IoW Lament

This could potentially be the last ride of the season to the Isle of Wight, before the clocks go back and it gets a bit more difficult.

Meet- IoW car ferry, Portsmouth: 08.20
Embark - IoW car ferry, Portsmouth: 08.30
Depart - Portsmouth: 08.40
Arrive - Fishbourne, IoW: 09.25
Coffee - Old Smithy, Godshill: 11.00-11.40
Lunch - Shanklin or Sandown: 12.30-13.15
Return - Car Ferry, Fishbourne: 15.00
Finish - Portsmouth: 15.45

I'll be wathching the weather over the next few days. I'm hoping it's going to be just about good enough on Wednsday for a ride on the IoW. If we need to cancel I'll do so by 6pm Tuesday. Assume it's going ahead unless you hear otherwise.

On arrival on the IoW we shall lament on what a great cycling season it's been before we descend into darkness for six months.

On that happy note, see you Wednesday.
M

Bookings for this ride/event

Booking is required for this ride. Please let the ride leader know if you want to join. Please do not turn up for the ride unless you've had your booking confirmed or your name appears below.

There are 8 spaces available for the leader and riders. Of these, 2 are left.

Bookings recorded for this ride (Log in to see rider names):

• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member

To ask to join this ride, please use the 'Contact us about this ride' link above to send an email to the ride leader.

Ride leader notes

I've had a bike of one description or another, probably since the age of five. I've cycled lots of different routes all around Britain and some parts of France. For many years I cycled to work using the Hayling Ferry.

Since retiring, I try to get on the bike at least twice a week; usually Wednesdays and Saturdays. Most of the rides I lead are in the region of 20 to 40 miles, somewhere between 3-5hours.

I have three bikes I tend to use: most of the year I'll ride a Spa Elan, which is a general purpose touring bike; in the summer I'll often switch to a Cube Attain, which is more of a light weight sports bike, and if I'm going off-road I'll tend to use my Dawes mountain bike.

It's always difficult to assess cycling speed. I'm certainly no Bradley Wiggins and cycling to me is not about doing a route in the minimum possible time. However, neither am I someone who likes to amble along. So I tend to class my rides as medium-fast. On a scale 1-10 (1 being very slow, 10 being very fast), I would say 6or7, a notch above medium (5).

I'm not a great fan of cycling in and around Havant/Leigh Park when we have the beautiful South Downs on our doorstep, so I tend to start rides in places such as Rowlands Castle, Denmead, Westbourne or occaisionaly the Isle of Wight. Also, I'm not very good at leading large groups of cyclists, so I tend to keep numbers relatively low.

So if you like riding in small groups, somewhere in the South Downs or IoW, at a moderate speed, then you might like to try one of my rides.
M

About Wednesday rides

Wednesday rides usually start from Havant with stops for elevenses, lunch and sometimes tea. If you're unable to keep up or have a mechanical problem, someone will be available to help you - although we obviously cannot guarantee to solve all problems.

Wednesday rides usually provide a range of options to riders as we'll try to arrange multiple rides with different paces, distance and degree of hilliness.

On Wednesdays it is likely that there will be several riders coming back to the Havant area after an elevenses stop - although they might not include a PCTC ride leader. If that is what you'd like to do, please consult the ride organiser before the day of the ride to ensure someone knows and is able to bring you back.

This article describes what you should consider bringing with you on one of these rides.