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

This is an excellent tip. Ta very much.

Will be doing the King Alfred's Way later this month and am secretly hoping for a highly concentrated heat wave just as we approach that neck of the woods to justify stopping for a dip.

All welcome.

You'll do it on 25's with mudguards or not at all, young man.

So glad I half ignored that, semi-knobblies and muguards was the right choice, given the state of my ride-buddies’ backs by the end.

You made any more plans for a camping thing oop your way sometime?

So what do we do next?
Could we aim for one ride a month? A bit of adventure ending somewhere with a decent pub and maybe a train ride there or home as required?

Sorry for being slow to respond.

@Qebrus and I were chatting upthread about a swimming expedition to a Surrey lake Sparky suggested. We’ll fix a day soonish. Thinking maybe mid August ish, so by all means if you want please start another list for another loop in between, and we’ll keep the momentum up.

I hope this thread will be self-organising so please go ahead. I have some travelling to do in the next few weeks but will attend if a date happens to work for me.

Actually maybe sooner for the swim ride.

I quite fancy the ride out to the windmill. Maybe next weekend. Would anyone care to join? Bear in mind it's Terra incognita after we leave NCN 22

I’m not available Alex, GLWR. Start a list, describe the route a bit more / post komoot, sell it to me baby.

rode the first incarnation of lufgus x rsf today. I returned covered in mud stings and blood. Who made the route? Thank you. Was a good one.

It was @Alex_B ‘s route! Cracking stuff wasn’t it?

Hah there’s plenty of nettles

It wouldn't be the same without the rivers!

Better get on with my proper route planning eh?

Be sure to include nettles

You can see AndyP being insensitive to our struggles here: https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16082122/

The road to Halnaker Windmill.
https://sussexbloggers.com/halnaker-windmill-tunnel-of-trees/
This is a ride of about 70 miles, with as much off-road as I could fit in. The aim is to visit the Windmill at Halnaker which is at the end of a sunken lane. I'd like to try thios one on Sunday the 18th of July.

So this is my work in progress(always show your working): https://cycle.travel/map/journey/233473 if you know parts of the route around Horley, then please feel free to chip in.

We'd start in South London (Norbury). The first part is the standard NCN21 route out through Woldinham Golf Club and Woldingham School, up onto the North Downs Way and then out to Redhill and Horley. There's a lot of off-road trails on this route and it's the basis for all my routes south of London. If you missed the last ride, then this part of the route is more or less the same (including all those lovely nettles and bramble).
From Horley we push west skirting north of Horsham just linking up byways and bridleways until we hit Petworth, where we turn south towards the South Downs.

Just outside Petworth I found a watermill which has an open day with traction engines on Sunday the 18th (https://coultershaw.co.uk/). It's £3 entry fee and it's just before we tackle the climb onto the South Downs. Since I'm a complete sucker for industrial heritage, I suggest this would make a good stop for food and time wasting.

From there we head up into the Downs, following the old Roman Road of Stane Street as far as possible until we get to Halnaker and make our way up the lane to the Windmill.

From there we have two choices home:
Either ride to Chichester for a 2 hour train ride back to London, or
Ride across the South Downs to Amberley for the train back.

In the spirit of all my rides, it includes a significant amount of unnecessary climbing and as much random off road as I can possibly cram into the route.

Any takers?

I'm moving this up to Saturday now as my wife wants to do something together on Sunday.
If anyone's interested, drop me a line.

audax'ing other wise i'd be in.

Still in Wales sadly

Unless it's absolutely hosing it down, I'd consider that a plus compared to London!

Being able to see snowdon from my window helps!

Well, I made it to the windmill, but it was probably one of the toughest rides I've yet done. Pretty much as soon as I hit the bridlepaths South of Redhill, I just encountered mile after mile of slippery mud. As a result I spent a family ridiculous amount of time either walking, or slipping and falling off. By the time I got to the canal at Loxwood,I was completely shattered. However an ice cold pint of shandy got me back on the road again and onto more terrible, overgrown, muddy bridlepaths.
The climb h up onto the Downs was brutal, something like a40 minute uphill walk on soapy wet clay. I stopped for a rest and ate an entire malt loaf in one go before pushing on. From there, the downhill run was glorious, if perilous, with previous little control of the bike's speed or direction. The last trial was an attempt to find and follow Stand Street, an old Roman road, now reduced to faint traces and overgrown footpaths, which I foolishly tried to follow. Eventually after wrestling my bike over yet another bramble clad stile,I have up and got onto the A285 where I could finally open the gas and cruise along at 30+kph for the first time all day.
I finally arrived at the entrance to the mill, only to find yet more stiles and gates and a frankly quite disappointing sunken road, but at the top of the hill the mill was waiting, unfortunately with a small group of tourists having a picnic. I took some photos and left, somewhat deflated and headed back to Chichester, where I found all the shops closed and missed the train to Victoria by a single minute.

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A sunken road, somewhere.

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A hidden tyre swing

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The Downs were spectacular, but incredibly hard work.

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