Tuesday 12 December 2023

STARRY EYED


In winter, one remembers just how far north the UK really is, because there is so little daylight. And that’s not factoring in the weather. So it’s always with some trepidation that I start my bike after a weather or work induced break from riding. 

Luckily, photovoltaic technology has improved significantly since the very first solar powered experiments, and my little solar panel has managed to keep enough of a trickle of charge flowing so far that the engine, however reluctantly in the cold, has started every time so far this season. 

The other issue with winter weather is its changeability. I had only a short window between showers, so I went to a favourite winter-ride pub: The Star at Leatherhead. It has heaters and shelter over its outdoor tables and actual fires inside. They’re also dog and bike friendly, which is not always as advertised in pubs. 



It was remarkably busy for a Saturday when I got there, but as usual, the service was welcoming and attentive, and the food was as good as usual. 

Also, they give you little chocolates with your coffee, which is always a plus. 




Friday 24 November 2023

GLARE AND SPRAY

Lately, it has been rather wet. It’s that autumnal time of year again, when the leaves are browning but not crisping, because it rains too much for that. I went for a ride on a Friday, which is a nice day to go, because it falls between week and weekend from a traffic perspective. This is a mixed bag in autumn, because wet roads glare with the low-angled sun, and spray when a car or truck passes, and take longer to dry with fewer hot engines passing over them. 

I went to the Mill at Gomshall, off the A25 between Dorking and Guildford, which has gone through at least 4 sts of management since I first discovered it. So far they have all maintained the nicely paved parking. 



The current, post-covid management has clearly put some thought into things, because they had the fire going. They took one look at my blue-tinged self and seated me cosily next to it, despite not officially being open just quite yet. They supplied me with coffee and a menu - the latter in expectation of opening in the next ten minutes. The menu changes every set of management and again, this lot have thought about it. It’s a nice balance between variety and still being small enough to do it all properly. This is not an easy balance to strike. 

As cold as the day was, and as glaring as the road was, I have added this pub back to my winter rides list.




Tuesday 7 November 2023

SEASONING

 Recently, I went for the first ride after 3 weeks of solar trickle in the failing light and sun of a British autumn. Photovoltaic technology has improved to the point where strong, direct sunlight is no longer a prerequisite for generating electricity. My little panel worked, it seems, enough so that the bike started at the first try, despite the cold and lack of recent use. 



It is, as I said, autumn, the changeover season of jeans with winter gloves, summer boots and winter buff. It’s the season of extremely irritating light levels - you realise just how far north the UK is when the sun remains at such a glaringly impossible squint of an angle for hours on end. 

It’s autumn - the start of the pub roast season. So I got to thinking about how to judge a pub, having spent the summer judging vineyards by criteria other than wine. 

Clearly parking will be a factor - in the wet and muddy winter, paved parking will have a large advantage. Coffee is eternally a factor for me. 

Wood fires and outside heating could tip it just as much as good food and bike-friendly service. 


Monday 25 September 2023

THE MOUNT

 The Mount Vineyard is not far from Seveonaks, near Shoreham in Kent (not to be confused with any other Shoreham in south-east England). Shoreham is one of those villages which is defying the general trend of closing pubs by having at least 3, all of which seem to be doing just fine. 

I headed to the Mount on a Saturday, which involved a lot of town riding (partly because the M25 is boring, and partly because the M25 was partly closed). I’m not a big fan of town riding, but as I’d been overly optimistic and put on my summer jacket, the lack of a 70 mph headwind wasn’t the worst thing. Traffic was pretty bad, though, as there seemed to be a plethora of roadworks between the A3 and the A21. 

The A21 is a pretty fun road, though, and the A224 has some nice moments as well. Then I was onto an unclassified single lane road winding up and down hills between some very leafy hedges, which have clearly been making the most of the late summer sun. The surface, however, was surprisingly good for the road type - I’m used to roads like this having potholes and muddy patches and general damage from farm vehicles for which they were not designed. 



The Mount’s driveway and parking are, of course, gravel. But shallow gravel, which is much easier on the bike than the deep, grip-less stuff. Leaving was an experience. They were having a busy day, so had instituted a one-way system, which included leaving via a field. 

For field, read: dodge the ruts and mud-slicks and people walking their dogs. 

The setting is beautiful, the shop is well-stocked and very friendly and the coffee shop was shut. The restaurant, however, was open and served very good coffee. The menu isn’t the most varied, being largely pizza and salad, but I have no problems with a limited menu if a place does it as well as The Mount did. 




Friday 25 August 2023

DENBIES

 I’ve been going to Denbies for years. Adding it to this summer’s collection of vineyards feels almost like cheating, but given that I’m still healing from the bicycle accident, I wanted a shorter, more familiar run than any of the Kent or Hampshire options. Denbies is a fairly straight and easy run down the A24, corrugated roads and tar banding notwithstanding.

Denbies is very well geared towards visitors, although I suggest parking closer to the building, where it’s paved, rather than on the openwork bricks further away - particularly if it’s been raining, as side-stands and mud are not a great combination at the best of times. The bricks are openwork enough that this is a consideration. 





Denbies is not far from Box Hill and Ryka’s, but has infinitely better coffee than Ryka’s. This isn’t all that startling an achievement: Ryka’s serves instant. As I am an unabashed coffee snob, I don’t do instant.

The visitor centre is just that - containing a gift shop, event space and more than one option for coffee. They also tend to do an interesting line in cakes, if, like me, you get there in between actual meal times




Saturday 12 August 2023

JUMP

Recently, I had a bicycle accident involving wet road paint, a downhill, the mechanics of braking and grip, and smooth concrete. This did damage to both knees, both shoulders, wrists and elbows. It took over a week before I had sufficient mobility even to contemplate riding the motorbike again. 

Let’s be clear - I don’t try to save a sliding bike of any kind if I’m not absolutely sure I can. I don’t filter through gaps I’m not instantly sure are wide enough. The first rule of filtering: if you have to think about whether you’ll fit, you won’t. 

Sliding or skidding vehicles are similar - if you’re not bone-deep, instinctively sure you can save it, you can’t. So just jump. This advice came to me from a surgeon who had to repair the damage caused by a biker not jumping. Hit the kill switch if you can, but jump. 

Having jumped, I got off with soft tissue damage. Yes, it takes a long time to heal, but at least I can go riding unencumbered by casts and slings and doctor's orders. 

A gentle run on familiar roads, nothing too twisty or complex until I am not on three doses of anti-inflammatory gel a day, and no longer have bruises which object to the lightest impact of gravel bits or insects. 

I shall resume my tour of vineyards soon. I really hope.  


Friday 28 July 2023

SUNNYHILL

 Sunnyhill is just southeast of Oxford, and makes organic wine and cider. It also has llamas. I had arranged to meet a friend there, as it’s about equidistant for us. The problem with arrangements involving other people is that it’s harder to change plans when the weather forecast changes. 

Because motorways are boring, I took the A-roads - the A40, which is fun and has some fun twists between Stokenchurch and Tetworth - coming off at Wheatley. 

This is summer, of course, so the signposts are somewhat obscured by overly enthusiastic plant-life. But from Wheatley to Ladder Hill to Cuddesdon wasn’t overly complicated. 

Once there, I barely got into their little cafe before the rain really started to come down. They do serve cake with their coffee, which helps with the thawing and relaxing process.


I feel that Sunnyhill would be nicer in weather that better matched its name. 


I came back on the motorway - boring, but safer in the weather conditions (driving rain, very little visibility, high levels of spray) - and would really like the UK to institute the following 2 road rules: A lower speed limit in poor visibility or bad weather (which most of Europe already has) and headlights on in poor visibility or bad weather. Cars vanish into the spray without lights, regardless of paint colour.