Author: Dave Vine
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
A Group Ride 31 December
Author: Dave Vine
B Group 31 December
We headed south on Headley Road to Walton on the Hill then via New Road to briefly join the A217 south to the roundabout and the peace and quiet of Chipstead Lane. Having conquered White Hill a breather was called for and a diversion was selected to avoid Netherne-on the- Hill (the clue is in the name). We turned left into High Road then shortly left again into Castle Road. This is a narrow, steep (down)hill and fortunately one-way, leading to B2032 Outwood Lane at Chipstead Bottom. After a brief rest watching a sheepdog earning his keep in an adjacent field we continued on the original route to cross the A217 into Shelvers Way. You could almost feel the temperature rising but as well as admiring the views you had to keep one eye on the frozen puddles at the roadside.
A further diversion was soon incorporated taking Epsom Lane to Tattenham Corner then straight down into Epsom and on to The Cricketers in Stamford Green Road. Here lunch was served pretty quickly and we hadn't quite finished when the As arrived, but that's another story....
Thanks to Dave for the interesting route, Tim for backmarking and everyone for their company.
Terry
Author: Terry
B Group - 31st December
The route and the lunch were very good and contrary to the early morning expectations we had a most splendid day out.
~ Tim
Author: Tim C
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Shimano M80 boots for sale
Geoffrey Shields
Author: Geoffrey Shields
Sunday, 28 December 2014
31 December Wayfarers Ride
Author: Dave Vine
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Helenes ride to the 7 Stars pub at Ripley.
Helene.
The 7 Stars
Author: Tony
Monday, 22 December 2014
December 24th - a note from Helene
Author: Brian
A Group 17th December
Author: Brian
Friday, 19 December 2014
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Message from Geoff Gregory
The years seems to have gone by so quickly and the rides so enjoyable, it has been great to chat and be in such good company.
A very happy Christmas and New Year to all the Wayfarers and I look forward to meeting you again and enjoying the first ride in the New Year
Geoff Gregory
'A Group Christmas Lunch, 17 December
Author: Jeff
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
"B" Group - Leatherhead to Woodies, New Malden - 17th December 2014
Author: Unknown
Monday, 15 December 2014
Plans for December 31st
David Vine (A)and Terry (B) will lead. Meet at Ashtead Park Garden Centre, KT21 1HU ( its at the corner of Pleasure Pit Road and Wilmerhatch Lane) for elevenses in good time for departure at 1100 prompt for a ride that will return to the Epsom area for lunch ( no ride to tea). There may be separate A/B rides or not depending on numbers etc . Please inform David ( 07962054879) or Terry ( 07881438644) if you intend to participate so that they can advise the pub of likely numbers.
Author: Brian
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Santa Clause Alias Mad Hatter
Author: mike morley
Friday, 12 December 2014
B Group 10 December
Author: Terry
Thursday, 11 December 2014
A Group, 10 December, 2014
10 + 1 outside The Bull |
The 12th man |
Author: Jeff
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
B Group - Claygate to the "Cap in Hand" for Xmas Lunch - 10 December 2014
Author: Unknown
A Group Winter Warmer, 12 December
*Christmas Quiz*
Advanced level: Simply arrange the words below into a ride report, without referring to the template below.Regular level: fit the words into the template. Each word is used only once.
beauty, Burrow, blowout, Bar
chainring, Christmastime, Combe, Claygate
Down
elevenses, Ewhurst
friends, Fine, Effingham
Green, Gomshall, Goose
Horsley, Hill, Hoe, Hatch,
London, lanes, Little
motorists, mud
Pitch, puncture, Peaslake,
ride, rain
sleigh, Shere, syrup, sticky, sunlight
tea
Winter, White, wind, Winterfold, Wonderland, west
I originally planned the ride as a pre-Christmas b_____, but not in the p_____ sense. Twelve left e_____ under a Wedgwood sky. The track out of c_____ had less m_____ than I feared after last night's r_____. We wound our way up to e_____ and headed for the hills, up and over w_____ d_____.
Avoiding h_____ Lane as a courtesy to m_____, we headed to g_____, g_____ g_____ and b_____ Lane, bypassing p_____ on our way up to p_____ h_____, whence we sped down to the Bull's Head at e_____. A fine selection of sandwiches and Senior lunches were consumed and we were all finished by 2pm. This was followed by something hot and s_____, in the shape of b_____ h_____ Lane, which is a b_____, especially near the top.
We found we had the w_____ at our back, something I often find around c_____. Golden s_____ made the l_____ look beautiful, as I hummed the tune of s_____ r_____ to myself. A detour took us to w_____ and down past l_____ l_____ and a long descent before we found ourselves in sh____.
When Brian found we were going up c_____ Lane, he exclaimed "you b_____". Another f_____ hill, I heard someone say. John even had to change down from his big c_____. It was all downhill from there, apart from the brief uphill bits. t_____ at w_____ h_____, which had been transformed into a w_____ w_____, to round off a very enjoyable day in the company of a bunch of old f_____.
Bonus point: find the missing word. Alternatively, find the most imaginative use of the words.
2 Comments:
Mark G 11 December 2014 at 11:12 GMT
I think I know the missing word. In fact, I think a few words are missing ...
Do I get a prize?
Simon L 11 December 2014 at 15:40 GMT
The prize is the pleasure of having solved the quiz!
A Group 10th December
Clear blue skies for Simon's ride today. 34.13 miles from elevenses at Claygate to tea at West Horsley; lunch at the Bull's Head, Ewhurst. Rolling average 11.7 mph and 3,321 feet of ascent.
Some fine hills - the perfect foundation for the Christmas Pudding.
Mark
Author: Mark G
Monday, 8 December 2014
A group Winter Warmer - 10 December
Sunday, 7 December 2014
3rd December 2014 - "B" Group - Cobham to Box Hill
On a chilly and sunny morning, I led 17 cyclists from Cobham, to the Tree on the Hill pub on top of Box Hill. After leaving Cobham, we went up Plough Lane, before turning left down Old Lane heading towards Effingham. We continued along Effingham Common Road, up Beech Avenue, Critten Lane towards Ranmore Common we were turned left. We followed Ranmore Common Road and then down onto Westhumble where we picked up the zig zag to Box Hill. We reached the refurbished pub by 1 o'clock. (previously known as the Hand in Hand).
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Happy 70th Birthday, John!
Many happy returns.
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Ralph, on his gap year,
first ride with the Club
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Author: Unknown
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Attendance record ( ride plan) for 2015
Note that this is only a plan so rely on the bi-monthly web list or Sou'wester for the latest version.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7fLurFHZIWsVksxMG51YV9hdHM/view?usp=sharing
Author: Brian
Easy Riders. December 3rd
A small group this week, due to Fuzz having had his eye op last week and the weather getting colder. Les, Margaret, Norman, Ian, Maureen and myself made our way to the old A3, down Westend Road, going towards Esher. Left at the green and down to Thames Ditton, Molesey and Hampton Court. Here we said goodbye to Maureen and picked up Liz, who had an early morning errand and continued to lunch. We went over Hampton Crt bridge towards Teddington, down the high street and took a left turn into Twickenham Road. Along by the river to our lunch stop at The Barmy Arms. We were welcomed by a real fire and nice lunch. One of the locals suggested we see the nearby York Gardens before our journey home. So we left our bikes at the pub and walked a couple of minutes to the gardens. There were about six or seven Italien marble statues of naked ladies and a picturesque fountain. I remember seeing this before in winter when the statues had ice on them. We then had a walk round and continued homeward.
Lynda.
Author: Brian
Thursday, 4 December 2014
A group 3 December
A Group, 3 December


Author: Jeff
Monday, 1 December 2014
More wayfaring on the Costa Blanca
Mid-November a year ago marked the start of the Spanish winter and the colder weather arrived very abruptly. Fortunately we had no such bad luck this year as lovely warm temperatures and bright sunshine have continued all through November and were particularly enjoyed during last Wednesday's ride (19 Nov.) and this Wednesday's (26 Nov.).
Last week, a small group of 5 followed Leader Lynn on a very rural ride to Callosa del Segura, which lies at the foot of the Callosa Sierra. We were 5 ladies from 5 different countries, ie. Lynn from Scotland, Lesley from England, Randi from Denmark, Ann-Karina from Norway, and yours truly from France (albeit a long time ago).
We left Quesada towards Benijofar, Formentera and soon found ourselves on small rural lanes lined at times with fields of vegetables, other times along orange groves or pomegranates trees. We crossed through tiny hamlets with their single story terraced casas giving a feeling of travelling back in time. No doubt this is what Costa Blanca looked like before the invasion of the Northern Europeans seeking sun and warm climes. Although just a few kilometres away from the coast, these hamlets are in marked contrast with the newly built villas of the coast.
Our coffee-break was at Pasticeria Roman in Dolores. The Pasticeria is famous for its cinnamon magdalenas, freshly baked daily, which were devoured with café con leche. Dolores is one of the largest villages in the area and has a pleasant square dominated by a blue-tiled dome church and extraordinary tall palm trees.
Refreshed, we moved on to Catral and progressed on a quiet road taking us to the Callosa Sierra which was facing us all the way. For lunch we stopped at Toscana Restaurant in Callosa and enjoyed tapas and bocadillos.
Our journey back took us via a long cycle path lined with thin and tall conifers. I could not help thinking that these were too thin to be of any help at providing shade for the summer rides. I felt quite hot and bothered in this mid-November and I cannot imagine what it can possibly be like to cycle in the middle of the summer - although Lynn's Ladies Section continues riding all through the year. May be I shall give it a try one year!
Door to door kilometrage = 65 kms.
Francoise H.
Photos: Quesada-Callosa
Wednesday 26th November - Quesada - Parc natural del Hondo - Crevillent
With another fine day ahead of us, Lynn guided a group of 7 ladies (from 5 different countries) to Crevillent, which lies at the foot of the Sierra of the same name, in the Alicante Province. For this we set off towards Elche, famous for its footwear and palm groves. This was a pleasant change from the rural lanes of last week as we were effectively crossing through a nature reserve (El Hondo) and an impressive forest of palm trees. So many palm trees... and no one to pick their dates meant that at times, there was quite a heady aroma in the air from the perishing dates on the ground. That too made a change from the smell which rises on hot days from the cabbage fields.
We stopped on the way at Los Molinos for our morning coffee. A very Spanish ambiance awaited us in this bar/restaurant with its selection of Serrano hams hanging from the ceiling whilst at the table next to ours, four dominoes players were so engrossed in their game that there was no talking (rather a rarity in Spain) and the only noise was the "clacking" of the dominoes pushed face up on the table at the end of each game.
We continued our ride through the palm groves with the Crevillent Sierra in front of us getting larger as we were getting closer to the town of Crevillent, known for its worldwide renowned hand-made carpets. We stopped for lunch at a Pasticeria with a good display of savoury and sweet offerings. The former were the order of the day and however tempting, the sweet counter was ignored.
On the way back we rode by large fields of yellowing pomegranate trees and freshly cut hay. In this part of the world, there is no real "autumn feel", no real change of seasons. Most of the trees are not deciduous - the orange and lemon trees are green all year round, so are the palm trees. Only the pomegranate trees bothered to change colour through the month of November. In the same way, hay-making is not just a spring occupation as in northern Europe, the very verdant lucerne had just been cut at this end of November.
We crossed through San Isidro where we stopped as Lynn pointed out a Memorial marking the "forgotten grave" and the site of a concentration camp during the Spanish Civil War, as explained in an article published in the Leader, a local newspaper for English-speaking Expats:
Having cycled at a good pace, there was enough time for an afternoon break at Formentera which boasts around its square some very unusual trees pollarded as a kind hallo (photo below).
A few more kms and we were back at the cycling shop having travelled 71 kms (81 kms door to door for yours truly).
A change of scenery awaits us next Wednesday (and temperatures, I dare say) - we shall be cycling in Surrey as Frank will be leading the B Group from Cobham. And to the Ladies of the Costa Blanca, it is only "Au revoir", as we shall be back in Torrevieja at the end of January.
See you soon.
Francoise H.
Photos: Quesada-Hondo-Crevillente
Author: Unknown
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Easy Riders - 26th November
Author: Tim C
A Group, 26 November
Harrowing?
Author: Jeff
A Group ride to Harrow on the Hill
My thanks to the large, very trusting group who joined me on the ride to Harrow. The traffic caused a few problems as did multiple trains at the crossing in Barnes. Horsenden and Sudbury Hills successfully negotiated we arrived at Harrow. A swift descent down hill and a ride to lunch where we were joined by Dave, having survived the dentist chair. Congratulations to Ged, Mark, Steve (happy birthday) and Ingrid for their narrow victory in the lunchtime quiz. Good ride down the canal until half a mile from Bulls Bridge when it became muddy. Norwood Green, Osterley Park and back to finish at Richmond. Thanks to Simon and Jeff for excellent back marking, Neil for scurrying around and mopping up and Mark for ride details.
Now for my next ride, I have a friend who owns a micro brewery in Sussex...
Author: Hans
1 Comment:
mike morley 27 November 2014 at 23:54 GMT
Hans congratulations on your first time as rides leader! Sorry I did not make it due to unexpected domestic and you could say community demands as both a charitable person! I guess I could console by saying that my enforced position as part of a new charity (CTC) is that I opted for the wider obligation of worrying about the wider public good! Can't wait to go on your next ride if it's to a micro - sounds fantastic! Count me in!
Mike M.
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
B Group - 26th November
The meals at the Ostrich were good. The Wayfarers had not been there before as far as is known, but there is no reason why we shouldn’t go back to the Ostrich in the future.
After lunch we set off towards Poyle, Stanwell Moor, Stanwell, Ashford, Charlton and Sunbury where a few of us stopped for tea at the Squires Garden Centre. The group after lunch was reduced to eleven bike riders which was a very manageable number. However, I am very grateful to both Pam and Tim who did the backup duties. Having this kind of support from both of them was essential.
~ Peter Carpenter
The happy crew at The Ostrich in Colnbrook |
Peter's ride from Kingston to The Ostrich |
P.S. We'd like to wish Norman a Happy Birthday and thank him for his very kind gesture of buying tea and coffee for everyone at the Bradbury Centre.
Author: Tim C
A Group 26th November
A damp November day, but Hans soon cheered us up with an entertaining ride to Harrow. A quiz at lunch and a bike-handling test after rounded the day out nicely.
33 miles from elevenses at Kingston to tea at Richmond; rolling average 11 mph and 1,220 feet of ascent. For those planning ahead for Christmas, 1,478 calories.
Mark
Author: Mark G