Should have gone in here for a cup of tea!

Andy outside the Tudor Rose Tearooms in Westerham wishing he'd had a decent cup of tea for a change.

We shall never surrender!

Good old Winston Churchill, who lived at Chartwell, just a short drive from where this shot was taken on the green at Westerham.

A dodgy cup of tea at Westerham

Perhaps I need a new flask. Either that or the milk was just off. The first cup was fine, but the second cup was full of tea-coloured bits – not very appetising. Fortunately I spotted it otherwise I would have swallowed a mouth full of, er, bits. Yuk!

Andy's Kona Blast

Andy's new Kona Blast resting against the Warlingham Green war memorial just prior to our cycle to Westerham on Sunday 4 October.

Sunday 4 October 2009 – to Westerham!

I can't remember when we last rode our bikes to Westerham, but it's got to be a month or two ago. We met at the green at just gone 0730hrs, where I took a few shots of Andy's new Kona Blast (of which, more later). Around 0845hrs we were on our way, up past Warlingham Sainsbury's, past Knight's Garden Centre and into the wilds en route to Botley Hill on the A269, hanging a left at the top of Titsey Hill and virtually freewheeling all the way down the hill to Westerham, past our beloved bus stop.

The tea was disappointing today. Why, I don't know, but I guess it was the milk going off. Anyway, enough of that! Andy wanted to do a bit of off-roading so we headed out of Westerham on the A233 and then hung a left into The Avenue, a nice bit of off-road that bypasses the boredom of the hill out of Westerham if you go back the other way.

It was here that I made a movie – not just any movie, mind, No Visible Lycra – The Movie to be precise. Check it out below!

Saturday 3 October 2009

I always feel a little ashamed when I wake up on a reasonably good day, the sun's out and there's no sign of rain and I should be jumping up out of bed and racing off into the country – but I decide instead to loll around doing nothing. Admittedly I have an excuse, well, two excuses: one is that my cycling pal Andy isn't going today; and two is that I have to take my daughter to a local school to sit one of those entrance exams.

So, here I am, at 0821hrs, writing this blogpost. Rain permitting, of course, I'll up with the lark tomorrow morning to meet Andy, at Warlingham Green, for a cycle to the bus stop – or possibly out towards Woodmansterne Green, we haven't made up our minds yet.

If I can drum up the enthusiasm, I'll go on a local cycle later.

Never mind your bollocks, here's the Spongy Wonder!

The Spongy Wonder saddle from Canada is designed to protect your bits from the damage inflicted upon them by conventional saddles. Get one today, you know it makes sense.

If ever you get that numb feeling in your Jacobs, it might be time to consider a different sort of saddle, one that will get you noticed ('That's an unusual saddle!'). It's called the Spongy Wonder and it comes from Canada, like the Konas. In a nutshell, excuse the pun, it protects your family jewels from being damaged. Cycling's good fun, but you don't want to be damaging your nuts, do you.

Both Andy and I have Spongy Wonder saddles. They take about a dozen or so rides to get used to, but I wouldn't go back to a conventional saddle. Furthermore, I reckon I could cycle my bike naked with no adverse effects. Not that I'm going to, but it just goes to show that saddles like the Spongy Wonder make Lycra cycling shorts obselete – but then Andy and I wouldn't know about Lycra, we don't wear it.

For more information on the Spongy Wonder saddle, click here.

Fresh air, lovely views and it keeps you fit!

This photograph was taken on the A2024 after climbing out of Westerham en route to Botley Hill and home. The view is looking out towards Oxted in Surrey. You probably can't see it, but down below is Pilgrim's Lane, an excellent road that runs from the bottom of Titsey Hill all the way over to Sundridge in Kent, a route we take when we're going to Chevening Church, the lake at Chipstead in Kent or Dunton Green.

What is amazing about the Pilgrim's Lane is that, even though you're only a short distance from Croydon, and the M25 is a stone's throw away, you get the feeling that you are in the middle of nowhere. It's a great road for cycling along too, especially in the summer time.

Andy's old bike. He now owns a Kona Blast...

Andy's old bike at Warlingham Green. He is now the proud owner of a Kona Blast.

Andy's old bike did belong to his brother before he went to Australia. He's back now but whether he wants the bike is another question. It's a Peugeot and to be fair, it has served Andy well for the past three years. He now has a Kona Blast but we haven't got round to taking a photograph of it yet. Watch this space. The Blast has a strange hum to it. Andy can't work out where it is coming from, but if he's behind me, I can tell when he's getting closer!

Everything stops for tea...

We love our tea and cereal bars, they give us something to look forward to as we cycle towards our destination, wherever it might be. This photograph shows Andy tucking in to a mug of tea at that bus stop on the way to Westerham (A2024).