Urban75 Cycle touring rides.. up for it??

[BEARBOT]

preferably overnight ones close to london say 1-3 nights?..such as south downs way,staying in overnight accomodation like a youth hostel or finding an unofficial camping spot

i want to get out and enjoy this weather..!

dont really have any free weekends this month and im away MOST of july..
anyone up for setting up a group ride in aug or sept? im sure w/e's would suit most people best..still i will ask on the off chance that others on here who arent strictly 9 to 5 could do a weekday one(ive got some free time in the week this month)esp ones that start/finish in zone 6 so the train fare will be cheap

im off to read the fave cycle rides thread..i believe there are lots of keen cyclists here so ill get inspired by that and do it on my own if no one is free to join me..also i beleive there are some handy books about nice countryside/day cycling close to london so off to check that out

 

[citydreams]

Any joy Bearbot?

I'd be up for some one day rides over the weekends. For example, the Chiltern Hills are only an hour's train journey from Paddington - a cheap day return works out to £7.50 each with GroupSave.

How does this sound...??

1: Through Chiltern from Chesham to Tring (30 miles - strenuous)

On the map Chesham appears to be at the centre of a spider's web with no fewer than 14 roads and lanes radiating out from the centre.

At the start of the ride you may well feel that you have been sent on the wrong road as you exit from town on a busy road and then go through an industrial estate.

However, after only a kilometer from the start you are into the countryside on a tiny, quiet lane that climbs 140m through attractive farmland and beechwoods to one of the three highpoints of the ride at Hastoe, on the Ridgeway.

You lose height rapidly as you drive down into Tring and the nearby nature reserves. The climb up from Tring is very steep with a particular trough section just before the top of the hill.

Once back on the Chiltern escarpment, there is a rollercoaster ride of six further climbs and descents, mostly through fine beechwoods, before finally swooping back down into Chesham.


2: Through Chiltern beechwoods west of Henley-On-Thames (32 miles - moderate)

The Chiltern beechwoods are always a delight to cycle through, enveloped as you are in a cathedral of smooth-limbed boughs and a canopy of green. The area is also well served with a range of excellent pubs.

The ride leaves Henley-on-Thames, famous for its summer regatta, towards Marlow. You are faced with a long, steady climb of almost 213m up through Fawnley and Turville Heath to the highpoint of the ride at Christmas Common.

From here the ridge is followed southwards for 5km before a magnificient descent over 6km down into Ewelme with its abbey and palace.

The development around Benson airfield strikes an incongrous note but you are soon heading back up into the hills and woods of the Chilterns through Sonning Common and heading back down to Henley-on-Thames.

Alternatively, I've got riding routes through medieval villages, motte-and-bailey castles, 17th century thatched cottages, 15th century churches. Orchards, gardens, woods and lakes, rivers and streams, geese, swan ,duck, deer, grebe, heron and pochard. Battle-sites, forges, obelisks, domes, towers and peculiar cones.

 

[BEARBOT]

sounds AMAZING!
yeah i would really like to do ride number 2
or any ride of yr choice thats "moderate"

im free saturday the 30thjune..but im attending gig starting at about 7pmish that night at the spitz..how long would the ride take at a slow pace?(i have a feeling i might hold u back on the hills )
how many people have to travel to the same destination to get the group save rail price? i like the sound of those cheap tickets

 

[Crispy]

I like the sound of a slog in the morning followed by a 6km descent in the afternoon, interspersed with pubs Henley's pretty, too.

 

[editor]

I've got a really good book detailing fairly modest rides (15m-35m), all reachable by train from central London.

 

[Orang Utan]

I've got a really good book detailing fairly modest rides (15m-35m), all reachable by train from central London.

Oooh what is it? Is it still available?

 

[ChrisFilter]

Ride 2 pretty much all around where I grew up.. used to work in the pub at Christmas Common.. my parents live in Watlington. Might come along.