Club Ride – Saturday 23rd November

Forecast a bit miserable for this Saturday so keeping the ride to a two loop route to give us choices if it is too grim.

Usual meet at 0850 for an 0900 depart from the main car park in Brookley Road, Brockenhurst. Lap 1 out via Wilverley, Burley, Crow, Poulner, Ogdens and back to Brock via Red Shoot and Bolderwood. Then planned coffee stop at The Sett after about 2 hours steady riding. Then decision on Lap 2 around Hatchet Pond, East Boldre, Pilley, Sway and back to Brock for the full ride of 83KM.

Keeping to winter pace of around 26Km/H

Route at https://www.strava.com/routes/22711021

Barry

Sunday Club Ride 17th November 2019

Meet at main car park in Brookley Rd, Brockenhurst 8.50 a.m for a 9.00 a.m start.

This week’s ride heads west out of Brock via Burley rd then turns left down to the B3055. Turn right towards Sway before taking the left turn along Pitmore lane. Sway is perhaps best known for Sway Tower (not a very inviting name for those suffering from vertigo). It is a known by many as "Peterson's Folly"

Petersons folly is constructed entirely out of concrete made with Portland cement and at 200ft remains the tallest non-reinforced concrete structure in the world, big wows..

It was originally designed as a mausoleum, however this was not allowed as it was thought the light would confuse shipping (doh). It also served to publicise the superiority of Portland cement; even then not fully accepted. All in all, a bit of a howler.

We follow Pitmore down to Sway Rd to meet the A337. After a brief and joyless ride north we exit the road of doom with a right turn up Boldre lane to, unsurprisingly Boldre. According to Wikipedia Boldre boasts a pub and used to have a school and a post office, 'the post box can still be seen today'.. After we have taken the selfies here we move onwards to Pilley and then Norleywood. North to East Boldre, South to St Leonards before heading North once more towards Beaulieu. From here we hope for a tailwind along Beaulieu rd back into Brockenhurst for tiffins and vittels.

Forecast is cold but fair, hope to see a good turnout. Details of the route are downloadable here;

https://www.strava.com/routes/14895739

Phil H

Club Ride – Saturday 16th November

Looks like we’ll be blessed with a dry ride for once this week So plan for a fairly standard 3.5 hour loop of the forest with a coffee stop after halfway.

Usual meet at 0850 for an 0900 depart from the main car park in Brookley Road, Brockenhurst.

Out via Rhinefield, Bolderwood, Red Shoot, Moyles Court and onto Stuckton. Turn up the hill to Godshill and along the Roger Penny Way and a sharp left at Deadmans Hill back towards Lover. Then through Hamptworth, Nomansland, Copythorne, Bartley, Woodlands and coffee stop at Ashurst at Merritts Coffee Lounge. Please bring a small café lock if you have one in case we need to leave bikes outside (last time the proprietor kindly let us wheel them through the café to the garden but cannot guarantee that again).

Then back via Colbury, Ipley Cross, Beaulieu, Hatchet Piond and Brock for 85Km. Will be keeping it to winter pace.

Route at https://www.strava.com/routes/22632103

Barry

Club Ride – Saturday 9th November

Continuing the autumnal theme of weather cursed Saturdays this looks like another week when we can look forward to the delivery of those Gabba and Perfetto jackets and be envious of anybody who already has one!

So, plan to repeat the last route we used on October as it keeps us close to home and easy to change plan if it gets too wet.

Usual meet at 0850 for an 0900 depart from the main car park in Brookley Road, Brockenhurst.

Out via Balmer Lawn to Hatchet Pond and Beaulieu. Up to Hill Top and a loop around Exbury, Lepe, Calshot and then back to Hill Top. Another loop around Dibden Purlieu, Applemore and back to Beaulieu. Then East Boldre, East End and back through Lymington to the coffee stop at Mabel’s in Boldre. Return to Brock via Sway for a total of 85Km.

Mudguards, lights and some bits of hi viz recommended as well as a sense of humour as we wonder why we do this in winter.

Now strictly into winter pace so steady all day, don’t want anybody getting overheated and then freezing if we have to stop for a mechanical. So trust the effects of base training at the weekends and keep to zone 1 and 2.

Route at https://www.strava.com/routes/22271928

Barry

NFCC Sunday Club ride. 10th November 2019

Meet as usual in the car park on Brookley Rd at 8.50 for a 9.00 A.M start.

Note that it is Remembrance Sunday so avoid parking in the village if possible

The plan this week is to head out onto the Beaulieu rd past the internationally famous 'Brock Beach'. With literally yards of shimmering shin high water this freezing disease ridden swamp has rightly become the envy of beach destinations around the globe. Attractions include a bridge from which children of all ages are encouraged to jump into the shallow murky ditch in an age old game called 'Leap of Fate', the results are normally easily treatable at the minor injuries unit.

After packing away our beach towels we reach the pure, virgin spring waters of Hatchet pond before turning south to pass through East Boldre, east of Norleywood and through St Leonards before returning north to the safety of the main rd. Turning right we approach Beaulieu or 'Beautiful place'.

In the 1950's Beaulieu became the home of a progressive Jazz festival. Jazz as everyone knows is Music with all of the the nice bits taken out and it was an argument about how best to achieve 'monotonic white noise' and whether black polo necks were cool or not that led to the so-called 'Battle of Beaulieu' in 1960. Rival gangs of modern and traditional jazz fans apparently indulged in a spot of what sociologists call 'subcultural contestation'. The contemporary recordings of the violence and subsequent police response were later to be released in a ground breaking L.P 'Song of the Sirens'.

We pass up through Beaulieu via Palace lane before turning right onto Exbury lane and towards Lepe, from here through Langley and Blackfield before heading back towards Beaulieu along Rollestone Rd. We return as so often praying for just a little assistance from the wind-gods along the Beaulieu rd.

Looks cold but dry this Sunday. Hope to see another great turnout.

Course downloadable here

https://www.strava.com/routes/14885191

Phil H