Oh the joy of owning an old banger!

In my last blog, I mentioned that instead of sailing to Spain on Sunday morning, we were stranded in New Malden due to exhaust problems with our car. 
We now have to apologize to our faithful Honda Accord which has never been much trouble in the 13 years we have owned it and has not yet behaved as a "banger" really.
The problem is not mechanical at all but theft. The cataleptic converter, a sensor and part of the exhaust system were dismantled from underneath the car and stolen whilst it was parked right in front of the house. Apparently, according to the local garage and New Malden police, it has become a fairly common occurrence and several such incidents have been reported on various types of vehicles. The pattern for the thieves is to "work" in an area before moving on elsewhere. So we thought we ought to share this information with you - although there is not much that can be done to protect cars unless they are locked away in a garage...
For the good news, we are now booked to cross to France tomorrow night and we shall make our way to Spain leisurely.
See you in the spring and "Au revoir"!
F & F

Group "B" - Dorking to New Malden - 21st January 2015

On a dank January morning, I led the B Group to the Watchman in New Malden. My original plan was to go to the Anchor in Hammersmith, but having seen the weather forecast, I thought a shorter ride was in order. Approximately 15 started in Dorking but only 11 of us ended up in the pub.

Leaving Dorking, we climbed little Switzerland and headed towards Headley. We skirted Chessington and Worcester Park to arrive at the Watchman just after 1 o'clock. Although the pub is local to many of the cyclists, most had never been there before. Considering the numbers and lack of warning, we were served promptly whilst enjoying the warmth of the log fire.  It is a relief for the leader that Wetherspoon pubs do not ask for pre-orders (except for Xmas lunches), and usually can cope with any numbers.

The inclement temperatures were not conducive for a long ride and I hope the group still enjoyed a short winter ride. If I lead in June, we shall make up for it as I am thinking of the Little Hatch in Cranleigh via the woods....

Frank H.

PS. Today (Monday 26) by now, we should have been well on our way to Spain but the car's exhaust "conveniently" packed up outside our house just as we were about to depart to catch the ferry to Santander. Oh the joys of owning a 15-year old banger!