Rough Stuff rides for LFGSS folk, join regular rides that avoid tarmac

Totally bailed. Did an E on Friday night, hadn't really recovered, Sunday am was grim out there. Fuckit I thought.

Does anyone fancy doing the South Downs Shoreham loop the weekend of the 18th?
Not sure if Saturday or Sunday yet.
About 40 miles, 5 hours.

Thanks for posting Alex btw.
I'm entered for a Thundercross cyclocross meet ('FUN' category), going to do it on the Pedersen. With lights and mudguards probably.

Might try going out this sunday instead. Perhaps the Southend thing.

I might be up for that. The weather looks good too.

Look like it might be pretty grim for a bit, was thinking last week of starting with train from Liv St to Upminster, pretty quickly into parkland and estuary path from there.

That would suit me too.

If anyone fancies a ride tomorrow, I'm heading for a loop around London starting from Putney and following the river and the canals.

Bah
Now the mud is all frozen I want to go and ride, but have excruciating pain

Me too, but I have a proper old-fashioned cold with coughing and hacking up nastiness and everything that goes with it.

I do sort of have a plan though.

There's some nice trails right down south around Eynsford and a big gap in my knowledge of the trails South down to connect with them. So if anyone wants to play join the dots one weekend, I have a set of trails I want to explore.

It could involve a lot of trying paths and trails that lead nowhere.

Hey
Did you join the dots you were talking about?

I’ve decided to do a southend route I was talking about a while ago. Weather looks nice tomorrow. It’s not mud but paths I think.

If you Alex or anyone fancies joining give me a shout.

Going to Uxbridge on a train to pick up ma3k’s route there. Hopefully leave there about 9.

EDIT
UPMINSTER!
Not Uxbridge. Obvs.

I have COVID right now, so not going anywhere until this is shaken off. However, I did get into a ride a couple of weeks ago that took me completely into terra incognita, that did extend the routes I know off to the south east by quite a bit. Either way it was a really cool route.

@Scully I'm thinking of heading to my mum's this weekend. A Saturday ride to Southend might be nice. How does that float your boat?

My best mate, who refuses to do group rides for his own reasons, has bailed for this Sunday citing a knee, so I'm doing a solo dogleg from London's N19 to Farnham in Surrey for a pint of HSB and some red cords.

I put this in Rough Stuff to ensure I actually do it and don't stay home, sanding a skirting board with a thousand-yard-stare.

Obviously I would use a block and sandpaper for that, not a thousand-yard-stare.

N19 t0 GU9, basically a section of NCN22 topped and tailed, was the mixed bag I expected and I will definitely tweak this for a better overall experience, but whatyergonnadoeh. I was glad to be out and not keeling over from lungs, mainly.

[blah blah blah]

I was really at a loose end this weekend and decided not to go out to protect my post-COVID lungs.
Actually, a low intensity ride would have been great, so please @ me in for future ideas. I'd be up for it.

Am currently thinking about a ride from Norbury to Erith and then back to town via the Thames path and Waterlink Way home.
Something like this: https://cycle.travel/map/journey/299792

Let me know if that looks appealing.

Ride's a good 'un - I'd have do the filthy train to Norbury. The distance looks to be about the limit of me currently. We should diarise?

Damn, I am sorry to read about your lungs: I had what I think was a glancing blow from Covid, end-of-December and a couple of days of intense headaches, that I put down to Christmas stress (this, while my partner was knocked flat for a week and tested positive for two, d'oh). Today I have trouble walking up a hill at the speed I want to, so yeah, low intensity is me all over. Good news is that my GP is putting me through a bunch of MOT type tests (ECG, ultrasound &c) which I've never had before. I'm hopeful that this is not my mid-50s and onwards story!

Is anyone interested in riding the Shoreham Loop on the 7th of May?
It's about a 40 miles ride taking in some of the most pictureseque parts of the South Downs way.
It leaves Shoreham, heads west along one side of the ridge line, climbs up to the Downs and then traces along the southern side before crossing the ridge for a descent into Arundel for lunch.
Afterwards we trace the river Arun and climb back onto the ridge to retrace back east to Shoreham.
It really is a beautiful route and at the moment return train tickets to Shoreham from East Croydon can be had for £5.40!

Piece of string question, I know: but any idea of set-off times and returns at Shoreham? I’ll spend a fiver on a return ticket now and work out if I can actually do the ride next week.

(I think the cheap deals ends in a week?)

i might be down for this if the start isn't absolute crack of dawn.

@vilms5000 @launchpadboi Sorry, yes the plan would be to leave East Croydon at 9am (the train would be 9:05) with a return at about 6pm (enough time for fish and chips and a pint?)

heh, thanks.
Okay, I've booked the outbound train that stops at ECR 0905. I have to do some reorganisation of events to make the day, still.

Cool. I've booked it as well, so at least there'll be two of us!

Unfortunately not available for that day but like the sound of the route. Any chance you have a .gpx of of it?

Sure: https://cycle.travel/map/journey/259200 there's a link on the left hand side to download the GPS file.