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!

Group "B" - 17th December 2014 - Leatherhead to "Woodies", New Malden

Tony, our leader took us all around Surrey to get to "Woodies", a very unusual pub, so well hidden, that in the 29 years we have lived in New Malden, we had never heard of it. (F & F)

3rd December 2014 - Cobham - Box Hill - Raynes Park

John Scott, celebrating his 70th birthday, kindly provided cakes at the coffee-break at Cobham for which we all thank him and wish him many happy returns.

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).

We all had a pleasant lunch by a log fire. Although there was a Christmas Party, we were served reasonably promptly by attentive staff. Certainly a pub to be placed on Tim C. 's list of suitable lunch-time venues.

After lunch several cyclists retraced their route back down Box Hill to make their way to Leatherhead. Seven of us continued to Headley with the intention to have tea in Raynes Park, but as the drizzle turned into more serious rain, we abandoned the idea and every one went home in their separate ways.

Ralph, a newcomer on a gap year, had no problem keeping up with us and is a candidate for the A Group.

A round trip for F & F of about 40 miles – which is sufficient in winter.

Frank H.
 

Too cold to wait for the full group....
Happy 70th Birthday, John! Many happy returns!	Ralph, on his gap year,  first ride with the Club

More photos of grey Surrey countryside



More Wayfaring in the Costa Blanca

Wednesday 19th November - Quesada - Dolores - Callosa del Segura

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 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 from 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 road 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 cabbage 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:

http://www.theleader.info/381/article/29977/spain/national/san-isidros-forgotten-grave/

Having cycled at a good pace, there was enough time for an afternoon break and 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

Wayfaring with the Expat Ladies in Costa Blanca

As we are spending November and shall be coming back for February/March in Torrevieja (Costa Blanca), I joined a local Ladies cycling group in Quesada. For that, unfortunately, I had to swap my Dolce Specialised road bike for a hybrid bike. Garry & Lynn who left Scotland seven years ago to set up Cyclogical, the Quesada Bike shop, and who are also dynamic rides organisers in the area, made the swap easy with their range of bikes for hire.
Under cloudy skies as it had rained a lot the day before, a group of eight set off at 11 am. Very soon blue skies and a warm sun appeared and remained with us for the rest of the day. Lynn lead the "LADIES ONLY" Section* at a good steady pace (having left Garry manning the cycle shop) and took us via Benijofar, among the orange groves, the artichokes fields, on traffic-free roads lined at times with palm trees (some looking menacing with their pointed black hoods to protect them from being attacked by a small insect which has decimated many palm trees over the last ten years in this part of Spain).  We continued through the Hondo, a nature and bird reserve, to get to Santa-Pola for lunch at Lugano Restaurant on the edge of the marina. A very friendly lunch followed where most of us shared pizzas and large bowls of salad, apart from a Norwegian lady with a more adventurous taste bud who partook in an extra large portion of pulpo (which is a Santa-Pola speciality).
Refreshed we set off for our journey back, riding at first in some marshy land (this is when I appreciated the "hybrid" bike which coped rather well, and certainly better than the Doce would have, in the sand and mud...), along the salty lakes, behind the scenic Santa-Pola salt mounds. We cycled towards La Marina, then to San Fulgimencio where we stopped for refreshments at the Spanish run "Power Pub". After hosing the muddy bikes down at the local garage, we were back by 5 pm at Quesada, having enjoyed a pleasant, trouble-free and friendly ride, performed in summer clothing on this 12th of November. A 70 km round trip.
* The Men Section had left at 10 am and was destined to perform a much higher mileage. The LADIES ONLY section, today was comprised mostly of British expats apart from two Norwegian Ladies and yours truly.
** Meanwhile Frank is developing his table tennis skills twice a week at a local expats club.

Francoise H.
Photos:
Wayfaring Spanish Style

Leatherhead-Hammersmith-New Malden 18th December 2013

Fourteen of us left Leatherhead heading to Raynes Park, up Cottenham Park road, crossing Wimbledon Common and skirting Richmond Park to Barnes. We then followed the cycle signs to Hammersmith Bridge to reach the Blue Anchor pub.

Along the way we had some discombobulation - firstly, a newcomer Jeffrey, punctured in Epsom. Neil and David kindly agreed to assist him whilst the rest of the group pressed on. After three new inner `tubes Jeffrey decided to head for the nearest cycle shop which unfortunately is closed on Wednesdays. We never saw Jeffrey again.

Meanwhile, my back-marker, Francoise, punctured in Motspur Park. The chain became tangled. Thank goodness the mechanically-minded Stephanie and James managed to unravel the chain. In the meantime Dave and Neil caught up with us and we swiftly headed to the pub where a nice table had been led out on the first floor for 20 people with views of Hammersmith Bridge and the Thames.

The Blue Anchor pub was licensed in 1722 (which for the historians amongst you is approximately half a century before the French Revolution) and is one of the oldest Public Houses in London. Thankfully the food was not from that period; in fact it was better than average pub food and we were all served promptly and at the same time.

After lunch we crossed the bridge and turned left onto the tow path heading towards Putney. We turned right to return to Richmond Park via Barnes. At this stage Bernard left us to catch a train. We went round Richmond Park against a strong head wind and turned left exiting through Kingston Gate. We then made our way up to Combe Lane and through New Malden, to Claremont Avenue, where 5 of us had a Christmas Tea in our home - a total mileage of 42 miles.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Cycling New Year,
Frank