Basingstoke to Whitchurch - 27th January 2011

A very cold day with a biting North Easterly wind. To Whithchurch from Basingstoke going south towards Micheldever and then turning north near Micheldever station and up to Whithchurch. I've been meaning to get to see this characterful little Hampshire town for many months. Shame it was such hard work cycling back into that wind!

Steventon Church - Jane Austen's father was Vicar here.

One of the Popham Beacons - ancient Barrows

Beech wood pathway

Buzzard? In a tree atop one of the Popham Beacons

The road north to Whitchurch

The road south of Whithcurch

Whitchurch Silk Mill - on the river Test

Enterring Whitchurch

The Route

Sunday morning ride to Upper Froyle - 23/01/11 - 24 Miles

Went straight out after breakfast. Took a while for the fuel to kick in! Only really got into it after 10 miles. First time to Upper Froyle: Lovely village. This might become a preferred route from mine to Alton, on my Friday Teach. Tough hills up to Yarnhams but then a long downhill to Lower Froyle, Long Sutton & Odiham. Nice.

Village Guide - Upper Froyle

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Birgin Mary - Upper Froyle

Hut on legs - Upper Froyle

The Old School House - Upper Froyle

Main Street - Upper Froyle

On the Climb up towards Yarnhams - Looking towards Farnham

The Route - 1

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Whole Route

Tough ride to work, in Alton - 33.5 miles

Tough because I was going into a strong south westerly and uphill most of the way. Drizzly rain didn't make it any better. Must try to work out a better route for future Fridays there.

Direct from Odiham to Alton but returned via a long loop out to Theddon Grange, Bentworth and Lasham.

Church of St Lawrence - Alton

Bentworth

Lasham Church

The Old Post Office - Lasham

Sun trying to break through - Lasham airfield

Looking north to Basingstoke from Froyle

Long Sutton - Big Sky

The Route

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London Ride - Surbiton Station to Fleet Street - 8th January. 32.74 miles

Met up with some old friends at 'Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese', a lovely old pub in Fleet Street, London. Train to Surbiton then a route up to the West End via Richmond Park, Sheen, Hammersmith & Kensington.
I have cycled these roads before so I knew what to expect. The bike ran really well and I felt strong, even on the return in the evening after a few 'cheekies'!

From Surbiton, I skirted around Kingston town centre by going north to Norbiton, past my old local, The Norbiton & Dragon, which used to be run by the son of Frank Carson, the comedian. Hadn't changed from the outside in ten years!

Old Local

Round the corner into Park Road and a quick snap of a very uninteresting looking building whose top floor flat was once our humble abode! Just a little bit of nostalgia.

Old abode - Top floor

The route across Richmond Park to Richmond was incredibly busy. The Park with it's very tame Deer is still a very popular destination and the car parks looked full. Many cyclists out this afternoon in the Park.

Richmond Park

Route continued down into Sheen and then across the railway crossing in Mortlake. I then took the road running alongside the Thames through Barnes, passing the house where Gustav Holst lived and up to Hammersmith Bridge.

Barnes Bridge

Holst's House

Hammersmith Bridge - Looking west

Hammersmith Bridge

Moving from Hammersmith towards Olympia took me past my old place of work in Brook Green and then up through a very busy Kensington High Street. I moved into Hyde park on a section of Road that offers a quiet parallel alternative route up to Hyde Park Corner, avoiding the traffic in Knightsbridge. I encountered one of the new Barclay's sponsored cycle hire points which was rather busy with lots of people coming and going with the bikes.

It's never a joy cycling up Piccadilly but it made the drop down into Trafalgar Square and ride along the Strand that much easier. Reached the Cheshire Cheese and locked up in:

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