Saturday 16th June MTB East Molesey Cricket Club

Five riders met at Cheam Station at 0900hrs today.

With this being the third weekend in a row I’ve led an MTB ride I’m getting uncomfortably close to being a ‘Responsible Adult!’

Alas taking over the leader’s role from our ‘Head Honcho of the Saturday rides’ Mr Ayliffe, and also changing it to an MTB on the blog midweek, did catch out one prospective new member in the guise of Mr Mark Herbert.

Mark appeared on his road bike expecting MJA and the ride to be ‘Road ride to Tanhouse’ after receiving our ‘Weekly News’ email. After a chat regarding terrain and it being dry Mark followed us on a ride of discovery.

So, riders leaving Cheam Station today in what was a weather gamble at best with reports of “If you get caught in a shower you’re gonna know it!” were Myself, Mick Curtis, Dave Elliott, Bob Green and our newbie Mark Herbert.

Getting fed up with the traffic lights under the bridge at Cheam Station and the delays due to the regular joggers’ gig in Nonsuch Park, I’d looked at an alternative route, courtesy of Bill Martin’s research.

I took us out the south of Cheam and into the Park via Bramley Road and the subway under the railway into the park and ironically within yards of Mark’s home address. This took us neatly through the first off-road surface to cross the Ewell Bypass. After ‘Iggy wigging’ our way through Ewell we were on the Hogsmill River on our normal route to Kingston.

Certain parts of the off-road route were omitted today to help our road bike rider Mark out, and for other off-road stretches I gave the option to bypass and meet us ten minutes down the road at a specific point. All of these options worked well.

One of the parts of our outbound path omitted is in Worcester Park. It follows the Hogsmill River and passes a petrol powered go-cart track, but more of that later when Bob Green decides to take the ‘Easy flat route home!’

All in all, the systems worked. Mark was there in the right place when we emerged from the undergrowth onto the path and we were soon in Kingston.

After negotiating the crowds in the market area and crossing Kingston Bridge we were on the Thames Path and before long at Hampton Court, the ‘Chop your wife’s head off’ historical area.

We crossed using the ‘Toucan’ crossing on the north side of Hampton Court bridge, well known to locals as you only have about eight seconds to cross. I refer to this as the ‘Usain Bolt’ crossing. (I’ve updated this crossing for the blog, MJA.)

We arrived at the East Molesey Cricket Club cafe around 1100hrs hours and found Barry Gregory staking out a claim for the club; much appreciated.

After elevenses we retraced our route to just beyond Mick Curtis’ recent ‘Underpass of Doom’ incident.

Just after this, somehow after telling Bob Green we were going to use the ‘The hill of Doom’ route (actually the path is up to St John Baptist Church, Old Malden, but still a short and sharp climb), we lost track of Bob after a minor stop which he decided to carry on at.

We thrashed our way up ‘The hill of Doom’ and once again for the second weekend I let another club member get to the top first because, who cares, it’s a social run! Bob Green wasn’t on the summit of this little climb as we expected.

We began to realise he’d taken the flatter route farther south to our position, the original outbound route.

Alas, there’s no cross route connection after diverging and so we carried on in the sound knowledge that Bob Green, a man of a number of years in our club, knew his way back to his homestead in Cheam village.

We carried on ‘Iggy Wigging’ through the back streets and paths into the Stoneleigh area until we crossed once again into Nonsuch Park with Myself, Dave Elliott, Mick Curtis and Mark Herbert all accounted for entering the park.

After exiting the park we all headed in various directions for home, ah but this isn’t the end of the story, what of Bob Green’s journey home?

Bob did reply back to me via text a little while later when I enquired as to his final few miles on the ride and his route home?

Our dear friend Bob Green reported he had decided to take the flat route back which involves a little double ‘S bend’ track from the river and back onto Worcester Park Road briefly before turning right onto a path that passes ‘Surbiton Raceway Go-Cart track.’

At this point I have to thank our new rider Mark Herbert as I had intended to use this specific trail on the outbound route, but bypassed it as he was on a road bike.
So, many thanks for being on this ride, Mark, on your road bike, as Bob Green reports: “Ended up in Nettle Alley near the Go-carts, BAD mistake, stung and cut to ribbons. I had to turn back.”

I’m hoping Bob’s good with the application of the Cortisone  cream! I call those nettle experiences, “Character building for an MTB rider!”

Good ride chaps, Kennet and Avon next week; look out for the reports.

Paul.

 

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