CTC Wessex to Brokenhurst and back

CTC Wessex To Brockenhurst and back

Another cold  March Sunday morning but keen to get cycling as the weather has played havoc with our planned rides recently. We meet up with Dave and Doreen and set off for the coffee stop at Bashley were we will meet up with the rest of the group who will all cycle there independently.

Our route out takes us out to Hurn and past the airport and on to Avon were we miss the quieter back lanes in preference for the 'B' roads. There has been a lot of rain recently so we know the back lanes will be a trifle damp! We drop down to Sopley and across to Bransgore before arriving at our first destination coffee at the Potting Shed. Some of the other riders are already ensconced in the corner by the radiator enjoying hot drinks and cake. We get our refreshments and join them and chat as the group slowly grows.

We discuss the next part of the ride and some choose to head straight home while we head off for Brockenhurst and lunch. At Brockenhurst we are thinking that those who headed straight home after coffee were wise, so we quickly have a drink and a bite to eat before we do the same.

We head back virtually the way we came through Sway, Hinton and Bransgore and on to home braving the snow flurries as we go.

We say goodbye to Dave and Doreen thanking them for their company and an enjoyable ride and head for the warmth of home and a hot bath.

Cambridge and Essex Lanes

Cambridge and Essex Lanes

At Jackie's for the weekend so on Friday while everyone is at work or school Kathy and I set off in the morning mists for Cambridge. Compared to recent rides it feels quite warm if not a bit damp but no rain.

Great views!

We have carefully planned the route, have a route plan written out and have the Ordnance Survey map with us, however, we still miss the first major turn but fortunately realise after about a 100 yards. Someone told us, Steve I think, that Essex was flat. Well, at this point I would like to disagree because unless we were both hallucinating this windmill was definitely on top of a hill!!
We rode through some beautiful villages and decided that there probably were some great views to be enjoyed. Unfortunately the mist prevented any such enjoyment.

Dirty bikes

We cycled on to Grantchester were we stopped at the Rupert Brooke Pub for lunch, once again a great bowl of soup but this time roasted red pepper.

New saddlebags

By now the mist had turned to rain so we decided to press on and pick up the pace while heading back to Jackie's and being thankful that we had packed our rain jackets.

By the time we got back we were cold and wet, the bikes were filthy but we had still enjoyed a fantastic ride.
It was the first time out with the new larger saddle bags and it was nice not to have to ride with a rucksack.

We have decided that cycling  is all the better for doing the winter rides, as come the summer it's going to be great to ride in shorts and jerseys, looking back at the hard, cold, wet and uncomfortable winter rides.

CTC Wesex - Moreton via Wareham

Out again with CTC Wessex this time out to Wareham then on to Bere Regis is the plan.

St Nicholas Church

First stop is Bob's at Wareham for coffee which requires negotiating the busy Wareham Road so Kathy and John blaze a trail to get off it as quickly as possible! Coffee and teacakes in Bob's conservatory and no chance to sleep as the smoke alarm keeps us awake as someone burns the teacakes!! A great opportunity to chat and introduce ourselves to new people. We chat with Dave and Doreen who live just down the road from us.

T.E.Lawrence

Church window

We leave Bob's planning to go to Tollpuddle instead of Bere Regis but the closure of the level crossing due to maintenance at Wool requires another change of plan so we pedal on to Moreton. Moreton is where Lawrence of Arabia is buried and has a beautiful church with etched windows by Sir Laurence Whistler it was also home to James Frampton who was responsible for trying the Tolpuddle Martyrs. We stop at Moreton for lunch in the Church yard and the above history lesson!


After lunch the group splits some heading off north deeper into Dorset while Kathy and I join up with Dave and Doreen and Robert and Russell to head South and home. A great cycle home chatting and getting to know the 2D's better. By the time we get home we have completed 52 miles and our longest ride to date.

Saturday Group

Back on the Christchurch to Burley ride and at least this time we know the drill and Terry has some other new recruits to shepherd this week. So we set out with a slightly faster group and get ourselves a good work out on the route to Burley. It was good to ride with a faster group but not the social interaction we have experienced on previous cycles but we are new to this and don't know many other cyclists yet.
However, we get to the cafe which, is heaving and find a seat at a table with three other cyclists. We are a little intimidated as they look really fit and are obviously good club cyclists. We ask if we can join them and then to our surprise we are included in their conversation. Thanks Ben and friends we really appreciated your company and your tips for training and cycling. If we were not sure before that cycling is a truly inclusive activity, then we are now. Good luck in the Alps guys but if you don't mind we need to master the Dorset and Hampshire hills first!
A pleasant ride home with John, Terry and his new charges and then home to clean bikes ready for a CTC ride tomorrow.

CTC Wessx ride to Compton Abbas

Our first ride with Wessex CTC and we meet at High Lea Corner on the road out from Wimborne to Horton. From here we ride the lanes to Compton Abbas Airfield. It is enjoyable cycling at an easy pace, chatting and making new friends along the way. The group stops at regular intervals to allow slower riders to catch up and for the group to reform. We are learning more cycling etiquette along the way and benefiting from advice from riders who have years of experience behind them.
It is a bitterly cold day and the cafe at the Compton Abbas is a welcome sight, a chance to chat some more  and warm up over coffee and cake.
Back on the bikes again and it seems colder, it probably isn't, just the effect of having been in the warm. At this point the group splits as some riders head for home leaving the hardy (or the foolish some may say) to carry on to our next stop, the Inn on the Chase at Cranbourne for hot soup. After what was probably one of the best bowls of soup I have ever had (it might have been the cold influencing that thought), mushroom and Stilton by the way, we continue on for home.

A great ride with great company, cycling really brings back simple pleasures. We will be back to ride with CTC Wessex again.

First Group Ride

Bikes of all types

We have taken the plunge and are making our first steps towards club cycling by joining a mixed group for a Saturday ride. We are meeting up with Terry from Wessex CTC who we met on the road before Christmas to get our first taste of cycling as part of a group. The group consists of cyclists from a variety of local clubs including Wesex CTC, Christchurch Bicycle Club and Jubilee Wheelers. The ride takes us from Christchurch Waitrose to the tea rooms at Burley and back, a round trip of around 20 miles.
We cycle near the back with Terry and chat as we ride getting accustomed to cycling with others and learning some of the etiquette associated with group riding.
The stop at the tea rooms is really enjoyable and a great opportunity to meet other cyclists and chat. The outside area is totally taken over by bikes of all descriptions, probably over a 100 bikes!

A really enjoyable day and given us a taste of club cycling, we will join Wessex CTC next weekend for their Sunday ride.

To Corfe Castle and back

Now into February the 2nd to be precise and it's a bright sunny day and unsurprisingly a bit chilly but not a day to be wasted so we set off for Corfe Castle via Upton and Wareham.

A brief comfort break at Wareham Quay then onto Corfe Castle where we stop for drinks and an Eccles Cake.
Now it's time to tackle the climb out of Corfe onto the Purbecks and back to the Chain Ferry. Well what a climb, tougher than both of us expected but we made it to the viewing point by the golf course and once we had recovered enjoyed the view back across Poole Harbour and towards home. Although a lovely view it was a stark reminder that we had a fair distance to go before we could put our feet up.

Now for the best bit the descent to the chain ferry no effort required just hold your nerve as you plummet downhill! At the ferry join the other cyclists as you wait for the ferry and then once at the other side the climb away from the harbour and on to home.


A lovely day out, some challenging climbs and a decision made that we need to find a club to cycle with.

Ups and downs

Well having got Christmas out of the way and both having had the dreaded flu bug we are finally back on our bikes and rather adventurously  heading for the hills. We have decided that to achieve our goal we need to get better at hills and have been reliably informed that "the only way to get better at hills is to do hills".
One of Kathy's friends at work has put us onto this hilly route round Wimborne, Holt and Colehill known as the 'three hills challenge'.

Having succesfully complted the route Kathy is convinced there are five hills not three!

Cold and frosty training ride

We set out to do a route that would take us out to Wimborne, past Kingston Lacey and then out through the backroads to home via Sturminster Marshall, Lytchett Matravers and Upton. However, those plans were soon changed when we met another group of cyclists who had just come from that direction. They thankfully warned us that the roads out in the country were treacherous and that they had already had several near misses. So taking their advice we headed back for the main roads and completed a circuit that took us back through Wimborne, Colehill, Canford Bottom, Longham, Parley and home.

At 29 miles a little shorter than planned but home safe! So thanks once again to those other kind cyclists for giving us the heads up. That's one of the things I love about cycling there really is real camaraderie with everyone looking out for each other.

It was the first outing for our early Christmas presents - his and hers windstopper base layers. They worked a treat, very little windchill even on the descents, now all I need to do is to remember to wear some thicker socks!!

Once home it was time to give the bikes a good clean to get all that grit and salt out of the mechanisms. As you can see all bright and shiny now until the next ride.

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