The Whole Christmas Pie - 27th August 2011

Basingstoke Canal from Fleet to Ash, then road to Tongham, then picking up the Christmas Pie Trail. Same Route back.
Dist 38.98 miles 

Up early. A large bowl of muesli, a mug of coffee and three custard creams and I'm ready to trundle the 'Tank' along track and trail. 

Kingfisher country - Basingstoke Canal near Aldershot

At the second attempt to stick the so called 'signposted' trail I still managed to take a couple of wrong turns but was thankfully put right by a very helpful lady on a horse.

Unfortunately the ride was marred by the discovery of a load of fly-tipped rubbish literally dumped in the middle of the trail route. This is also a lane used by local motorists and there was a young lady in a car right behind me. We had to clear the smaller of the two piles of stuff (which included a kitchen sink) to enable her to drive on!

Fly tipping on the Trail!

Reached the end of the trail which ends up in a housing estate on the edge of Guildford and took the same route on the return. 

Weather much better today but the canal path was a mud bath!

Muddy Mech!

The Route

Commute Ride into Ealing - The morning after the riot. 9th August 2011

Not the usual end to my journey across Ealing Green and round to the Mall!

The pictures say it all really. I'm amazed I didn't get a puncture, there was so much glass on the roads. A tense and surreal day at work work. I'm glad they left Ealing Cycles alone.

Transport for London Cycle Challenge - Scores on the Dawes 18th July

After a month of cycling individually and with members of our GMV team, the challenge is over. Our team of six finished 67th on points in the rankings out of 340 teams in our category but 40th on actual miles cycled!
A marvellous effort all round and a great way of sharing some less familiar routes around London. We cycled c1,800 miles since 18th June.

Highlights;

Everyone doing more miles than they would do normally.
Two team rides around London - Spaniards Inn, Lee Valley Navigation, Regent's Canal, etc
Simon's outstanding 530 miles.
John's two 30 plus rides
Last nights' team ride
Simon going straight out and buying a replacement bike after having his bike stolen half way through the challenge.

Disappointments;
Simon's bike being stolen
Not persuading other people in the office to get their bikes out even at weekends (must try harder next year!)
That the challenge isn't 8 weeks long!!

Suggestions made to TFL for the next one;
T- Shirts - promoting the challenge
A massed ride on the last day - when teams can meet and ride in London

My tally

The Team's performance

Roll on the next one.......and of course the cycling goes on!

The 'Blitz the Hayfever with a good ride' Ride - 8th July: Burghfield Common & Back

Hartley Wintney - Mattingley - Stratfield Saye - Mortimer - Wokefield - Burghfield Common - Silchester & back   32 Miles

Needed to get out as the hay fever bout that has been hanging about for two days was making me sit around feeling yucky. Funny.....after 10 minutes of cycling I felt so much better. How strange the body is!
Phone Pics - not great quality.

Berks street names are often quite funny. Passed one called 'Man's Hill'. Felt much better about being able to cycle all the way up this!

I have been......so favour due?

Intriguing street name. Researched this but could only find reference to an excavated Roman ditch. Who was Sweetzer?

Long path - Silchester

Saint Mary the Virgin - behind the Roman wall - Silchester

Route Maps

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Sunny Sunday Morning - Oakley to Stockbridge 3rd July 2011

Oakley - Deane - Steventon - Popham - Norton - Bullington - Barton Stacey - Newton Stacey - Chilbolton - Leckford - Stockbridge ......and back by the same route. distance 43 miles


Up at 6am (insane behaviour for a Sunday!) drove to Oakley and set out in the sunshine for a ride down to Stockbridge.


Took no maps. Did this from memory, after looking at Google maps & satellite. The Route largely followed the course of the River Test. Conditions superb: a sunny Sunday, little breeze, hardly any traffic, beautiful scenery and it's high summer! Who could ask for more?!!

A bit hilly from Barton Stacey but nothing the old legs couldn't cope with in low gear! 

Popham Beacons (Ancient Burial Grounds)

Bullington

Barton Stacey

Chilbolton

Chilbolton

Leckford's 'Flat top'!

Stockbridge

Stockbridge - a river runs through it....well, several tributaries of the Test

River Test at Stockbridge

River Test

Stockbridge - Town Hall

Chilbolton Observatory

Hill Top - Chilbolton looking East

Barton Stacey - loking South West

Norton

Barton Stacey

Stockbridge

Stockbridge

Stockbridge

Leckford

Barton Stacey - looking West

Transport for London - Cycle Challenge Begins - June 18th - July 15th

We have put a team together at work for this. So far there are 5 of us but we have kept it fairly quiet. Might spread the word this week to get more points onto our total.

It's not supposed to be hard-driven or competitive, just a bit of fun: a way to encourage a few more bike miles on the commute and at weekends. Let's see.....!!!

State of play - Day 2

Go team GMV!

More on this later.

Basingstoke Canal - Winchfield to Nately and back on MTB - 29th May 2011

Winchfield to Nateley on the Basingstoke Canal - back along the 'cut off' sections West of the Greywell Tunnel   18 Miles  Tm 1hr 41 minutes.

The furthest, cut off, sections of the Canal are described as 'semi- restored' but the tow paths at this time of year are only just ride-able. Nature has taken over here and in some places the canal has dried up and the western end of the long Greywell Tunnel is not much more than a hole beneath the apex of the brick bridge. Good for the bats though. I can now say I have ridden every stretch of the 32 mile canal. Wey Navigation next up!

The end of the canal as it is now at Nateley. At one time the Canal extended down into to Basingstoke at what is now the Bus Station

What's left of the tunnel entrance at the west end of the Greywell tunnel. The tunnel was closed after brickwork collapsed inside the tunnel in the 1930's

And here - Bricks were made and transported to Aldershot

Nature dominates

Somewhere below lies the course of the Greywell Tunnel

Route