Brighton & Hove Clarion Cycling Club  
 

 

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27 June 2004

Hello Clarion riders:

On Sunday there were 5 of us: Sheila, Chris, Richard, Sharen and y.t.ruly. The weather, despite warnings of rain, was perfect: sunny with a breeze. It got a bit blowy near the end but we were very grateful the rain kept off.

Three hardy souls cycled to Shoreham, Sheila and I took the train then along the always delightful Downs Link, and it was a pleasure to discover the bit after the Bramber by-pass – a quite different topography with the river and rolling hills... Into Henfield where we diverted to Squirrel's Farm to visit Linda Tarvey and her hens (plus some absolutely delightfully friendly turkeys...). The hens were wonderfully tame and Linda does great work rescuing battery hens and various other poultry. If you want to support her, buy her eggs (they can be got from Pulses in the Open Market, The George Pub and various other places around Brighton– and if you want to know more, you can call her on 0775 455 0193). We lingered for some time, and bought some eggs (mine did survive the journey back, I hope everyone's did). Then off to Partridge Green to have a very nice lunch for some and packed box for others in the lovely garden of the very high class Green Man pub (although more of a restaurant than pub).

The route back was eventful – featuring a "lost" rider, a puncture and a rescue operation. Richard got a puncture soon after leaving Partridge Green, which seemed to be a slow one, so decided to "pump" and get as much mileage in as possible to "limp home". That meant he put the speed in and was way ahead of us and "hey ho" shot straight down the A283 and out of sight before we had rounded the corner... We were in fact turning off – going through Steyning and then down Coombes Road, and that's where the advantage of having different levels of ability comes in useful. Chris – now dubbed the "Guardian Angel" of Clarion riders chased after him, whilst Sheila, Sharen and I ambled on down the Coombe Road.

By the time Chris met up with Richard his tube was completely kaput, but, never fear, Chris had a spare. So after much hard riding they eventually caught us up whilst we were gazing sadly at a badger slaughtered by one of the cars that go much too fast down there. The one sad element of the ride was the number of creatures killed on that road, including a viper...

The next bit was easy and Chris, Richard and Sharen went off to Shoreham Airport for a much deserved tea and cake, whilst Sheila and I rushed for the train (we had tickets for the Hugh Maskela gig, it was great). My counter said 28 miles but Chris and Richard probably did twice that!!!!.

Joyce Edmond-Smith

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