neil W for back marking my group, always visible in his Sou’Wester jersey, and all for your ever-cheerful company.

    

 

MWW A Ride 4th November- Cobham, Shamley Green, Leatherhead

 Here is the link for the Wednesday ride. Bring lights and usual repair kit etc. PLEASE ALL RESPONSES VIA SPOND APP 

Total mileage 41, out to Shamley 20miles Return to Leatherhead 22miles Total ascent 2300ft, majority in first 25 miles. Return we go around Guildford with some junctions to cross at lights so care required. Important note from recce - There is a RIGHT TURN from Barhatch into Winterfold Heath Road which can be easily missed. Note this junction has potholes at beginning of Winterfold Heath Rd, route continues into Shophouse and Row Lane. ITS UNEVEN , potholes and dry leaves/grit so please take it slow and carefully. We were fortunate to have a dry day. Return as we pass through Cranleigh and at the junction of The St and Station road, on a corner we are taking a Right Turn into Chinthurst Lane, ITS EASY TO MISS, CAUTION. Lunch is at the Bricklayers Arms which will need pre ordering - I am awaiting an up to date menu. NOTE ORDERS WILL BE REQUIRED NO LATER THAN 5PM MONDAY SO I CAN LET THEM KNOW.

Tea in Leatherhead, Charlie&Ginger or another depending on timing. Note at a steady pace it is approx 1hr 40mins each way. I have 2 sub leaders, Janice and Ged https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/525196063

A and B group Christmas lunches

Christmas is coming!  

You will all be excited to learn that the 2026 Xmas lunch is now booked! B Group lunch is on December 2nd and A Group on December 9th at the Angel Inn,Thames Ditton as usual. The menu is here with options for 1 course £18, 2 courses £25.50 and 3 courses £33. 

Please send your choices to Paula on pibpaula@icloud.com and make your payment (including subs at £3), referenced with your name, via bank transfer in the normal way. If you need the bank details please ask Richard (treasurer) on the5baileys@btinternet.com 

Paula

 

B ride from Teddington to The Fox at Hanwell on Wednesday 28th Oct

This week's ride will seem a little tame after Francis's adventure into the Surrey Hills last Wednesday but I am going with the 'variety is the spice of life' philosophy.  My partners in crime will be Bernard and Brenda and we cordially invite you to join us on an urban ride from The Elleray Centre in Teddington to The Fox in Hanwell for lunch followed by a ride through Osterley Park and back to Bushy for tea via the scenic Mogden Sewage Treatment Works.

RWGPS route to The Fox and back to Bushy

The morning ride is 11 miles to lunch and 10 miles back to Bushy. We don't need to pre-order but if you could take a look at the menus in advance that will help to speed things up when we arrive. 

The Fox Lunch Menu

The Fox Main Menu 

If you would like to join the ride please let me know by Monday evening.

Hope you can join us

Sue

sue.foster39@gmail.com

A group ride 21 October

The ride was from Effingham and as service has been slow in the past we split from the B’s who used Laylas and we used the Vineries. In the event, service was good albeit with fewer people to serve.

The plan was to cycle from Effingham to the Scarlett Arms in Walliswood, a hilly journey of 18 miles and in the afternoon to take a slightly longer circuitous route of 23 miles to Leatherhead. I normally like to have the longer ride in the morning with an easier afternoon but in the event, the short morning with a later start worked well because of the weather.

Weather watching for the few days beforehand showed a likelihood of rain but it wasn’t looking too bad the night before. However, on the morning the forecast had changed and there was heavy rain in the morning, forecast to lighten and reduce by lunch time.

As torrential rain battered down several people text to say they were unable to make it. Gritting my teeth I set off and was heartened to find many already happily socialising at the Vineries. After a quick shuffle of the 3 groups into 2 due to reduced numbers Brian’s group set off.

Here’s Brian’s report:

Overnight the weather forecast had turned on it's head and we were now to have a very wet morning and, maybe, a better afternoon. At least I had only 5 miles to get to Effingham but after a damp start got hit by a short, sharp downpour in Leatherhead. Fortunately I just made it to the Vineries as a biblical downpour descended.

After an hour letting the worst of the weather pass my rearranged group of Sue C, Dave F, Dave V and Andy C set off in light rain. By Green Dene it was drizzle and as we looked south from Combe Bottom the sky looked a bit lighter. We mixed with various groups of Bs as far as Winterfold and conditions on Shophouse Lane were better than I had feared given the weather. By now there was just a bit of damp in the air and we arrived at the Scarlett Arms damp rather than soaked. 

Lunch was on the table in the time it took for me to walk from the bar. By now there were some breaks in the cloud and it was almost unanimously decided to continue with the full route through Rusper. It turned out to be a cold but partly sunny afternoon - well worth the hardships of the morning. The roadworks on Shellwood Road had reappeared with a total blockage before Bunce Common road. After some discussion Commando Coxhill went to investigate the potential for avoiding a long detour. Suffice to say that we were soon at Brockham where we decided to stop for tea.

Thanks to Janice for the route and my team for their willingness to battle the weather.

Frances, Guy, Patrick, Neil W and I set off at 11.30 in light rain, heading out to Shere via Green Dene and from there Farley Green, Cranleigh, Ewhurst and arriving at the Scarlett Arms just after 1. Service was fantastic and by the time we’d made it from the bar to the table most people’s sandwiches had arrived, all very good quality too. 

We set off for home via Ockley and just before the Capel turning Patrick realised he had a major problem with his brakes. Initially he and Frances set off for the shorter route home via Capel but Patrick soon discovered both brakes were out of action so he had to head home via Ockley station and Cogs bike shop in Dorking.

Guy, Neil W and I carried on towards Rusper before heading North for home. We found that Shellwood Rd was closed but managed to pass through and before long were at Leatherhead where we parted company.

Despite all that the weather threw at us, it was an enjoyable day out enhanced by the cheerful good company of my hardy fellow riders so my thanks to them and in particular to Brian for being a willing sub leader.