THE WESSEX NEWSLETTER Edited independently in three of the CTC Wessex member group areas and published quarterly. Please contact your nearest member group or access the club website for information on any events www.wessexctc.org for all CTC Wessex activities
CTC WESSEX SECRETARY Peter Loakes, Church Cottage, West Stafford, DT2 8AB (01305) 263272 CTC BOURNEMOUTH Cheryl Owen, 1 Bond Road, Poole BH15 3RT (01202) 738428 Margaret Phillpotts, Onair, 9 Bucklers Way, Bournemouth BH8 0EW CTC SALISBURY Alan Clarke, “Hill House”, Kelsey Road, Salisbury SP1 1JR (01722) 322188 CTC WEST DORSET Angela Price, 41 Garfield Avenue, Dorchester, DT1 2EY CTC BLACKMORE VALE Richard Gow, Wildfell, Crown Rd, Marnhull, DT10 1LN (01258) 821391
Remaining Calendar Dates For 2011 Sept 25th
GRAND CTC meet at the last 2011 Breamore Steam Up
Oct 9th
Gridiron 100km
Terry Walsh
01202 247888
Dec 18th
Bournemouth Christmas Lunch
Joan Courtney
01202 731978
St Lo Twinning 2012
By Malcolm Howell
The next event will be the visit to Wessex of a party of cyclists from UCT St. Lô, for the weekend Saturday, Sunday, Monday, 26-28 May 2012. If you are keen to take part in 2012, as hosts, offering 2 nights B&B, or by joining in rides, and/or using your car to collect & deliver people, please let me know at : malcolm_howell@hotmail.com or on 01305 756094 or at 1 Garland Crescent, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2SX We can assume they will arrive at Poole, so the nearer you are to Poole, the better.
CHRISTMAS BRUNCH This may seem a little early to be thinking about Christmas but our Village Hall get together over the Christmas period, due to demand is back on again. The date will be Sunday 18th of December and this year we have chosen to change slightly the format. Bearing in mind the early onset of darkness at that time of the year the Village Hall will be opened in the morning for Christmas Brunch. This will mean cyclists can arrive and depart in daylight. Treat it as a coffee or early lunch or just drive across to socialize for the morning. Our Bournemouth Committee has been generous and has agreed to heavily subsidise the event, it will only cost you ÂŁ1 per head, in order to promote the coming together of all our members and our various groups. Older members who are maybe not actively riding as much as before or who usually ride alone are particularly welcome for brunch, a few cups of tea but above all good company with good people which is what our club is all about. The catering details, which will of the hot buffet style will be finalized in the near future. One important thing we need to know is your attendance and we must tell the caterer the exact number attending so as soon as possible get your ÂŁ1 to Joan Courtney or any group leader.
Sunday the 18th of December. Sturminster Marshall Old School Hall, opp. village church. Hall open from 10:30am to 1:00pm which means all can be accomplished in daylight for a simple style Christmas Buffet Brunch. Ride your bike there, drive your car or catch the bus but above all do try to be with us and the important thing - get your deposit to Joan to book as soon as you can and lets make it the start of a truly great 2012
MERRY CHRISTMAS. Contact Joan 01202 731978 or email jobob.studio@tiscali.co.uk
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CTC Blackmore Vale Rides These take place every week alternating between Saturday & Sunday Meet 10:00am, set off at 10:30am. Lunches: CafĂŠs in Winter; Picnics during BST 01258 821391 - Richard Gow
Go to the Blackmore Vale website for the full Runs List: www.wessexctc/bvr.htm
The Alternatives
Rob Garnet
You will know that I have been actively seeking a regular rider to take over the organisation of the Thursday Alternatives ride and I am very pleased to say Jim McDonald has kindly agreed to become Section Leader. I know Jim is a very capable person with many years experience of cycling in all its aspects and will be a tremendous asset to the section. Jim is regularly present on the rides and leads many. I am therefore very grateful that he has agreed to take on this responsibly in addition to his commitment to organising the Rambling club activities in this area, which includes groups for path clearing, publicity and arranging walks programs etc, etc. With all this in mind I have agreed to continue with preparing all the paperwork for him, advising Eric Watson the runs list details and organising the Alternatives/Potterer's Christmas lunch together with Dave Langley. Jim is therefore your contact in future and will be collecting names of riders volunteering to lead rides on the next and future runs lists. The following is his contact details if you are unable to speak to him during the ride or you have to cancel your leadership of a particular ride for which he needs as much notice as possible please. Tel: 01202 691709 email. pamjimmcd@talktalk.net I know he will always be very grateful for your support, particularly for those who continue to offer to lead rides and will always welcome others who feel able to lead and will help them to do so. May I also take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over many years. The section is a thriving one for which I intend to continue to keep in contact, even if only part time.
Mont Ventoux for Mike At the end of riding from the Channel to the Mediterranean Mike Barrett decided the ride Mont Ventoux. Hopefully some words will be written about the ride across France and the 22 kilometre climb. Upon completion of his not-stop ride Mike very unusually bought a cycling jersey which he promised to wear at least once on a local ride. I caught up with him in Lyndhurst and there he was wearing his trophy. Well done Mike.
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Peter du Lieu
Mike walsh A large gathering of cyclists paid their respects at the funeral of Peter du Lieu. The service began with The Pushbike Song and ended with Queen’s Bicycle Race. There was a very apt floral display which represented Peter’s long-
standing enjoyment and support of cycling. The wake was held at the Kinson Conservative Club. Posted around the room on cycle direction signs were all the comments that had been received by the family. Also there was a slide show of Peter through his life. Some very enjoyable old cycling photographs were included.
Presentation to Dave Wiseman
Mike Walsh
During the coffee stop of the Alternatives Bob Courtney presented Dave Wiseman with a
very belated certificate. Bob’s accompanying words were enjoyed by all present. The certificate was issued for Dave’s completion of his 50 in 4 on the 8th November 1992. Dave was bemused upon presentation and racked his brain to remember the occasion. The banter continued throughout the coffee stop. Congratulations to Dave Wiseman on this achievement.
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Short Break in Pagham Tony Silver has for a few years organised short breaks of five days at various Haven Holiday Villages along the South Coast and this year the site was at Pagham, 9th to 13th May. Although I hadn’t been before, this year I decided to go after a bit of a push from Ralph and accompanied also by Colin and Mike to make up a full static van. Mike decided he wanted to cycle all the way, hard man that he is, and Colin and Ralph thought they would cycle from Langstone Harbour to Pagham after we had all met Mike at the Ship Inn at Langstone for lunch. I was quite happy to drive with bikes on the back of the car as necessary. We arrived at Langstone at about 1pm and were very pleasantly surprised to see Mike wheeling his bike across the car park. His trip had gone well so far. He had used part of the Six-Ferries route and on arriving at Portsmouth had cycled down to Eastney, caught the little ferry across to the bottom end of Hayling Island, before cycling up to the pub. He had a bit of a wait for the ferry which he felt was also quite expensive for the extent of the trip but it was agreeable enough and he was pleased to meet us all. We had a good lunch at the pub, sitting outside in the sun and after that the
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David Chesworth
others left to cycle on leaving me to drive and open up the van. One of the reasons Ralph wanted to cycle was that he had lived in the area generally for a number of years and he wanted to see a former house in Emsworth to check the new owners had kept it up to scratch. They certainly had and, not only that, he was very agreeably surprised to see that the house now sported a blue plaque to pay homage to his qualities. A photo is printed with this article by way of interest for all members of the club to see. Normally, I think, blue plaques are raised on a house after death but I don’t think anybody is too worried about the niceties in this case. They arrived safely at Pagham just as the other riders in the party were returning from an afternoon ride led by Alan. There were 20 people staying in the group with 13 cycling. The site was well run with a bar, fish and chip shop and restaurant and numerous facilities for families. There was also a shop for those who were going down the self catering route which was the case broadly with our group although in our van we ate out. The next day Jim kindly volunteered to lead the ride as he had lived in the area many years ago and felt he could remember the routes in general terms. We started off towards Bognor on the South Coast cycle route which, although urban, was pretty good, before turning north to Yapton and then via Ford to Arundel. This was a
fine coffee stop by the river where were able to buy sandwiches for lunch. The route was then going north towards Amberley. It started off down a very pretty shady lane overhung with trees, with no traffic as it undulated up and down with some wonderful views. It was when the road finished and Jim indicated a footpath through a metal gate which path led alongside a river that we looked at each other askance. There seemed to be nowhere to go after that. Still, we followed our leader who assured us that this was a standard route 40 years previously and all we had to do was negotiate a couple of gates and a suspension bridge and we would be in the clear. As one can imagine, the field furniture had improved over the years and the old gate was now a beautiful kissing gate, no good at all for bikes. We stood looking at all this, (pensive is the word I think ) and it was when I heard the words “ large open ended spanner” that I began to wonder what was going on. Suddenly a group of four young lady walkers came through the gate. They looked at us in a mixture of puzzlement and amazement but felt that Ann and Alan’s tandem trike would go across the footbridge before bidding us a cheery goodbye with broad smiles and continued on their way. Decision time! Positive thinking! Big John and a few others went through to the other side of the gate and Big Mike and the rest stayed on the approach side. The solo bikes went over the gate without difficulty and
with willing hands. It was the turn of Mike and Sybil’s tandem. “ No problem” said Mike, “All that weightlifting I’ve been doing in the winter will stand me in good stead, leave the panniers on as well Sybil”. With a huge “Hup”, over the tandem went without difficulty to be taken by Big John and the helpers on the other side. The trike followed suit much to Alan’s great relief. The path on the other side then meandered nicely through a coppice and we arrived at the footbridge, again a monument to modern engineering and design. All bikes went through and we were then met by a second gate, another kissing gate. The field fence here was also protected by an electric fence which Mike L assumed was disconnected. It was only when his hair started to prickle and he felt vibration in the soles of his shoes that he realised some form of contact had been made and he beat a hasty retreat. After we knew he was OK and we had stopped laughing the bikes went over this gate in the same way as the previous gate. It was then a walk across a field to the last gate when we saw A ROAD. Once more no problem with the bikes and we were then a few minutes from the lunch stop at Amberley. Although we pulled Jim’s leg a bit about this section of the ride everybody took it in their stride. It was all good fun and we had quite a few laughs across the fields. After lunch by the river the route led via some very picturesque lanes to Bignor
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and then to the A285 at Duncton. It was necessary to ride along here before we could turn off for Eartham and the A27 to the south. The traffic was fairly light but the Duncton hill was a bit of a monster I must say. Still, we all survived and eventually reached the A27. Despite the fact that we were crossing by an official point with blue plaques indicating the crossing was for walkers and cyclists, we still had to cross it before we could get back to Pagham. Not a joyful experience!
succumbed. We were almost inclined to stay on for lunch! After a short stint along “B” roads we turned off right and north east for Stoughton and East Marden which was to be our lunch stop. This valley road was extremely attractive and quiet, passing through wooded areas where the trees overhung the road. East Marden was not a great distance from our coffee stop but it did represent an agreeable place to stop. There was some rising ground by the church with seats by the boundary fence and more seating around a large thatched well. After lunch we were heading in the South Harting direction before turning off east to Elsted, Treyford and a stop at Didling to look at St Andrew’s Church which is known as “The Shepherds’ Church” for the South Downs shepherds who used it as their place of worship. For our second day Jim said he would People have worshipped here for 1000 take us up the Stoughton Valley and years. The church is a 13th century so the first part of the ride involved single cell church with an unaisled working our way around Chichester nave and chancel, tub font, medieval heading for Funtington. There was no pews and a Jacobean communion rail. café or Garden Centre here but there Services are still held here at least was a pub and we arrived just on once a month and are always candlelit opening time. As with many pubs as I don’t think there is any electricity. these days the standard was very good There are large candle filled and apart from huge cups of coffee chandeliers and candles at the end of they had some more-ish chocolate each pew. I gather that sheep can cake to which a number of us often be heard during summer
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services and there were certainly many to be seen when we were looking around. There are other interesting features and huge yew trees and old gravestones and it is really a “must” for a visit for anybody in that area. It was during our meanderings down these lanes that Mike L had problems with a cracked plate in the cleat on his shoe. He said it was the result of the electricity coursing through his body (!!) the previous day but there was some doubt about whether Lidl made shoes of sufficient quality to cope with his powerful pedaling up hills! Anyway, somebody (I’m sorry, I forgot who) and who rode with toe clips, swapped a left shoe with him of the same size and all was well for the rest of the ride. Such was the cameraderie and lateral thinking in the group eh? It was then to Bepton and Cooking before we turned down the A286. This carried some traffic and we were pleased to get off it to Lavant before working our way back to Pagham. Another good day. For the last day we split slightly. Ralph and Rob hadn’t accompanied us after Funtington the day before but had ridden in the direction of the Witterings. There he had seen a sign for the Salterns Way and he thought it was worth some exploration. So Ralph, Colin, Mike and I went over in that direction while the rest went towards Bosham. The roads around Pagham were always busy and that down to Selsey was the same. There are few roads to the various small
towns and those have to carry all private and commercial traffic. Nevertheless we reached Selsey in one piece and went to the sea front. Some cloud had come over and the front was bleak, the sea grey and cold looking. and the wind sharp. We beat a hasty retreat to the shopping area to find a café with a glass fronted terrace out of the wind. It was quite interesting in that it seemed to stuck in the 60’s with coffee bar decor. Still it was cheap and almost a rival to Bovington. It is not possible to cut across to the Witterings from Selsey and so we had to ride back to Sidlesham before going west. We found the beginning of the Salterns Way and followed this from the West Itchenor area to Chichester Marina. The trail was very mixedearth, gravel concrete and road sections. It was all serviceable and a good way to avoid roads. Chichester Marina where we had lunch was crowded with boats of course, but it wasn’t busy with people and after lunch we continued via Apuldram back to Pagham. For the last evening we were all taking dinner at the Inglenook Hotel, just outside the village. This was a lovely venue with excellent food and a fitting place for our final dinner, and the celebration of a happy 5 days with good cycling. Thanks to Tony and Jill for the organisation of this little holiday and to both Alan for some leading and particularly Jim for the two main days on the South Downs.
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Right to Ride Network
Paul M. Turner
POOLE – Although the Twin Sails’ Bridge has been started and it should be finished on time early next year, 2012, the infrastructure each side of the bridge is being bitterly fought over, especially the Poole side at the Old Town. I have been to a lot of meetings to encourage walking and cycling. Unfortunately Poole Borough Council, Transport Advisory Group (TAG) approved a gyratory scheme, which turns the area into a giant racetrack – enormous roundabout and cuts the town off from Hamworthy. There are few crossing points for non-motorised traffic (including cyclists). Old Poole Town residents and others, are bitterly upset when the current town thinking rejects the concept of the non-motorised traffic taking the upper hand. Walking and cycling should take priority! Modern thinking has now abandoned gyratorys in London and other cities around the world. From a letter from the Bournemouth Echo, “When will we ever learn?”. At a time when most towns and cities are focussing on improving the quality of places and mending the mistakes of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s traffic engineering, Poole Council is hell-bent on repeating those mistakes, by proposing a traffic-dominated gyratory road scheme that breaks every clause in the planning rulebook. Poole Councillor, Xenia Dion said, “Until we see a more convincing step-change in car use I believe it remains highly important to keep traffic moving and avoid congestion which creates considerable air pollution from excessive carbon emissions”. Poole residents are appealing to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He will likely take the Government line to support Poole Borough Council because of the “Localism concept”. On another matter, Poole Borough Council (LSTF) failed in the bid to link Poole Town centre to Hamworthy in partnership with CTC. On a positive note there will a new cycleway from Canford Heath to Nuffield Industrial Estate on green leisure land starting September 2011. EAST DORSET – Canford Bottom Scheme for the Olympics 2012. Basically it is a done deal! The Government is insisting that The Olympics takes priority and the scheme needs to be completed by June 2012. The only suggestion I can make at the Toucan crossing to link local communities either side of the A31 should not have a staggered link; it should be straight for the four lanes to enable non-motorised traffic to cross quickly, pedestrians and cyclists, while the motorised traffic is stopped.
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LEJOG
David Orme
CTC members David Orme (New Forest) and Ian Hardcastle (Darlington) have just completed cycling from Land’s End to John o’Groats and Dunnet Head, the northernmost part of mainland Britain. “Although we’ve done short tours before, the idea of the End2End just seemed something beyond us – until last year when we thought ‘Why not? We’re not getting any younger!’ Both of us needed to wear knee supports for the trip and hadn’t covered long mileages for many years, so we took it easy initially, covering around 40 miles per day, and then ramping up to 70 or so. We were following the CTC minor roads route, booking B&Bs as we went; however in Cumbria we realised that to make it in time for the pre-booked train journey home (and work!) we had to take a much more direct route through Scotland. We finally made it to JoG after 17 days, leaving one day to visit Dunnet Head and get to Thurso station. Navigation was by Philips road atlas and a Garmin Edge 800 loaded with OS 1:50k maps. Weather was typically British – a bit of everything was thrown at us, lots of rain in Scotland, and midday temperature varied from 30C in north England to 5C in the Highlands. Our bikes were both Dawes: Discovery 401 and Super Galaxy, each fitted with rear panniers and front bag. The only mechanical faults were a front gear changer which needed attention at the beginning, one puncture and a squirrel ate through a pannier one lunchtime in search of fruit cake! Would we do it again? Yes – but only once we’ve retired and have a bit more time to savour the British countryside and chat to the many people we met enroute.”
Our Cover Picture Over cover picture this issue was caught on the return of Terry’s Saturday morning Burley ride. There were three generations of Terry’s family. His grandson Matthew in front leading his dad Kevin riding along side Terry. The Saturday morning ride initiated by Terry many moons ago continually attracts new riders. The ride starts outside Waitrose in Christchurch at 9 out to Burley for coffee and returns about noon.
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Cycletouring - now there’s the life!
Big Bob
A few days ago while indolently lazing in sunshine on the banks of our River Stour, with the bike parked against the trunk of a cascading willow tree, the thought of what constitutes a true Cycle Tourist leapt into my mind. It must have been all the speculation surrounding the C.T.C’s charity conversion that crystallised my usual wandering thoughts. The original name Cyclists Touring Club, which it now seems some people are desperate to drop for some reason, says it all. We are all a mixture of cycling interests I know but the passion for touring has a strong appeal to all who are footloose and fancy free, if only possible in the mind. When I think back to the committed cycle tourists I have known in the past the one common element was an unending curiosity. A true love of the road and the infinite variety of people, places and things it delivers to you as you wheel along on a mode of transport which gives time to smell the air, wave a greeting or watch the lazy flap of the Herons wing across the canal towpath deep in the French countryside. Some I remember were not always comfortable in social gatherings and would disappear for weeks at a time to follow some dream of an area or country which had haunted them. Drawn out from the comforts of home by a call they could not resist until it had been ridden in, tasted and experienced in all its forms and upon returning been infinitely richer It was a pity that many were not articulate people and it was not until a place or country came up in conversation that a look in the eye or the flash of a smile showed the emotion within. One of Cycling’s enjoyments is stopping at a roadside café and finding a lone fellow figure with panniered bike parked outside fuelling up for the last few miles of the day. There, particularly when abroad, the sharing of experiences and good humour that comes from a common interest can devour the remaining daylight time if you are not careful. Long may the passion remain for if we lose it something will die in the cycling community and the flame some of those lonely figures carried high will not be there to inspire those gazing at their personal high tech ten speed cassettes, through their Oakley’s with such pride. Now, sad news to impart at our Le Hotel du Velo Sportiv residential retirement country house. Old Tom has died. I’m so used to seeing Tom aboard his trike slowly circling our Grass Track oval in the grounds on a regular basis that I find it difficult to accept. He passed on as he would have wanted, riding his beloved steed and was found gently resting on his handlebars. There are those among us who have hinted that it was a stroke of luck that his condition was discovered at all because travelling at his normal velocity it would have been difficult to judge if he
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were alive or dead! But that’s not fair because in Toms mind he was leading the peleton and about to launch a massive attack. That’s not to say he couldn’t shuffle when he wanted to, in fact, on more than one occasion I’ve seen our catering manageress Jean B execute a two step evasive manoeuvre around a dining table to avoid his amorous intentions. His enthusiasm was unstoppable and the weekly tug of war and arguments between he and Alan G upon delivery of the house copy of “Cycling Weekly” and the contents was entertainment at it’s best. His conveyance to our local village church for the funeral service did cause a few problems and it was with some misgivings that I saw the decision being taken to trailer tow the coffin behind his much loved trike. This concern was further augmented when 4 pints Dave volunteered to ride it insisting he’d had plenty of “barrow” experience in the past. It was a pity we could not have mounted the coffin in line on the trailer, in a dignified way, rather than across the width which meant after Dave’s spirited departure through the hall exterior doorway, which was somewhat narrower than anticipated, the inevitable happened and poor Tom was deposited on the doormat while Dave enthusiastically powered away down the drive. In the stunned silence a lone female voice, trying to make the best of it, chirped. “Ah, poor lamb, he doesn’t want to leave”. But the damage had been done. By dint of much shouting and stone throwing Dave was eventually persuaded to return and poor Tom reloaded and the whole entourage, with dozens of bikies bringing up the rear, proceeded at a spirited pace into the village. At last we could relax as more dignity returned to the occasion or at least we could until Dave, piloting the whole juggernaut, reached the village crossroads. The adverse road cambers sent the trike flying in all directions and with Dave’s high keening cry of fear ringing in our ears the trailer struck the end of the historic stone water trough propelling poor Tom across the pavement and partially into our village pub porch. This was all too much for our cycling Vicar, who with a sob of emotion, pedaled off toward the church indicating that when Tom could be persuaded to come to his funeral he would attend to it. There had been many times in the past when we had retrieved Tom from the pub while alive so it was thought the least we could do was to perform the act of kindness one more time now he was dead. Dave was unceremoniously dismissed from his piloting duties and Alan D. installed whose far greater experience in the tricky art of trike riding and control enabled the progress to the church to end in a seemly way. The dinner that night at Le Hotel was a subdued affair with a glass raised to pour old Tom with the consoling thought that a lifetime awheel had given him so much happiness. Later, while preparing to jump into bed, I glanced out of the stone mullioned bedroom window at our white lined track to see a small lonely figure sat hunched gazing across its moonlit expanse. It was Alan G!
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Semaine Federale
Paul M. Turner aka madcyclist5!
A great occasion, for the French! 14,000 thousand including about 1000 Brits, 500 Dutch, 500 Germans, Irish, Spanish and even Aussies. It was well organised with five campsites around the area, three on D25 which was completely closed for 3km. Most people camped, or used caravans and camping cars (motorhomes). There were daily rides from 30km to 200km, graduated in steps and marked on the road with daily maps, radiating out in all directions. We Flers joined a 30 strong, CTC group organised by Maurice Wilkins, an ex-leader I had met many years before. He organised Vietnam, Picos de Europa in Spain and the Santa Fe trail in US, for me in the ‘90s. I did not believe how hilly it was: especially around the region known as Suisse-Normande, near Bagnoles de l’Orne! That was the great clue to the terrain! Every village and town took part, like the Tour de France. Glorious weather from the time of our arrival to the Thursday when it rained like stair-rods most of Thursday and Friday. On Saturday the bad weather continued so we had coffee, as you do, and at coffee it cleared up. Resuming the ride, it bucketed down again. Maurice & Rita Wilkins
Unfortunately Thursday was the picnic at Domfont 30k away, a great occasion. Sue and John went and were soaked to the skin. We, fair-weather cyclists, did not go. We were treated to a “Spectaculare” for Flers is horse country. On Wednesday at 7:30 prompt with a tableau of various acts such as dressage, country ways, vaulting, carriage driving with three horses side, an American theme, riding in costume with about ten people by side as well as finale on two horses with fire!
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A wonderful meal was held on the last Saturday in a vast tent for two hundred people. The French are an amazing people with a little vino inside them. Singing with “the conductors� perched on the table tops. On the last Sunday there was a Parade with all the foreigners in the lead and then the French cycling clubs, in Department order, around the streets of Flers as a thanks for their hospitality. Most take part. Everybody dressed-up! See the a picture of Maurice & Rita Wilkins in all their glory! The streets were thronged 4 or 5 deep. Luckily it stopped raining too. After the Parade organisers put on a marvelous lunch. Great occasion, but the sanitary arrangement are a bit basic. Luckily we showered in our motorhome! The Spectaculaire
Poole Quay - Cycling Celebration
Mike Walsh
Terry and I took along rollers and a turbo trainer to the Cycling Celebration on Poole Quay organised by Poole Council, the advert was in the last issue of Cycle Ink. Not withstanding the intermittent rain a good number of people attended. After some persuasion a number of people tried both the rollers and turbo. Mostly children on the turbo giving it their all to see how fast they could go. We even had two people race each other on the rollers. Robert Labuda was on hand to demonstrate the rollers and to encourage and assist those willing to have a go. Paul Turner and Mike and Jo Gordon arrived on their bikes to further promote cycling and help with the stand handing out leaflets and answering all questions. We did not even have time for a cup of tea, but otherwise is was a grand evening.
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April in Paris
Paul Martin
The opportunity to join Mike Walsh on a week’s ride from Le Havre to Paris and back came out of the blue in April this year. I was sitting at a club run tea stop near Damerham one Thursday chatting with other club members when Mike (whom I, as a newcomer to the group, had never met before) came over to say that he was doing the ride and to ask if anyone would be interested in joining him. I replied that I might be and said I would think about it and let him know. I daresay he never expected to hear from me again but I thought about it for the rest of the day and by that evening had weighed up the pros and cons, decided that the former outweighed the latter and had booked myself a berth on the Brittany Ferries overnight crossing. Mike provided details of his overnight stops and I was lucky enough to be able to obtain accommodation at the same places. All I had to do now was pack and worry (eg were my legs up to it, would Mike and I get along, was I confident enough to cycle in Paris etc) I would have liked to cycle from Poole to Portsmouth to catch the ferry as I had done it in the opposite direction as part of a trip along the south coast from Canterbury the previous year. In the end though I got a lift because it was raining and I didn’t want to start off in France with a load of wet gear. Mike and I met up at the ferry terminal in Portsmouth for the overnight crossing which went smoothly. The sun was out as we landed in Le Havre the following morning and rode out of the terminal. One of the big advantages of going with Mike was that he had done this trip quite a few times before and so navigation was not going to be a problem. This quickly became
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apparent as I was expertly led through the port area, across the town and out the other side without the regular stopping and checking at junctions which usually accompanies trips in unfamiliar territory. We followed the cycle path that runs alongside the road out to the Pont de Normandie where we crossed the Seine. Pont de Normandie
The bridge is a magnificent piece of engineering and quite a sight. It is also quite a steep climb up to the top before a long descent, some of which has to be taken at a slow pace because of the cycle lane’s uneven surface. We stopped for breakfast in a little town just after the bridge and enjoyed a hot drink and Pain au Chocolat. Pedalling on through the French countryside on quiet roads for the rest of the morning brought us to Pont Audemer where we sat in warm sunshine for a nice leisurely lunch. More quiet minor roads took us through small villages to our overnight stop in Brionne 46 miles from Le Havre. We stayed in the Logis hotel in the town which was very comfortable. The menu was very upmarket and so inevitably were the prices but I was on holiday and enjoyed staying and eating somewhere “posher” than I would usually choose.
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The second day took us on a further 40 miles to Pacy-sur-Eure, again in lovely warm sunshine. We used a part of the voie verte (greenway) network which is quite
these days to find businesses closing for lunch. Our lunch stop town (Maule) looked promising on the map ie it was a reasonable size but we arrived at lunchtime and everywhere serving food appeared to be shut. The bread and ham option was not going to work either as the supermarket and bakery were also shut. In the end we had to settle for a chicken burger which was the least unhealthy option in the kebab shop that seemed to be the only place selling anything to eat. Fortified by our burger we embarked on our final approach to Paris. Mike’s years of refining the route allowed us to follow Voie Verte a track through the Foret Marly-le-Roi for extensive in Normandy to travel between some miles before entering the suburbs. Le Neubourg and Quittebeuf. This was After a while we went past the racecourse traffic free, flat, well surfaced and entirely at St Cloud and then flew down a long hill deserted. The volume of traffic on the at full tilt which took us over the Seine at roads hardly warranted a dedicated cycle the Pont de Suresnes. route but someone had gone to a lot of We had arrived in Paris around Friday expense to put it there and so we used it. afternoon rush hour and so as you would We experienced our first proper climb out expect there was plenty of traffic. of the village of Brosville which felt Fortunately a lot of the roads had a tougher than it would otherwise have dedicated cycle lane or separate path and done because we were carrying our own where this was not the case the traffic was panniers. A well deserved downhill and moving at a speed which made it possible along the River Eure valley brought us to to keep up with the flow. I found that the the little village of Fontaine -s/s – Jouy. best approach was to ride Anticipating a lack of cafes along the decisively/confidently and get out into the route we had taken the precaution of traffic rather than hug the kerb. Going buying some bread and ham for lunch in round the Bastille and weaving in and out Le Neubourg and ate this in a pretty little of the traffic was actually great fun and public garden outside the Mairie (Town not at all intimidating as I had anticipated. Hall). Pacy was a reasonably busy town Mike knew where to pull up to give me with a choice of places to eat and drink my first view of the Eiffel Tower which (except at our hotel where we were told looked bigger than I had expected and that the kitchen didn’t open on another tourist took the obligatory photo Thursdays!). of us both stood with our bikes and the The next day’s ride of 64 miles took us all tower in the background. We then the way into Paris. It dawned on me that followed the main road along the Seine the problem with cycling in France is not where I had some difficulty in keeping my the cycling but the food or rather the eyes on the road and off all the impressive difficulty of finding it compared to what buildings on both sides. Being with we are used to at home where it is rare someone who knew the way was brilliant
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as it meant that I could enjoy the sights rather than having to think about where I was trying to get to. Our accommodation for two nights in Paris was one of the Etap chain hotels. These are cheap and functional but quite adequate and best of all we were allowed to keep our bikes in our rooms ensuring that they were safe (whether this is official company policy or they just turned a blind eye to it I’m not sure). Mike’s knowledge of Paris came in handy again in the evening as we boarded the Metro for a restaurant in a different part of the city. Mike and I planned to do our own thing on the Saturday, he was meeting an ex work colleague and I had a list of places I wanted to see. My day didn’t go to plan though; I had somehow picked up a sniffle earlier in the week which turned into a full blown cold for that one day only and this combined with the fact that it was very hot sapped my desire to do much apart from rest. After an all you can eat buffet style breakfast on Sunday morning we set off from the Etap for the first leg of our return trip to Le Havre (64 miles back to Pacy). We took a different route out of Paris as I wanted to
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see the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately the Paris marathon was on that day so we couldn’t cycle down the Avenue des Champs Elysees but I got my photo of the Arc nonetheless. Our route also took us past the Piste de Velo which is a cycle track that makes a loop around one of the parks on the outskirts of Paris. This was full of cyclists mostly of the lycra wearing road bike riding kind. Although I looked out of place on my flat bar bike with panniers on I couldn’t resist the challenge to get in the pack and have a bit of a blast round. Luckily I must have joined the track on a slight downhill because this combined with the weight I was carrying and possibly a tailwind meant that I was soon zipping along and even overtaking a few (only those that had eased off a bit though I expect). Sunday proved not to be a great day in this part of France if you are a cyclist looking for food. Options were thin on the ground all day and pretty much nonexistent in Pacy which had gone from a thriving busy place on Thursday evening into a ghost town today. This was not helped by the fact that our hotel’s kitchen also did not open on a Sunday. As no restaurant was available sustenance was eventually provided courtesy of a small grocery store and bakery whose owners
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either didn’t realize it was Sunday or had seen the business sense of being open when everywhere else was shut. Our second night’s stop on the way back was in Le Neubourg because the hotel in Brionne didn’t open on a Monday (you can probably spot that there is a bit of a theme here about things not being open as much as they are in the UK). We were joined in the bar of our hotel in the evening by two armed policemen. They were escorting a convoi exceptionnel (wide load) and were having an overnight stop in the hotel. They appeared again later in the evening in casual clothes minus the guns which presumably had been left in their rooms. We left Le Neubourg fairly promptly the following morning as we were under a certain degree of time pressure to get back to Le Havre for the afternoon crossing to Portsmouth. In the event we kept going at a reasonable pace and were in the ferry terminal in plenty of time having covered a total of 302 miles over the week. Mike had arranged for his son to pick us both up at Portsmouth and he kindly transported us and our bikes back to Bournemouth. This was my first time cycling in France and my lasting impressions of the trip from a cycling perspective, are the general
lack of traffic on the roads and the more accepting attitude of drivers. These two factors alone make a trip to France worthwhile. When you add in the scenery, good food and wine then an opportunity to have a cycling holiday there is really not something to turn down. In fact cycling there was so enjoyable that I barely hesitated when I was invited to join Mike and four other club members for a 2 week “Channel to the Med” trip in May. I also went to Barneville-Carteret just south of Cherbourg for a week’s cycling in June and I don’t think it will be too long before I return to France. In fact I have done some initial planning for a trip from Cherbourg to Oradour-Sur-Glane (Google it for details of this famous World War 2 village and what happened there) near Limoges sometime next Spring and would be interested to hear from anyone who might want to come along. As a footnote to this piece I would like to say what a great club you have got. I have been made most welcome by everyone I have met and have had the opportunity to go on two trips that I would probably not have done otherwise. My only regret is that as I am not currently living in the area permanently I cannot join the Thursday/Sunday rides more often.
Nigel and Lauren Winter on the track at Slades Farm. With Terry’s Grandson on the cover you can see that we are raising the next generation of cyclists.
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Pedal Again in Poole
Mike Walsh
Darren Kenny, multiple Gold Medal winner including six Olympic Golds in Beijing and Athens, congratulates the 100th rider of Pedal Again in Poole. Carol (pictured) was the 100th rider to take part in this three week course for people who wish to regain their cycling confidence or even learn to ride a bike. These courses are organised by the Borough of Poole and delivered by local cyclists, centred on Upton House, for two to two and half hours on each of the three weeks. Darren took time out of his training schedule for next years Olympics to congratulate Carol and talk to the other riders on the course. This was the last week of the course and coincided with another ride, Poole Leisure Cycling, organised for and by past riders of Pedal Again in Poole who wish to practice and extend their newly gained skills. This ride is open to all and some of the younger riders had the opportunity to wear one of Darren’s Olympic Gold Medals. Further information regarding both rides can be obtained from the Borough of Poole on 01202 262066 or e-mail s.funnel@poole.gov.uk
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CTC West Dorset on the way to Lyme Regis back in May. They were joined on their clubrun by our own Shawn Shaw
From Big Eric’s Archive. Thursday Potterers on a club run back in the late seventies. How many can you name?
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Informal Wayfarers Rides to Burley This ride happens every Saturday and is completely informal. There is no leader and no back up, but generally an experienced cyclist somewhere around. The route is designed for beginners but joined in by all abilities.
Start 08:45 at Waitrose Supermarket, Christchurch every Saturday Or 09:00 at The Oak PH, Burton
Or just make your own way to the Old Farmhouse Tea Rooms, Burley for 10:00
Contributions and Photographs The committee meeting date is the deadline for Newsletter contributions. Editorial policy is to print all contributions, with minimal editing for the purposes of layout only. Contribute by any way you like. Photographs are welcome in any form.
http://www.bournemouthctc.org “CycleInk” is the Newsletter of CTC Bournemouth a division of the CTC Wessex Member Group of the Cyclists’ Touring Club. Published four times a year for members. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the club.
Cycle Ink #162
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