2019-08 August

Findon Gentlemen’s Cycling Club rides in August 2019

Saturday 2nd August 08.00am ride
PT, AR, JR
A select peleton of only three assembled yesterday morning. As JR emerged to join PT and AR (aka Electric Al), his neighbour collared him and collectively tasked the FGCC with inspecting the passability of the Monarch’s Way at No Man’s land, so discussion of the route was largely pre-empted.

Up to Cissbury, then north and east to drop down int No Man’s Land. Locating an end of the Monarch’s way (overgrown to the point of being hidden), we walked into the bushes to survey the first thirty metres or so. Not rideable, definitely, by horse.

AR in overgrown Monarch’s way

JR in overgrown Monarch’s Way route

After a team photo, we attempted Canada bottom to find stretches were quite narrowed by brambles. Pushing through, we emerged on the main track, and there treated AR’s and PT’s arms with the magic spray, to mitigate the blood loss.

Peloton mug shot

Heading back west, we finally made it to the green barn, and turned south for Lychpole farm and ultimately the A24 at Lyons farm.

Climbed up to cissbury, by a track which is as relentless as Cote Street, and then west round the rifle range and down to the site of the Kamikaze memorial. Searches however failed to locate the memorial, and the fence post nearest the site looked suspiciously new. A formal visit to maintain Mr Avery’s memorial appears to be sorely needed.

Continuing to the Valley, a brek was taken at the Lingalonga, enlivened by a brief meeting with Angus.

Over the A24 then up to the gallops for home on a dry, warm and sunny day.

13.18 miles, and 2188 feet climbed

Cissbury & Lingalonga ride

Saturday 10th August 08.00am ride
PT, JR
PT reports:
I am pleased to confirm that a doughty peleton of self and JR upheld the honour of the FGCC on Saturday with a time-constrained ascent of Cissbury and a plummet down to Charmandean and the beach, where speeds in excess of 10 miles per hour were achieved along the prom, powered only by the wind. A “man of Destiny” portrait of JR captured the roughness of the sea, whose whitecaps had been seen from the top of Cissbury.

JR at the beach on a very windy Saturday ride

After a rapid brek at the beach cafe, the peleton battled back into the stiff breeze and finally were blown up Mill Lane and across the gallops

12.5 miles, and 1062 feet according to Satmap.

Cissbury & Worthing beach ride

TAMITS: PT & JR braving gale force winds whilst others battened down the hatches and remained indoors.

Saturday 17th August 08.00am ride
JR, PT, RK, RT & new potential addition to the youth wing Tim the second.

A fine turn round the Amberley Loop, with a rare double-splitting peleton which resolved into an ensemble brek at Wyvale. The first split was on the return leg at the Last Post gate above the gun club, where RT left the peleton mending JR’s puncture, and sped off to consummate a drug deal in Findon Valley. After an unsuccessful attempt at a Last Post, the remainder of the peleton returned via Collarbone Alley. At Long Furlong, the diminished Peleton split again, with PT returning down the Furlong, while JR, RK and Tim2 climbed over Church Hill. All reconvened at Wyvale, more or less simultaneously, to gasp at the spectacle of RK attempting to make a veggie brek look convincing. Discussion included the mapping app “what3words”, which provides random words to define geographical locations, eg the JR memorial is found at “estimated.scaffold.publisher”, while bloody Norse corner is “wire.surfer.cosmic”. Minutes of fun.
Inspection of the Flying Brit memorial on the return leg concluded that maintenance is already required.

Amberley loop

According to Satmap, PT covered 16.5 miles and climbed 2057 feet. Others did more, about 2 miles and 120 feet for RK, JR and Tim2, and about 4 miles and 265 feet for RT.

TAMIT: PT’s new electronic game.

Saturday 24th August 08.00am ride
JR, RK, Tim2, KBS
JR writes:
“Blog report 24 August: Indeed an august (but mainly whippersnapper-ish-ly young) peloton assembled on-time at Pond Green at 8.00 on the 24th inst. This jovial company comprising RK, TIM2, The flying Brit and (to skew the average age stats) a more mature – at least in years – JR.

A destination of Steyning was agreed surprisingly quickly as Kim was a man under authority which meant a journey over what I stupidly assumed would be the club’s standard route. “No”, said the flying Brit manfully in Viking, big-cat style, “we must take the LION’S trail”. Adopting a somewhat paternalistic approach the senior member of the group agreed to oversee the proceedings with an avuncular eye, without actually taking part in the more suicidal bits of the descent as and when it might come.

However the first hurdle was to be a cultural one.

Departing Findon with very little faffing and exactly at the expiry of the 10-minute rule the peloton manfully took on Nepcote Lane and Nepcote. All well so far. The more mature rider knows that the club’s standard practice is to proceed to the car park and wait for the slow coaches. However, you can take the Brit out of Denmark but you cannot take Denmark out of the Brit, meaning that at the junction with the Monarch’s way the old Viking cry went up: “enough of tarmac” and they proceeded up the bridleway. Luckily I spotted the wayward front-riders and was able to wait for and redirect Roy who had been delayed by a chance meeting with an old friend – probably an exiled dictator from one of the mid-African states – and who are we to stand in the way of good business?

Now, to depart from our text for just a moment, or perhaps I should say: every cloud has a silver lining:

Reference to the blog will tell the avid reader that JR was himself made a man under authority a few weeks back by his neighbor who insisted that the club visit the Monarch’s way, take photographs of its overgrown state and use these as evidence for the prosecution against WSCC. At the time JR requested that the club’s top lawyer and TM should take on the case and it was his photographs, subsequently submitted to the “Rights of Way” officer at WSCC which caused JR to be accosted earlier this morning by his same neighbor who stopped her car, gave us the thumbs up and shouted triumphantly “We’ve won”, before driving off. Apparently on the previous day WSCC had capitulated and made the county’s contractors mow the whole of the MW.

This lucky legal victory meant that we had a clear run up the MW and (amazingly given that it was hawthorn alley) a check of the tyres at Chanctonbury showed no ‘blast-eets’. Then followed the descent, in more ways than one, but all emerged unscathed at Mouse Lane. A splendid brek at Truffles and an incident free return via the SDW. I say ‘incident-free’ but the pigs on the SDW chucked-up as ever and an attempt at the last post failed at the first!

13.23 miles and no idea of the ALTitude, although the ATTitude was as excellent as ever, as befits the standards of the club which were of course maintained at all times.”

(Strava stats courtesy of RK indicate 12.7 miles and 1,288 ft climbed)

Saturday 31st August 08.00am Sam Penhallow remembrance ride and day
Solo short two and a half peaks ride by ZA – Cissbury, Chanctonbury, Windlesham – before joining members (ZA, PT, AM,KBS, RT and meeting MT there) of the FGCC travelling to Hythe, Kent for a day in the amazing setting of Lympne Castle to remember Sam Penhallow.

FGCC members at the Sam Penhallow remembrance day