Sunday, March 20

We met at my place in Tangmere at 9.30 on Sunday morning and had decided to head towards Duncton, Heyshott, Cocking and then back home.

It was a lovely morning, with plenty of other cyclists in the area. Elise, Karen, Victoria, Angela, Caroline and myself made the ride. We headed towards Goodwood Hotel and cycled up New Barn Hill, as we approached the Goodwood Sculpture Park Angela had a puncture....

We've been here before.......where was Gawd??

Karen very kindly called her husband, Tony, who drove to meet us with another wheel for Angela as we thought if we replaced the inner tube the same thing may happen further along the ride, as it did last week....many thanks to Tony for his help with this.

Tony

Wheel replaced we carried on up the hill towards East Dean, turning right at the pond and headed towards Droke.

East Dean pond

There were plenty of cyclists and walkers about today as the weather was dry and sunny at times. Cycling along the length of this road we came out on the Upwaltham road. Most of the traffic was heading towards Chichester so our side of the road wasn't too busy. We cycled down Duncton Hill, along through the village and turned left towards Graffham, heading towards  Heyshott passing some lovely cottages along  the way.

At the turning towards Graffham village shop Karen unfortunately fell off and dislodged her seat - as above. She wasn't hurt and quickly remounted.

From here we made our way to Cocking via Heyshott.

Arriving in Cocking we stopped off at the Moonlight Cottage which is at the bottom of the Cocking Hill for tea. As it was such a lovely morning we sat outside, Karen and Elise had scrambled eggs, smoked salmon on toast which looked very delicious and the rest of us had tea/coffee and cakes.



All the china was blue and white designs, all mismatched and very pretty. The food was excellent also.











After a much needed break we cycled up the Cocking Hill which was tough, but not as bad as I thought it might be. We all survived and met at West Dean and made our way towards Goodwood via the Centurion Way and Lavant and we eventually got back to Tangmere at approx 2pm.

The approximate mileage was 35 miles - well done to everyone.... I said it would be a challenge!

Looking forward to seeing as many Belles as possible next Sunday where we're meeting at the start of the Centurion Way in Chichester at 10am.

Sunday, March 13

Meet our latest Belle....Archie of Southbourne....

It was another wet start but we had a great turn out and we welcome new Belle.......Clare who joined us for the first time today. Also there was Angela, Ellie, Caroline, Karen, Mercy, Elise  and myself.

New Belle Clare and Elise....

We met at the start of the Centurion Way, which is good for parking, and we cycled along the track, turned off at Lavant and made our way to East Stoke.

Karen at the start of the ride.

We tried out the new route to Rowlands Castle, which is along quieter lanes but as we passed through Walderton we turned left and cycled up the short sharp hill. It was tough but it didn't seem too difficult this time around and we all felt quite satisfied once reaching the top.

Here's Caroline, still smiling after that hill.

From here it was about a 10 minute ride to our cafe for a much needed piece of cake! We made good time as we set off at 10.10am and reached the cafe at 11.30am.

Thought I should take a picture of Mercy's slab of cake, for the record!

It was good to take a break at one of our favourite cafes and the weather had begun to brighten up. We met two other ladies and I hope will be joining us on some rides in the future.

From here we cycled towards Westbourne and then Southbourne along pretty lanes.

How many Belles does it take to fix a puncture???

Looks like 5 and one to take the pictures!

That is until Angela spotted Gawd (alias Saem Roberts) cycling past. He very kindly stopped came to our rescue and within minutes we were on the road again...

Tom was very kind and we thank him very much - we owe you tea and cake!

Approaching the start of the ride Angela's tyre had gone flat again so Caroline kindly took her back to Bognor...

It was great to see you all today, we reached the start of the ride again at about 1.30pm - approximate distance was 38 miles.

Extra Ride....Saturday March 5

West Dean church

A last minute ride was planned on Friday for the following day. It was a cold start and we all had many layers of clothing but the weather brightened up and by the end of the ride it was still cold but the sun was shining!

We met at the start of the Centurion Way (a favourite meeting place!) at 10am - Elise, Ellie, Caroline and myself were there. We cycled along the CW met many dog walkers and a few cyclists.

As Caroline wanted cake and to sit inside to have tea  we decided to reverse the Chilgrove Ride, so we cycled along the Chilgrove Road - it wasn't too busy this morning and turned right along Hylter Lane. Here it was quite a steady climb and then a lovely free ride down the other side.

Here we turned right and took on the fairly long, but easy climb and then a lovely free ride down the other side. I think we all preferred this route to the original route.

Here's Ellie cycing down the lane and .......

oops ...and here she is on the ground!

Crossing over the Midhurst road we cycled along the quiet West Dean lanes and we popped in to the West Dean College garden centre for a lovely cup of tea and cakes. It was out first BB visit to this cafe and I have a feeling it won't be our last!

Caroline and her scone

Entrance to the West Dean College cafe and garden centre

As Ellie had problems with her front brakes we cycled back to the start along the CW. Caroline and Ellie had parked there and Elise and myself then cycled back to Tangmere.

This was a very good ride and approximate distance was 28 miles.

Looking forward to the ride next Sunday when we'll be visiting our cafe in Rowlands Castle via that steep hill!

Sunday, February 27 2011

Arundel Castle in the background with Mercy and Caroline on the right of the photo.

We all met at 10am outside Barnham station and it was a lovely sunny spring morning. A note for the future...the car park behind the Co-op is free on a Sunday unlike the station car park which is £4 for the day!

We cycled towards the Cosy Corner Cafe but arrived to see it was closed. We carried on towards Arundel via Ford. The road was fairly busy but it didn't take us too long to reach Arundel. Here we parked our bikes in Tarrant Street opposite Belinda's cafe, which was handy.

Karen outside Belinda's

We all piled in for tea and coffee...and ordered huge yet delicious flapjacks!

As it was such a lovely morning we all sat outside in their garden.

The contents of Ellie's jacket pocket always amazes us, today she removed....an apple, banana, a cereal bar and I'm sure there was something else......

Ellie and her pocket contents above.

Caroline, Angela, Karen, Mercy, Angela after tea and cakes.

After a relaxing cuppa a few of us cycled along the track on the Arundel estate and a few cycled along the London Road and we all met at the roundabout at Fairways.

The track within the Arundel estate was perfect for cycling and the views are stunning towards Amberley.

A folly on the Arundel estate

Gallops on the Arundel estate.

From Fairways we cycled along the quiet lanes via Madehurst and Slindon.

A pretty cottage in Slindon

Yet more snowdrops bursting into flower....

At  the Spur Caroline and myself cycled on towards Fontwell and forked off towards Westergate and I went back home towards Tangmere. Everyone else made their way back to Barnham to collect their cars and Angela cycled back to Bognor.

This was a great ride and I will have to put it into the diary again, perhaps sometime in the summer. It was good to see you all and hope to see you again soon.

We have changed the Saturday March 12 ride to the following day...Sunday, March 13.

Safe cycling everyone!



Saturday, February 19 2011

A perfect day for ducks, and we saw plenty........

Mud, puddles and holes in the lanes everywhere.....

Welcome to new Belle....Victoria, and well done for cycling all the way from Bognor in the rain!

Due to the awful weather it was just Victoria and myself out today, many Belles suffering colds, it seems. 

We cycled from my place in Tangmere, towards the Goodwood Hotel and cycled up the long and slow hill towards East Dean.

We stopped off at our usual Singleton cafe for tea and coffee and carried on towards West Dean College and cutting left handed behind the College and along the quiet and pretty lane.

We saw plenty of ducks enjoying the weather!

Looks like Spring is almost with us, plenty of snowdrops were flowering along the lanes....

We then cut through Lavant, past the Royal Oak and through the Goodwood Estate, just about here it stopped raining - typical!

New Belle....Victoria.

I felt we achieved something this morning, but so glad to get home to a warm bath!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

It was a perfect day for cycling - lovely and sunny, yet cold! Ellie, Mercy, Karen, Caroline and myself made the ride.

We met at the start of the Centurion Way at 10am and cycled the length of the track until we reached the Selsey Arms where we turned left and headed towards Chilgrove and that hill! We all made it to the top and enjoyed the free cycling down the other side even more!

Caroline at the bottom of the hill!

Karen and Ellie at the bottom of the hill!

The views were stunning, we are so lucky living in this area. We cycled along the Chilgrove Road, headed towards Lavant and popped in to The Earl of March pub for a coffee. Before we got too relaxed we went back onto the CW, passing a small herd of rheindeer along the way. We reached the starting point at about 12.45pm. Karen and myself cycled back towards Tangmere and home.

Rheindeers in Lavant - far right of photo

Well done to everyone and look forward to seeing you soon!