Last updated: 21st June 2010
Contents
Club Information
A serious case of alloy fatigue !
Saturday Off-Road Ride(03/04/10)
Sunday(06/06/10) Ride
Tuesday(15/06/10) Ride
Previous weeks rides
Next weeks rides
Dieppe to Quincampoix(Tribute to Anquetil) 2005 Ride
Paris-Brest-Paris 2007
Isle of Man TT Course
My 2009 Audax Rides
BHF Goodwood Ride
Four Tour Dieppe 2009
The Arun-Adur Section
This section covers the coastal area between Littlehampton and Shoreham-by-Sea,
and inland between the River Arun and the Adur. We are one of three sections of
the West Sussex Cyclists' Touring Club(CTC), the others being Bognor
Regis & Chichester(BoganChi), Crawley & Horsham(Crawsham).
Our section membership currently stands at around fifty and our active cycling
members have a wide range of ages, from people in their late twenties upwards. The
younger ones are not necessarily the fittest!... and if you don't ride regularly,
you won't be able to keep it up !
-----------------------------
Motorists take note: It says in the Highway Code
that "cyclists must not ride more than two abreast". This means that
it is perfectly OK for cyclists to ride two abreast. Also, treat a
cyclist as you would a horse and give them room when overtaking!
Cyclists take note: In narrow and/or dangerous places, it is advisable to
ride in single file and if there is a big group of riders, leaving gaps helps
motorists to get past a long line of cyclists. Remember that a motorist is
driving a dangerous weapon and he can do you a lot more harm than you can do him!
On the TV program "The Great Motoring Debate", one question asked "when
can you cross the solid white line in the centre of the road?". The answer is only
to overtake something travelling at less than 15mph! Motorists take note!
Most cyclists are motorists too but are more caring about our environment.
Back to Contents
-----------------------------
Saturday Off-Road Ride.
It was a glorious sunny day on Saturday 3rd April for our first off-road of 2010
which started from the Gun Inn, Findon. Hope the tracks were not too muddy after all the
rain we had earlier in the week.
Check out our Runslist for the next off-road ride.
Back to Contents
-----------------------------
Sunday's Ride.
Sunday 6th June was the date of the next West Sussex CTC DA Event but it apparently clashd with a few other events so there only a small turnout of Arun-Adur riders and absolutely none from the other two sections!
Despite some heavy overnight rain, the ride from the RSPB centre at Wiggonholt was nice and dry although a few large puddles confirmed how much rain had fallen. The sun was very much in evidence so lunch was enjoyed 'al fresco' in the garden at The Blue Ship - a few spots of rain caused Chris to make a grab for an umbrella but it wasn't needed.
Louise and I drove to The Haven and joined the small group of riders for lunch. It was gone 2pm before we went our separate ways - Louise and I headed for Shoots garden centre at Washington while the others cycled back.
David
Click on this link to read about the previous Sunday
ride.
Back to Contents
-----------------------------
Tuesday's Ride.
On Tuesday 15th June the weather was generally sunny though with a fairly chilly
NE wind and temperatures of about 18C. The meeting point for the ride was Havant Station.
I was still recovering from about a month of aching from the hip so I got a train to
Havant to cut the mileage down a little. Tony Yorke was waiting there having cycled from Lancing for his warm-up ride! We were later joined by our leader, Ernie together with Avryl, John Turner and Peter - they were a little late due to a train breakdown.
Ernie led us out of Havant and up Portsdown Hill with good clear views across Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. Then it was down a lane next to a monument to Nelson and a winding route along more lanes before joining the B-road to Wickham. We stopped here for elevenses at a café in the Square on a pleasant terrace.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, we got into a conversation with a couple and
the man was admiring my new Mercian and I was talking about the frame. His wife asked how much the frame cost. When I told her £900 her face was a picture - her mouth popped open.
I think she was expecting something more on the lines of a £70 Halfords special and said
she would rather buy a car with that.
We then continued on more lanes towards our destination of Upham. Skirting around Bishops Waltham and onto another lane, we started the climb to Upham (it’s all in the name). However, by now with the late start it was about 1.00pm so it was agreed to stop earlier at a pub just as the climb started, The White Horse. The garden was fairly exposed to the wind so we had a meal inside which luckily had plenty of room.
In the afternoon, I suggested some routes back which Ernie was not familiar with so I did some of the leading. The roads were a little rolling, i.e., hilly, in places as we crossed ridge after ridge between river valleys. The fields were especially green with hay and early corn fields as we dropped down to Droxford in the Meon Valley.
Then it was another lane down the Meon valley before turning East again on a narrow winding road towards Hambledon. We stopped to regroup at one point outside a house. Naturally it had the usual barking dog outraged at the invasion of its territory. However, John said “walkies” to it in a suitably friendly tone and was soon the best of friends.
Descending to the edge of Hambledon, I took everybody by surprise by turning into a
road with gates looking like a driveway which is actually a public road on a lane up a
stiff climb. Then it was a fairly gravel strewn tarmac lane which probably only ever sees tractors. After another stiff climb (17% by my new bike computer), it was on to Horndean
for a possible tea stop at the Garden Centre but it was closed! I cycled home from there
and Tony joined me on his way back to Lancing. The rest headed down to Havant for a train back. The ride distance was about 40 miles but my total mileage for the day was 55 miles.
Edwin
Edwin
Check out our Runslist for the next Tuesday ride.
Click on this link to read about the previous Tuesday
ride.
-----------------------------