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.

Latest rides

Training Ride on part of New Forest Sportive course

Intro

You know how you have these ideas that at the time seem really good. 

Well putting in an entry to do Ride London was certainly one of these. To really compound the issue we even told friends what we had done, making sweeping statements like; ".............if we don't get into Ride London we will do another 100 mile sportive." 

So we appear to be committed now, or perhaps we should be! All for good causes though, we will be raising money for Alzheimer's Society and SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). So watch this space for details of how you can donate.

We will find out in February whether we have a place in Ride London and will then set up a donation web page.

Not wanting to fail dismally or be overtaken by the pros it is time to get in some miles over the winter which will mean braving the elements and getting out there on the bikes. 

Talking of bikes I have restored my road bike and we have treated Kathy to a brand new bike. Thanks to Gary at Bikewokx in Bournemouth for all his help on both counts.

Keep looking at the blog as Kathy and I will be posting progress of our training along with photos and comments we will probably come to regret.