Scorcher of a Bank Holiday weekend...

Saturday we headed for Westerham, the fast way and when we got there we sat on the green, on tables provided by the pub, and drank tea. The ride down was fine, especially the final straight into the town as there was a lovely warm breeze. This, of course, was tee-shirt and shorts weather and it remained so all weekend. Even the ride back up the hill was fine, although my rear brake was playing up and I resolved to take the bike into the shop and get it fixed. It cost me £25 but it's working fine now. The guy in the shop told me that had I brought it in a week or two later I might have needed a new disc, but fortunately not. If you've read the last post, you'll know that I spent a lot of time gassing about the Westhill electric bike, the Ghost 2.0, but now, in the cold light of day, the need to buy one has died down considerably. I'd like one, especially for Beddlestead Lane and other annoying hills, but ultimately it's not necessary so I doubt I'll buy one, but they are great machines and I'd love to test drive one (and then change my mind!).

Crossing into Surrey from Kent on the hill out of Westerham

On Sunday, a trip to Petworth to see Dave, our old Harley buddy, was on the cards so Andy wasn't riding. I decided to do my suburban 35-minute ride, purely for the sake of fitness. As I write this I can honestly say that I've riden the bike for seven days straight and will continue this week. I've worked out a route around my local streets, thrown in a few hills and it's great. Cycling, don't forget, is very good for you and by doing a 35-minute ride every day of the week on top of my weekend cycling, I like to think I'm doing myself some good. Here are some of the health advantages of cycling, courtesy of Westhill Bikes (see previous post for more details):-

* Reduces weight.
* Improves control of blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
* Improves muscle strength, mobility and co-ordination.
* Lowers resting heart rate (this is definitely true as mine hovers around 55).
* Improves the ratio between HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol).
* Reduces the risk of stroke.
* Prevents heart disease.
* Provides a fitness level of someone 10 years younger.
* May ease childbirth.
* Reduces the risk of cancer.
* Reduces anxiety.
* Reduces diabetes.

On Bank Holiday Monday, the heat persisting,  we rode the slow way to the Tatsfield Churchyard and sat there chilling and chatting before heading back down the wooden steps to the road and the ride up the hill to Botley where we parted company.

Heading for the hill out of Westerham

It's now 1725hrs and it's still hot outside. The bike's in the garage and hopefully it'll be alright in the morning for yet another week of 35-minute rides around the block. Can't wait, but I've got a busy week ahead of me.

Westhill Superior Electric Bikes - oh yeah!

I'm the first person to moan about electric bikes. What's the point? Bikes are for exercise and only a real slouch would buy an electric-powered machine. Give me a human-powered bicycle any day. Well, perhaps not. My bike needed a new rear brake so I took it down to Cycle King in Croydon - let's say it's now my favourite and most convenient bike shop, only a short downhill ride away. So I'm in there, I hand in the bike and they tell me it'll be ready around 5pm.

The Westhill Ghost 2.0 and behind that the Phantom at Cycle King...

When the time comes, I'm there and to be honest, I love bike shops. I don't want to simply pick up my machine and head home, I want to look at the bikes, check them out and engage in idle chat with the guys in the shop. And this I did with the store manager. We chatted about Westhill electric bikes, in particular the Ghost 2.0 which I immediately fell in love with, it was a mean-looking machine. Our chat revolved around the usual stuff: what's the point? You don't get as much exercise as you would on a normal bike and so on, but I was wrong. I'm always wrong. There is a point in electric bike ownership. The point is, certainly with the Ghost 2.0 and other bikes in the Westhill range, that you can cover more ground, you have to keep pedalling (you're not riding a moped) and that means you get the exercise and you can travel further.

The motor is in the rear wheel and the Ghost 2.0 looks just like a 'normal' bike except that the rear hub is thicker, coz that's where the motor resides.

The motor is in the rear wheel hub...

The great thing about Cycle King in Croydon is the size of the shop. Compared to most bike shops, it's huge and there's room to ride bikes in the store. The manager convinced me it was worth a try and set the bike's motor to the number three setting (there's nine in total, plus 27 gears) and off I went. As soon as I started to pedal the power kicked in and wow! I get it! I get it!. I wonder what it would be like on setting nine? Only one way to find out! Whoosh! As soon as I touched the pedal I was off and had to remember to stop pedalling when I reached the end of the shop floor. Stop pedalling and the motor cuts out, start pedalling and whoosh! Off you go. I couldn't believe it to be honest. I needed the open road, I needed the hill coming out of Westerham to put a bike like the Ghost 2.0 through its paces. I wanted the 269 as I know this crazy machine could fly and I wanted a piece of it. Sadly, of course, I didn't have time, although I would have loved to have riden the Ghost home.

The price isn't too prohibitive either. At £1,599 it's very reasonable and at Cycle King there's interest credit. My brain was working overtime. It costs me around £130 per month to use the train, but to buy the Westhill would set me back just £120 per month, a saving of £10. Not that such sums would make me flavour of the month if I turned up on my Ghost 2.0 and tried to explain the maths behind my decision.

Another plus point, of course, is that Westhill bikes are British made. There are four bikes in the range (at the time of writing). The Ghost 2.0, the Phantom (more for off-road usage), the Classic (a Dutch style, unisex machine which, because of road tyres, is probably faster than the Ghost and Phantom and, of course, the Link (a foldaway bike). Look, they're all good and I'd be happy with any of them if I'm honest, which I am. My preference? The Ghost 2.0, it has my name written all over it and, ironically, the road next to mine, is Westhill.

A closer look at the Ghost 2.0...

When it comes to charging the battery, the 'lock and load' technology employed by Westhill means that batteries can be charged in or out of the frame. The Ghost 2.0 has disc brakes, 27 gears, 27.5 x 2.10 tyres, puncture-resistant tyres, and a kickstand - perfect! The Phantom has 30 gears (3 x 10) and an otherwise similar spec to the Ghost. As the for Classic (a Dutch-style bike with rack at the back) it offers a walk-assist mode at 4 mph, front and rear disc brakes (like both the Ghost and the Phantom) and the ability to travel up to 100 miles on one charge. The lightweight folding bike that is the Link is pretty good too, in fact, the manager of Cycle King loves it. He'd taken it out for test ride earlier and it was now being charged as we chatted.

Bikes are great fun anyway. Bike shops are great places to be and I think the amazing thing about the bike, apart from the fitness element, is that there's room to become a big kid again. Now, with electric machines, there's something more to get excited about and when I eventually left the store, man-powered machine in tow and a 15-minute uphill ride ahead of me, I felt a little bit sad that I was walking out of the store without a Ghost 2.0. As I said earlier, it had my name written all over it and that equation about £120 per month instead of £130 made more and more sense the further I rode away from the shop.

Riding uphill along the Upper Selsdon Road made me think about the Ghost's electric motor and the speed at which it moved as soon I pushed forward on the pedals. What a bike! WHAT. A. BIKE!

I'm converted. All I need now is the money to buy one as I know what I'd do with it first: I'd ride up Westerham Hill to the Botley Hill pub and sail past all those Lycra monkeys on their carbon fibre racers. Then I'd stop using public transport and ride to work, safe, perhaps, in the knowledge that my tyres are puncture resistant - that, of course, is the acid test. Can tyres really be puncture resistant?

If you're interested in Westhill electric bikes, visit www.westhillbikes.com or call them freephone on 0800 0234 937 or email them at enquiries@westhillbikes.com

Fast way to the Tatsfield Bus Stop...twice!

The weather was fine and, you know what? Not a great deal to discuss. We rode to the Tatsfield Bus Stop the fast way, twice, on Saturday and Sunday. We didn't even take any photographs. Well, alright, I took a couple of a field close to the Botley Hill pub, but they're nothing to write home about. What is there to say, in fact? Nothing much. The weather was fine, the rides were uneventful, we did what we always do: sit at the bus stop and chat, but I can't even remember what we chatted about. Andy was in a bit of hurry, he had stuff to do, hence the fast rides to the bus stop. I was up for going to Westerham and it looks like we'll go there on Saturday next week.

Today I did a short ride around 0645hrs. I didn't go far, just round the block. No more than 36 minutes on the road and a few hills here and there. It was okay, just a little work-out before showering and going to work. I might do it tomorrow, but I'm not committing myself. Not much going on generally so I'd better sign off.

Here's that really boring shot I took at Botley Hill...

To the Bus Stop and then the Churchyard...

Heavy winds on Saturday and rain made a planned trip to Westerham a complete no-no. There had been severe weather all over the place, especially up north and in Scotland, but I was under the impression that it wouldn't really affect things down south. How wrong was I? First, it rained heavily overnight and when I woke up it was grey and nasty, but not cold. Andy and I met at the green as usual and decided to go to Westerham, the fast way. But as we rode along the 269 the gloom eventually morphed into rainy gloom and as we made the turn on to Clarks Lane we decided to stop at the Tatsfield bus stop, based on the knowledge that there was no cover in Westerham and we would have been soaked by the time we got there. We sat looking out at the gloom and slowly drying off. It wasn't cold so it didn't really matter.

Heading down Church Way towards home
on Sunday morning..

I rode back along the 269, but decided to hit the off-road path after a gust of wind nearly knocked me off the bike. As I approached Sline's Oak Road there was a car crash and the driver who caused it drove off. He left the scene of an accident and never returned, a crime if ever there was one. A man driving a white Berlingo van had slowed down to turn left into Sline's Oak Road and suddenly I heard the screech of brakes. A Ford Ka or a Ford Fiesta, silver grey, was travelling too fast and tried to slow down but hit the rear of the van, sending it spinning to a stop close to a small pond. For a minute I thought the driver of the Ford was pulling up and making ready to exchange telephone numbers with the guy in the van, but no, he sped off and never returned. Further along the road there's a mini roundabout and I said to the man in the van, who was unhurt, that the guy in the Ford was probably turning round. But my faith in human nature was misplaced. "He probably isn't insured," said the more clued-up van driver, a furniture maker from North Devon who was on his way home. I gave him my telephone number and then headed towards Sanderstead, but I checked the Sainsbury's car park in case the Ford, which had extensive damage at the front, was parked up or abandoned there. All I needed was a licence plate.

Sunday morning on the 269 - not a lot of cars

I relayed the story to Andy on Sunday morning as we rode towards the Tatsfield Churchyard, the long way. The weather had improved considerably, the wind had lessened and the skies weren't grey anymore, but it could have been a little warmer. We sat on our favourite bench and drank our tea, chatting about this and that and then it was time to head home. We rode up the hill towards Botley, Andy parted at the Ridge and I rode the 269, this time remaining on the tarmac and not taking the off-road track.

Two good rides this weekend and hopefully two more next weekend, we'll see.

Two rides: to the churchyard and then (ahem) 'the field'...

Flytippers visit Hesiers Hill

It was good to get two rides in. Both involved Beddlestead Lane, which is always a bit of a chore, but it was a good weekend of cycling and the weather held out too.

On Saturday I was running a little late and when I reached the green we decided to head to the churchyard. It was a fairly average ride, nothing untoward occurred (when does it?). Although, when we reached Hesiers Hill it was disheartening to notice that the fly tippers had been out dumping their rubbish on the road. We stopped, but not for long, and soon we were pedalling hard towards Clarks Lane. I can't say I'm a fan of Beddlestead, but it's a good work-out so it can't be that bad.

When we reached the churchyard we did what we always do: drink tea and chat about this and that. We rode back up the hill towards Botley and parted company at the Ridge.

On Sunday we set up 'camp' close to an adjoining field and the nettle-infested path from which
we had just emerged - unscathed! Pic by Andy Smith.

On Sunday we thought we'd visit 'the field', the one that's just across the road from the Tatsfield Bus Stop. The last time we were there was roughly a year ago when the field was full of corn and the sun shone brightly. Perhaps it was earlier in the month, I don't know, but there was no corn, just grass, and it was wet. We entered the field from White Lane because Andy said the path from the other side was overgrown with nettles and thistles (he was right). It took a while to find the path (the North Downs Way) but when we did there was a short ride under tree cover towards a gate and that meant we'd have to manhandle the bikes. Andy suggested lifting them on to their rear wheels, which seemed to do the trick, and once we were both through we decided to get to the churchyard to drink our tea. Between us and our destination, however, were plenty of thistles and nettles. Andy was ahead of me, but suddenly I found him standing still in front of me. "It's thick with nettles, we'll get stung to buggery in our shorts!"I was wearing my camouflage shorts that I had purchased in Miami in 2007*, they're a bit baggy and I wouldn't even think about going commando. Andy might not have used the word 'buggery', in fact I'm sure he didn't, but it seems to express the way he was thinking perfectly. Shorts are not ideal where nettles and thistles are concerned, although I discovered recently that a nettle's sting can penetrate through long trousers, so there's no way out. Andy was prepared to go back the way we'd come and to be fair, I thought we might have to as I looked over his shoulder at what awaited us, but it was worth a try I thought. "I reckon we can do it," I said, taking the lead and employing the bike as some kind of battering ram to flatten the nettles on my left while steering clear of the nettles on my right. It worked and soon I found myself close to the roadside next to an old tree trunk. Andy followed and I don't think either of us were stung. Our decision to advance to the churchyard was based on the heavy dew that hung over the field. There was nowhere to sit down.

The field was damp so we battled with nettles to find a place for tea.
We had just emerged from those woods you can see across the field

"We might as well have our tea here," I said, pointing to the tree trunk. Andy agreed so I pulled out the flask and the teabags and milk.
"I don't understand why nettles exist," I said. "I know everything has a meaning, a purpose, but I can't see the purpose of stinging nettles."
"Ladybirds like them, apparently; they lay their eggs on them; you would have thought they'd find other plants," Andy said, slightly flustered about the whole situation.
"Bastards," I added, or I should have, perhaps I did, I can't remember.

Further along, loads of nettles...

Last year the field was full of corn, this year it was just grass. "I think it's what they call crop rotation," I said and Andy was reminded of school. "I remember learning that," he said, and so did I.

"What about oxbow lakes?" I said.
"I remember those too," he replied.
"I've seen one from the train, somewhere near Northampton," I said, like the geek I was. Actually, I'm not a geek.

It was time to head back up the hill towards Botley again. As we passed the dew-laden field on our left, Andy spotted a metal gate. "We should have lifted our bikes over that gate," he said, but it was too late now. Perhaps if we'd seen the gate we might have ended up in the churchyard, but one thing was for sure: a lesson had been learned. No more field unless we could be guaranteed it would be dry, but either way there was still the hassles of humping our bikes over the gates, and who can be bothered to lift the bikes? Not us!

We were on the North Downs Way...

We parted again at the Ridge, pledging to be back on the bikes next week. The rides back along the 269 on both days were quiet, not much in the way of traffic, which was good. The weather was good too, warm and bright, but not much in the way of blue sky and sunshine.

There's been two mass shootings in the USA, one in El Paso, Texas, in a Walmart where 20 were killed and 26 injured. It's being classed as a hate crime (surely, that's obvious). Not sure about the second shooting, but it took place in a bar on East 5th Street called Ned Peppers in Dayton City, Ohio, in the Oregon district of the town and nine people were killed.

In other news... Iran has seized another tanker and Boris Johnson is pledging £1.8 billion for hospital upgrading, except that nobody believes him. Time will tell.

Andy arriving at Warlingham Green...

* I visited Miami in 2007 to attend SNAXPO, a conference and exposition about the snacks industry in the USA.  I was staying on North Hollywood beach in a hotel that was yards from the sea and was with a colleague, Nick Thorp, who would later join Andy and I on one of the Black Horse bike rides.