Happy New-format Rides List and a merry New Web Address for it! 🎄

As previously announced, we have made some changes to the online Rides List.  The layout is changing to make it easier to print, for distribution to a few people who are unable to access the online version.   This will ensure everyone can still get a rides list, now that The Sou'Wester is no longer produced in printed form.

The web address of the rides list is changing too, so please bookmark the new link.  You can access the rides list from the Sou'Westers website at http://cyclingswlondon.org.uk, by clicking on "Rides List".   If you have any concerns or comments, please let me know by email, or speak to one of the Rides Secretaries, Clive J or David W. 

Seasons Greetings from Boxhill - Christmas Eve 2025

 

NorWesters Tuesday Ride 23/12/25

With Wednesday being Christmas Eve and no scheduled club ride, I suggested we bring things forward and enjoy a festive ride on Tuesday instead. The idea proved popular, with a very good turnout at 11s at the Pheasantry, including some members who joined us just for coffee.

Those present were Simon, Tim G, Ray, Paula (on her bike), Steph, Bob, Linda, Julie, Dawn, Tony Hooker, Christina, and Jane.

The route was a varied mix of road and off-road riding. We initially headed east before turning west off-road, taking in a view of the Kempton Steam Museum narrow-gauge railway. From there we continued through Halliford, passing the new development at Shepperton Studios, before riding along Abbey Drive and on to the Laleham riverside. A short cycle then brought us to lunch at the Chertsey Bridge Hotel.

The warmth inside was most welcome, and we soon found ourselves cosy and enjoying hot food—some of it very hot! Simon added to the occasion by providing a quiz at lunch, and there was plenty of Christmas cheer all round.

The return route back towards Hampton Court was more direct, crossing Chertsey Meads, then following the cycle path on Woburn Hill into Weybridge. From there we took the riverside route to Walton Bridge, continuing through Molesey. Six riders stayed on for tea at Dish, where hot chocolate and cake were enjoyed by most.

Many thanks to everyone who came along to 11s and to those who continued on the ride. Special thanks to Simon for back-marking and for providing the lunchtime quiz. A lovely festive ride to round off the year.

Merry Christmas to all  and safe cycling in 2026

Tony..

Invitation to B Group ride on New year's Eve

You are invited to to the New Year's Eve B Group ride, which bears some similarity to the A Group ride, but is much superior.

We meet for elevenses at The Pheasantry in Bushy Park and proceed through riverbank and mainly quiet suburban roads along the River Crane, through Isleworth, Syon Park, Brentford Docks, Chizzik, Ammersmiff, Fulham (past the Cottage) to Putney Bridge for lunch at The Rocket (a Wetherspoons).

Under 16 miles, flat as you can get, but because of all the twists and turns it takes the best part of two hours.

In the afternoon we travel off the main roads for only 5 miles to Colicci's at Roehampton Gate in the corner of Richmond Park, where the official ride ends.

Those nervous about getting home from their will receive appropriate leadership, or alternatively can hide in the trees and save themselves a journey early on New Year's Day. 

Route attached

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53493893  

If you would like to join in, Please let me know by e-mail at Paulandrewjames1949@yahoo.co.uk by teatime on Monday 29th.

Meanwhile, Happy Christmas to you all.

 

A Group Dec 31 Ride Invitation

You are invited to join me on the last ride of 2025 on New Year’s Eve.

Start Bushy Park Pheasantry Café. A scenic combination of riverside roads and parks. All hard surfaced with less than a mile of solid gravel. About 24 miles to lunch in Thames Ditton at the George & Dragon . No need to pre-order food.

No ride after lunch.

GPX route for Garmin or RWGPS or plotaroute. Happy to provide in other formats if you prefer.

Some if you may recall a similar ride I led in December 2021 from Walton; this one repurposed for a Bushy Park start, and slightly shortened. If I get similar numbers signed-up I will need a Sub-leader, so any volunteers would be much appreciated.

Please let me know by Monday evening Dec 29^th if you would like to join me. d.vine207@btinternet.com

B Group Ride Report - 17th December '25

 John A writes :

Thank you to everyone who joined our (almost) Winter Solstice ride and especially to the subbies - Steph, Stephen, Tim G and Francis. Without subbies our Midweek Wayfarers would not exist as we know it - thank you.

Stephen H writes :

The first group of Stephen, Gill, Liz and Ray departed the brand new, and very welcoming and comfortable Elleray Centre on a chilly and overcast  but, happily, dry morning. The ride (morning only, as the shortest day was almost upon us) was a very pleasant 19 miles to Epsom. Having crossed the Thames at Teddington we looped round Richmond Park (though, to our relief, without the steepest hills) before cutting through Kingston and Tolworth, past the Horton Country Park and into Epsom for lunch at the Assembly Rooms (packed with Christmas shoppers).  

Rescuers in action !

All went well until a couple of miles before Epsom, where Gill’s e-bike was struck by the Puncture Fairly, who wasn’t in a Christmassy mood.  Attempts to reflate the tyre were abortive but executing a tube change on a heavy and unfamiliar e-bike proved quite a challenge.  The group was soon joined by Tim G’s second group and after some discussion Mick and Fixie Dave gallantly volunteered to tackle the change while the others continued for the final couple of miles. They eventually succeeded, despite a recalcitrant wheel and problems with the gears, and were eventually able to get to a bike shop - ‘Fudge & Sons’ - in Epsom.  After repairs, Steph very kindly accompanied Gill to Hampton Court. Final score:  Puncture Fairy 1, Wayfarers 3.

TimG writes :

The early morning mist and fog fortunately cleared to give us a dry but chilly ride today. Nevertheless our expectations were raised by the warm welcome we received at the newly opened Elleray Centre in Teddington. A welcome addition to our current meet-up venues.

Five of set out from Teddington, over the river and on to cycle a lap of Richmond Park where a walker kindly volunteered to take a group photo. Onward via Kingston, Berrylands, Tolworth and West Ewell we hit upon Stephen’s group at Horton wrestling with a puncture. As these matters are always best left to the experts Mick and Fixie stayed on to help while the rest of us headed on to Epsom. Fortunately the problem was eventually solved.

Team TG in Richmond Park

The ‘Assembly Rooms’ is famed for its local popularity and this was particularly evident today as we all competed to find places to sit in what proved to be a very busy and crowded pub.

Mindful of the lack of daylight hours at this time of year the plan was to make our own way home after a relatively successful winter ride in fine conditions. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to make today’s ride an enjoyable experience.

Steph W writes :

A jolly gathering at the new Elleray Hall with excellent catering, a couple of us took the sausage rolls for lunch in case Wetherspoons was too busy.

Steph, Francis, Lillian, Karl, Ian Williamson and Martina set off in the 4th (???) group.  At the Sheen gate Martina departed for Chiswick (too much dancing Martina), Ian left us on the approach to Kingston, Lillian on the outskirts of Ewell and Francis for lunch at the Old Moat.  Not deterred by these defections Karl and I wheeled gratefully down towards Wetherspoons after the ins and outs of the circuitous route. But no - we had missed out the last important meander and had overtaken the group in front of us !!!

All who wanted it got a seat and a drink.  I was fortunate to get an afternoon ride to Hampton Court with Gill .  We parted, she for Shepperton and me on the river path to Kingston then up Dark Hill to complete a portion of the park that had been omitted from the morning route.

A great day out.  Thanks to all.

 A RIDE FROM TEDDINGTON TO DATCHET 

This was our first time using the new Elleray Centre as our meeting venue, I thought they made us all feel very welcome and hopefully we shall be returning there as often as we did to the previous hall. I’m particularly looking forward to the summer when the large garden will be an enjoyable space.

19 riders, split into three groups, left Teddington following a pretty direct route to Datchet, remember it was the shortest Wednesday of this year; going through Bushy Park, crossing Chertsey Bridge, a lot of traffic here that we all dealt with, and then turning at Virginia Water into Windsor Great Park. The park was extremely quiet, not many pedestrians, so we flowed through, enjoying all the festive decorations that had been erected for Christmas. Finally descending Crimp Hill and onto the Royal Stag pub in Datchet, our lunch destination.

Although the service was a little slow, there was no pre-ordering required, once it arrived it was good fayre. On the way to lunch there were three punctures in the first group, very unfortunate, two riders didn’t get to the pub, one did.

After lunch, light fading, but also with a slight wind from behind, all made a speedy journey to The Ferry Cafe at Shepperton Lock where the ride ended.

On arrival at the cafe, it was good to see that Andy had made it to the tea stop, having patched up his puncture. 

Six stayed for tea and cake, whilst the rest all decided to head home, as it was getting darker and a few splashes of rain were coming.

Thanks to all those that signed up for the ride, and particularly thanks to those who back marked in the various groups, and to Clive and David for sub-leading, which made for a very successful ride.

I like to wish you a Happy Christmas, and and a successful 2026.

Yours

Jennie 

Ride Leader Training

Cycling UK offer free Ride Leader training. The course is delivered through their online training portal.

The course aims are to:

• Inform you about Cycling UK's ride leader standards

• Support member group ride leaders to organise and run safe, enjoyable rides

• Increase your confidence and proficiency in leading rides and groups

This eLearning has been designed to be suitable for member group ride leaders with a range of different experiences and levels of knowledge. If you are an experienced ride leader, you may already be familiar with some of the course content, but a refresh of the basics can still be useful.

If you are interested in doing this course please let me (clive.janes@gmail.com) know and I can arrange for you to have access.

Please note that completing this course, or any course, is not a pre-requisite for leading rides in our club.

 A Group Ride 17/12/25

You are invited to join the A Group ride on Wednesday 17th December going from The Ellerary Centre in Teddington and going to The Royal Stag in Datchet for lunch returning to The Ferry Coffee Shop for afternoon tea. 

There is no requirement to pre-order for lunch, but please look at the menu, it can be found at royalstagdatchet.com. You may need to chose something from the main menu as there are only two choices of ciabattas.

As the Centre has just opened and there are particular requests regarding footwear you should look at Clive’s post regarding your attendance at the centre.

Details of groups, times and the route will be sent out by email on Tuesday.

To register please email me on d.jackson49@aol.co.uk. by 18.00hrs on Monday evening 

Thanks

Jennie J 

Invitation to Ride with the Bs on Wednesday 17th December

We shall meet at the new Elleray Centre (just round the corner from the old hall, see details on our Wayfarers blog). Note especially the details about where to park our bikes, the entrance we should use, and also the request that if we have cleats in our shoes which might damage the new floor then please remove your shoes. For most of us using cleats we have 'touring' type shoes with recessed cleats which shouldn't cause any damage.

We shall go through Richmond Park on our way to Wetherspoons in Epsom for lunch, 19 miles. 

Here is our route:

 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53400329 

 

Please note that there is no scheduled afternoon ride or afternoon tea and therefore everyone will need to have checked a map to sort out a route home. If you plan on riding home in a small group of two or three, feel free to let me know that arrangement so that I can put those named riders into the same morning group.

Names to me please by Monday evening: johnaustin04@yahoo.co.uk

Take care,

 

John A.

 

B group ride report for 10th Dec Dorking-Pyrford-Garson's Farm

We were fortunate to have a rare sunny day for our ride from Dorking  last Wednesday. The clouds in Gill's pic dissipated mid morning! Numbers weren’t high and one rider had to bow out at elevenses but I shall leave it Gill to tell that story…

My trusty subs in the form of Gill H and Karl cover the ride well so I will say no more other than to offer thanks and a big well done to Karl on his first sub-lead which he executed with aplomb!

Karl first:

I was a little apprehensive on the day, as this was my first time leading a ride — well, sub-leading to be exact, as it was Sue’s ride and she had asked me to sub-lead. Not many enrolled, and as a result my group comprised only four riders, including me, all of them experienced. That was a relief.

John, Keith, Mick and I left St Martin’s Centre in Dorking at 10:30. With only four of us, I saw little point in appointing a back marker, as it would be easy to see if I had lost one of our number with a quick glance over my shoulder.

A little outside Dorking we entered Denbies and ascended through the vineyards up to Ranmore Common. The ascent was relatively steep and, after only about twenty minutes out of Dorking and twenty minutes of good effort, we could look down on the town and see the church steeple close to our point of departure — a magnificent view.

At the top of the hill we shortly passed St Barnabas’ Church and then joined Ranmore Common Road for an undulating ride of a couple of miles. For the time of year, we could not have asked for better conditions: the sun was shining, the temperature was mild, and the road was practically empty.

The route took us down Critten Lane from Ranmore Common, but that day a “road closed” sign had been erected across it. We took our chances, however, and found the cause of the closure to be some felled trees, which we could bypass relatively easily — no need to alter the route.

We then had a long, undulating descent through Effingham followed by a flat run through Ockham and Ripley. The only complication was the cycle path around the junction with the A3, which was under construction, with road cones to negotiate and awkward ramps. After another couple of miles of cycling through the low-lying marshy area around Pyrford, past a wonderful view of Newark Priory with large numbers of geese, we arrived at our lunch stop.

After a satisfying lunch at Pyrford Golf Club, we were off again for a relatively flat ride back through Ripley and on to Esher. Keith decided to break off from the group immediately, as our afternoon route didn’t suit him. Likewise with John in Cobham, so it was only Mick and I who completed the full planned route and finished at Garsons Farm.

A great ride! Thank you, Sue, for the route and the opportunity to sub-lead. Thank you to Mick, John and Keith for your good company.

PS. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos! I must remember to do that next time I lead.

Gill H:

With a sunny day promised and a good route planned the day was looking good. However, as I set off the phone pinged with the shocking picture of Chris’s bloodied face along with the statement ‘hit off by car, will still try to make it’. Make it he did to Dorking, amazingly, but no further was the considered opinion of us all and the nurse who was fortuitously on site at the St Martin’s Christian Centre. While the extremely helpful staff, with the assistance of Diane, packed Chris off to Epsom Hospital the rest of us got on our ways. So pleased Chris that no serious damage was done. 

Sue had planned a lovely route out of Dorking up into the hills behind Denbies. Despite a few dark clouds the view was as dramatic as ever. Apologies to my group that I forgot to take any group photos but I did manage one of my bike and the view from the top.

An undulating route took us through Critten Lane, (where some workman seemed to have  unnecessarily blocked off the road to clear a few twigs!!) via Effingham, Ockham, Ripley, on relatively quiet lanes, and on to the refitted and very pleasant Pyrford Lake Golf Club for lunch. 

Well fed and rested we retraced the route back to Ripley and then through Ockham, Cobham and on to Garsons Farm where 8 of us regrouped for tea.  According to my Garmin, 1286 ft total of ascent over 27 miles. 

Thanks to my group of Lorraine, Martin and Tim G as back marker and sorry Chris you weren’t able to be with us.

Many thanks to my both my sub-leaders, all other group members and backmarkers. And well done to Steph who noticed that she had a puncture at elevenses, sorted it herself and then managed to catch us up at lunch - surely that woman is superhuman? 

Sue F

The Elleray Centre

Next Wednesday, not this Wednesday, but next Wednesday, the 17th Dec, we will be going to the new Elleray Centre in Teddington for elevenses. The managers there , Sam and David, kindly invited me to have a tour of the new Centre and to discuss the arrangements for our visit. This took place this morning, so I cycled over to Teddington on what turned out to be a pleasantly warm winter’s morning.

The Elleray Centre

• Where is it? It is not 50 yards from the Elleray Hall so you will have no trouble finding it. Here it is in Google Maps.
• When you arrive. Please do not use the main entrance. Instead, take yourself and your bike through the gate to the right hand side of the building (see the photo below). Follow the path around the building until you come to a rather pleasant courtyard garden. Here you can leave your bike. You will pass through a couple of security gates to get to the garden. These should be left open for us. Do not close any gates on your way, or else those following will not be able to get through.
• Where are the cakes, and coffee and other goodies? The new cafe is accessed directly from the courtyard garden, has plenty of seating and will offer all you may desire: cake, cappuccino, flat white, sausage rolls (I am assured these will be just as good as the ones dished up at the Elleray Hall), bacon rolls… plus snacks that you may want to buy and consume later. There will also be a trolley on which will be jugs of instant type coffee and tea priced at £1. The trolley is self-service, all other refreshments will be available from the new cafe.
• How do I pay for my cake and other goodies? Pay at the cafe counter. This applies even if you want a bargain £1 coffee or tea from the trolley. They would much rather you paid by card as opposed to cash. So, if you can, please use your debit/credit card.
• Where are the toilets? On the ground floor, off the main lobby area.
• Anything else? Yes. They have some very nice and very new wooden flooring in the cafe, which they are quite precious about. Their words not mine. Therefore, if your cycling shoes have prominent cleats, please cover them up or take them off so they don’t scratch the flooring. They haven’t confirmed next year’s dates yet so please be careful about this.