A Group 31 January - Map of Dave's Less Travelled Roads

Map of Dave's eye opening excursion into our less travelled roads last Wednesday. Worth preserving for future reference.

Author: Dave Vine

Frame Stiffness - GCN Video

A few weeks ago I wrote a short note on frame design, based on my satisfactory experience of what  French framebuilders did in the 1940s.  Here's a video done by GCN that covers the same ground, but in a modern context.

https://youtu.be/BH_AL4rxrp8

All I'll say is that there's obviously something in it, and that I think we'll be hearing more about it over the next few years.

Nothing new under the sun ...

Mark

Author: Mark G

Bike Beans Cycle Café lease

Sue Bellamy found this piece of unwelcome news on Bike Beans' Facebook pages and has forwarded it to us:

"Over the Christmas period I have taken the very difficult decision not to personally renew the lease on Bike Beans Cycle Café which expires at the end of March 2018. Having thoroughly enjoyed & dedicated 6 fantastic years to 'fuelling the revolution' and building a fantastic community, I feel it's now time to move on and make way for "new blood".
My overwhelming desire is that Bike Beans Cycle Cafe continues under new ownership. I am already underway looking for a suitable successor, with this aim being supported by both the Landlord and the Club committee.

What does this mean for our customers & members?

Business as usual from the team & I until the end of March.
 
From April and beyond the aim is to find a successor to take our vibrant little business forward.

So if you or you know anyone that maybe seriously interested in ‘living the dream’ and taking on a well established, award winning Cycle Cafe with a strong reputation and following, as well as 200 Club members, then please contact me. Feel free to share .
 
jamie@bikebeans.co.uk
07941 535837

I look forward to this ‘great thing’ carrying on .... I better go and open up .... See you soon !

Jamie

2nd Feb.

Author: Tim C

Details for David Aylett's funeral

Dear Friends,

David's daughter, Karen, just over from Australia, has phoned us today to advise that the funeral will be  on Thursday, 15 February, at 4.40 pm at the  North East Surrey Crematorium in Lower Morden Lane.    I have been asked if there will be "a two-wheeled group cycling there".   Please ask Colin or me if you would like to join this.

Tributes sent to me in response to my email are being forwarded to Dawn and her family.

Shirley

Author: Tim C

2 Comments:

Dave Vine 03 February 2018 at 12:17 GMT

Tim, I will be coming by bike. I will leave it to you and Colin to suggest a start point.

mike morley 10 February 2018 at 15:44 GMT

I too plan to come by bike! We could meet at the new ASDA or Sainsbury's N.Cheam if Cafe permits at a suitable time?

Photo competitions - last orders

Please note that the competition is now closed to new entries.

However if you have been saving your masterpieces until this weekend to share with us please post them to me asap.

The instructions are contained in the original invitation:

https://midweekwayfarers.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/invitation-to-enter-photographic.html

Thank you

Tim

Author: Tim C

Easy Riders - 31st January

David Ward and his wife are still recovering from a winter lurgy so John Bellamy took some of the Easy Riders out for a ride:

"A few of the Easy Riders decided that they would go to The Angel at Thames Ditton with the "B"s who didn't want to go to Headley Heath so I only had Gillian, Bernard, Frank and Diane (a recent joiner who goes to the Beginners on Saturdays) to lead. We started out on Irene's route which avoids the few hills and ended up at The Bell in Molesey which offers two good meals for £11.99 - only Frank and I took advantage of this offer and thoroughly enjoyed the food. We didn't stop for tea as the weather wasn't very clement and in Surbiton went our various ways.

Best wishes

John

Author: Tim C

A Group 31 January - The Roads Less Travelled

This week’s A group ride mainly followed roads not very often used by the group….certainly not in the 3 years or so that I have been riding with them !!

14 riders left Weybridge in a damp state following a downpour that didn’t appear in any of the forecasts, we headed east and the rule of the day was to avoid main roads wherever possible…accordingly we rode through the Burwood estate, then Whiteley village and Convent Lane, skirted around the edge of Cobham and then a short cut through the Fairmile estate took us on the way through to Oxshott. Then we rode along Stokesheath Road through the Crown estate, and then along to and through the junction at Malden Rushett and onwards to Epsom. Avoiding the town centre by some back roads eventually brought us out on to Chalk Lane and the climb up to the racecourse. The skies had cleared and although the temperature was dropping quickly, we rode across the middle of the racecourse and a half-circuit around rewarded us with a view back across the downs and the main stands of the course. A swift ride south took us down through Tadworth and one final cut through The Warren in Kingswood brought us out right by our lunch venue the Kingswood Arms.

Photos from Mark

Orders were taken and food was served very quickly….at least to start with !! First meals appeared whilst the bulk of the group were still placing their orders, general consensus was food was excellent, and with our own reserved room, not much to take issue with.

We were on our way shortly after 2pm, the weather by now bright but very cold, and the route back took us through Tadworth, Nork village (great name, never heard of it before !!), past Banstead station and then along Queensmead Road and the cycle route to Nonsuch Park. From there, Cheam was swiftly passed through and then Gander Green Lane, Hamilton Road and the intriguingly named Pig Farm Lane (no pigs in sight unfortunately) in Worcester Park, on to Raynes Park and up onto Wimbledon Common. Riders dropped out at convenient points along the way for their homeward journeys, and 8 riders made it for tea at the Windmill cafe.

20 miles from Weybridge to lunch, 15 miles from lunch to tea. The usual thanks to Mike for back-marking and to all those who marked corners to help keep things moving along.

~ Dave B.

Author: Simon L

2 Comments:

Ged Lawrenson 02 February 2018 at 08:54 GMT

Amongst the private estates we rode through I was intrigued by Whiteley Village - not having heard about it. Being a town planner I was struck by its architecture - (uniformity), layout, landscape, and set-pieces. Very similar to other 'model village' such as Port Sunlight, Bournville, etc. Googling revealed the answer. It was founded at the turn of the 20th Century by William Whiteley (of Whiteley's departmental store, Bayswater) as the UK's first purpose-built retirement village. Want to know more?
www.whiteleyvillage.org.uk
Next time I'll walk-about rather than ride-about and visit the museum.

Thanks Dave

Tim C 02 February 2018 at 15:53 GMT

A few years ago a friend and I rode into Whiteley Village via West Ave, off Seven Hills Road and were accosted by a haughty woman who told us that we weren't allowed to cycle through the village, that so and so (the head gardener, concierge or whoever) wouldn't allow it, and how would we like it if people came and cycled through our gardens etc. Previously I had cycled through without seeing anyone; it was hard to tell if the place was inhabited at all.