West Meon & Southwick

Difficult one to classify. We'll go over Buriton - undeniably a hill but, arguably, the easiest way over the downs. There are undulations on the rest of the route but nothing as significant.

From Buriton we'll go through East Meon to West Meon then down the Meon Vally Trail to Wickham. The trail is 10 miles of 'rough stuff' - mostly well-compacted earth interspersed with some gravel (why!). Not one for skinny tyres but others should be fine.

We can decide what to do when we get to Wickham. There are a number of options. The default will be to go to Southwick using the back roads around Portsdown Hill, and on to Havant from there.

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 6 spaces available for the leader and riders. Of these, 4 are left.

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

• 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 ride an assistance e-bike which allows me to do most hills. I have a range extender that allows me to do 80-90 hilly miles or further for flatter rides.

My maximum comfortable speed on the flat without wind is 13mph at the start of a ride. I find, however, I can manage faster speeds after a few hours of riding. I struggle with balance when riding speeds lower than around 7mph.

Otherwise, I don't mind about pace when leading or joining rides. I'm out to enjoy the ride and speed is not part of that for me.

I get the biggest kick out of supporting new riders when they find out they can achieve much more than they thought.

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.