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Past Ride

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Sat Sep 4th 2021

3* Saturday Away Day Ride	3*

Leader: Richard Pethybridge	Start Time: 9:00 am	Start Location: East Winchester P&R
Description: This year's trip to Normandy has had to be postponed again due to Covid, but I have managed to get the club access to the D-Day Map Room at Southwick Park near Portsmouth instead. With Eddie's agreement I have therefore hijacked this ride and it will now be an away-day down in Hampshire. It starts at East Winchester Park & Ride (St Catherine’s) at 0900, where there are toilets. It is then somewhat hilly (unavoidable in that part of the country) across to Southwick Park for 1130. I will give a short presentation in the map room (where Eisenhower made the "Go" decision for D-Day) and then we will head off for lunch at (hopefully) the Bat and Ball pub in Hambledon. It's then more hills with great views back to Winchester. A provisional route is at the link, but this may change before the day - I will update this if it does. It's 100km with 1200m of climbing, so at the upper end of a 3, but we won't be racing and all normal 3 riders will be fine. The ride is limited to 11 other riders plus me. So far booked are: John Tranter Eddie Little Jon and Karen Townsin Roger Postbeschild Email me to book, or message on 07875 456521. For security clearance purposes I need names by Sunday 29 August please.
Riders: Chris Bailey Eddie Little John Tranter Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Richard Pethybridge Roger Postbeschild Riders = 7 Weather: Report: This turned out to be a super ride through some spectacular countryside, topped off with a bit of history. We started from the excellent Park & Ride at St Catherine's near Winchester and headed south east past Marwell Zoo towards Portsmouth. Mostly traffic free roads with decent surfaces (and the odd bit of gravel track) led us to the village of Southwick where we enjoyed some excellent coffee and cakes. From there it was a short hop to the old HMS Dryad to see the D-Day map room and for me to revisit my lecturing past and give a quick talk on the room's provenance. We left there and headed up to the Bat and Ball pub near Hambledon for lunch - a long climb to get to it but that meant a long descent immediately after to get the legs working. Up and down the two sides of the Moon Valley brought us superb views and tired legs, before the sawtooth road that returned us (via a final piece of gravel track) to the start.
Distance: 101.50 km (63.07 mi)	Ride Details: https://www.strava.com/activities/5905409031
Gravel track short cut Quiet lanes of south Hampshire Coffee stop at Southwick Tea Rooms Visiting the D-Day map room at HMS Dryad Outside Southwick House, home of the D-Day map room Lunch at the Bat and Ball, Hambledon After one of the Meon Valley climbs Near the top of Old Winchester Hill Almost back to Winchester Awesome group of riders!
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37154964"
Comment on this ride

Written by : Karen Townsin

Posted on : September 4, 2021 at 8:17 PM

A great ride Richard. Thanks for organising the very special visit to the map room.

Ride Filter

Start Locations: WMP
Wantage Market Place; OMH
Old Mill Hall, Grove

Categories: 1* - Suitable for irregular, social, beginner or family riders, pace will match the slower riders. Not hilly or long. Expect rides up to 3 hours. Gentle exercise.; 2* - Suitable for regular riders who prefer to cover some distance but at a more relaxed pace. Likely to be half-day rides. Solid exercise.; 3* - Suitable for experienced riders, may be hilly, long, quick, or any combination! Likely to be half or full-day rides. Challenging exercise.; 4* - Suitable for athletic riders who can ride safely above the 3* standard. Quick rides for the fit.; More Information