News 2013
Christmas Lunch
The Section Christmas Lunch shall be at the Red Lion, Betchworth on Sunday 8th December - Details and Booking.
The Great Victoria Bike Ride
Greg got away from our dreary November weather by travelling to Australia to participate in this event and took some great photos along the way which can be Viewed Here
A Ride for Daniel by Andy Bebington
An account of Andy's ride to raise funds for his grandson's vital surgery.
The Cotswolds
A few pictures from a trip Willie made to the Cotswolds at the end of August.
Bagendon Church.
Broadway.
Erbington.
Erbington.
Erbington.
Chipping Campden.
Batsford Stud.
A Summer Ride
The 7th of July was a beautiful day for our Sunday run, which took us over Ranmore Common to Abinger Hammer for elevenses, the Mucky Duck at Tismans Common for lunch and tea in Capel Churchyard.
Willie tops the climb to Ranmore.
Greg and Peter right behind.
Rachel completes the group.
Relaxing at the Mucky Duck.
Time to drag ourselves away.
Capel Churchyard.
Some pictures from this year's Dieppe tour.
Highlands and Islands by Pat Fallon
A photographic and prose account of Pat, David, Greg and Willie's spring tour of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
Descent from Bealach na Ba.
The Bluebell Run
The earlier cold weather means that the bluebells are late this year, but they appeared in the first week of May just in time for our bluebell run.
We headed out through Marden Park where we enjoyed the fresh spring colours of the trees on the hillsides to either side of the road.
Entering Marden Park.
Spring Colour at Woldingham.
Through Marden Park.
Numerous bluebells were passed on the way particularly along Southlands Lane near Tandridge, but our real target was Staffhurst Wood, where though not yet fully in bloom there was a good display of bluebells and their scent hung in the air.
Staffhurst Wood.
Scary!
On to East Grinstead for our coffee break and following delays caused by a problematic lock we decided to cut the run short and had a very pleasant ride along the traffic free Forest Way to Groombridge for lunch.
Dormansland.
Junction Inn, Groombridge.
Our return route took us through Chiddingstone, Marlpit Hill and back to Staffhurst Wood where the day's sunshine had brought more bluebells into bloom.
Climbing Top Hill near White Post.
View across the Medway to Fordcombe from White Post.
The beer has got to end up somewhere!
Willie's New Moulton.
Back to Staffhurst Wood.
From here we retraced our morning route, stopping to forage some of the abundant wild garlic in Marden Park.
Spring?
At last, the weather has improved for April and David, Greg, Pat and Willie are looking forward to a May tour of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. We'll be travelling by sleeper train to Inverness and heading west to Torridon and around the Applecross Peninsula for the 2,000 ft climb over Bealach na Ba to Lochcarron. Onwards to the Isle of Skye via the picturesque village of Plockton and a couple of days later we'll leave Skye on the ferry for Mallaig. South via Lochailort and Ardnamurchan will take us to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull from where we plan to take a boat trip to visit the seabird colonies on Lunga, and Staffa for its fantastic basalt rock formations including Fingals Cave. Finally we'll head back north via Corran and the Great Glen to Inverness from where we'll probably spend our last day cycling around the Black Isle. Fuller details of the tour shall be published here in due course.
The inclement weather continues till Easter, as you may tell from how wrapped up we are below...
Balcombe.
Stoney Lane near Balcombe.
Back Lane near Balcombe.
A planned train assisted ride in January was called of because of dangerous road conditions, but was successfully rescheduled for the first Sunday of March. We went by train to Uckfield, had a coffee stop in Horam and our lunch break in Cowbeech.
Merrie Harriers, Cowbeech.
The new year starts off with some fairly severe weather, leading us to abandon a couple of Sunday rides due to icy conditions, but as always we find somewhere to shelter from the elements...
Six Bells, Newdigate.