The Good Companions ride again

As the shadow of the Covid-19 lockdown began to relax this summer, half a dozen of Portsmouth’s finest took to the saddle once more, to ride The Foxy 200 – and enjoy a few pints of much-missed real ale in the August sunshine. A happy Phil Beed reports…

THE SUSPENSION of all Audax UK events was a sensible decision, even though it meant not being able to ride in what turned out to be superb spring weather.

But finally, on the first Saturday in August, five eager Audax Club Portsmouth (ACP) pals, led by our captain, Paul Whitehead enthusiastically resumed activity with a splendid DIY event – the Foxy 200.

We met early at the burger van on Portsdown Hill – the first randonnée since early spring. Our planned route would take us in an anti-clockwise loop going as far north as Silchester.

We were in short sleeves when we set off at 8am, knowing we were in for a hot day. My geared bike has three bottle cages and I’d loaded a full size Bidon of juice in each of them, preferring to carry extra weight than to run out of fluids. I’ve done

❝The sight of us taking flasks and sandwiches out of our saddle bags would have bought back memories to cyclists of my father’s generation, when it would have been unusual to find a café open on a Sunday afternoon and carrying your own lunch was the normal thing to do ❞

❝We were in short sleeves when we set off at 8am, knowing we were in for a hot day❞

that before on long rides and it’s not fun.

Two hours of riding, which included several good climbs, saw us arrive at Hazelmere where we stopped at The Lion’s Den Café for coffee and cake, the staple diet of the randonneur. We ordered takeaway which we ate on the green opposite the café.

Refueled we continued climbing to the highest point of our ride at Hindhead, then turned left towards Grayshott. Passing the BP garage here always brings back memories as it was the penultimate control on the first 600km event I completed in 2018. On that Sunday afternoon I sat on the verge, with a handful of other riders, all of us exhausted after 550km of riding, eating a sausage roll, drinking coffee, and contemplating the final 50km that would take us back to Raynes Park and the end of our ride. Today we whizzed past heading down hill with 50km behind us and another 150km to go.

We continued to Grayshott, then north through Bentley, notable for being the home of Robert Baden-Powell. Just after 1pm, with 100km behind us, we found a decent picnic stop beside the Silchester city walls. The sight of us taking flasks and

Portsmouth port on a fine August morning

sandwiches out of our saddle bags would have bought back memories to cyclists of my father’s generation, when it would have been unusual to find a café open on a Sunday afternoon and carrying your own lunch was the normal thing to do.

I think some good things have come out of Lockdown, and re-discovering the pleasure of a packed lunch is one of them. There was a church beside our picnic spot, so before we left I had a quick exploration and found a tap in the corner of the graveyard, which allowed us all to refill our bidons and keep ourselves hydrated on the way to our next stop, an appointment with the Wonston Arms.

If you’ve never been to the Wonston Arms I thoroughly recommend that you should. It’s in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and was named Pub of the Year in 2018. ACP have visited on numerous occasions over the last few years, sometimes on events that pass close by, but often just for a weekend or Friday evening ride.

The landlord knows us and we always get a warm welcome, as we did this time, 150km into our ride on a hot Saturday afternoon. The selection of beers available, all described enthusiastically by the landlord, made it difficult to choose, with many of the group deciding the best option was therefore to have more than one pint and explore the range. Fortunately, our speed so far meant we ❝ The selection of beers available, all described enthusiastically by the landlord, made it difficult to choose, with many of the group deciding the best option was therefore to have more than one pint ❞ had time in hand for this extended stop. Thinking about it now I suspect that this visit had always been our captain’s plan – which is why he kept up the pace in the earlier part of the ride.

All good things must come to an end and eventually we managed to tear ourselves away from the pub and start the final part of our ride. Once past Micheldever we were on familiar roads and Alresford always feels we’re nearly

home. With the day starting to cool it was just a matter of gently turning the pedals, and before we knew it we were at the Fox and Hounds, 200km completed with time in hand. We ordered something to eat and drink before riding home.

Cycling 140 miles in good company, with a variety of stops for food and drink, made for a very enjoyable day out, and a welcome return to Audax. Who knows how long it will be before we return to bigger events? But we need to be grateful and enjoy what we can do rather than worry about what we can’t do. Our next planned adventure is an overnight 200km ride in early September, giving us something different to look forward to.

Near to the end of the beginning

On the route is the village of Droxford. In 1944, at a critical time during World War II, Droxford station was used by the Prime Minister Winston Churchill as a base during preparations for the Normandy landings. Based in an armoured train parked in the sidings at Droxford, Churchill met with ministers, military commanders and leaders of allied nations. On 4 June 1944, shortly before the landings were due to take place, Free French leader Charles de Gaulle visited Churchill at Droxford, and was informed of the invasion plans. When discussing the future governance of liberated France at this meeting, Churchill expressed his view that if forced to side with France or the United States he would always choose the United States, a remark which instilled in de Gaulle a suspicion of British intentions and caused long-term damage to the postwar relationship between France and Britain. (Wikipedia)