Ladies' Club Run

24th February saw the Woolwich CC hold its first club run for Ladies.  Ollie Golding reports :

On Sunday 24th February we had our first ever Ladies Day ride, aimed at getting ladies of all abilities out and about on their bikes.

The day went well with four of us heading off from Bexley Village – Ollie Golding, Anne Luxford, Zoey Eades and her husband Chris, who came along to give moral support! We were short of two other riders due to illness and work commitments.

It was a dry sunny day, perfect for our first day out. It was Zoey’s first ever ride on the road and Chris was keen to try out his new road bike. We set off through the village, turning left up Vicarage Road and working our way through Summerhouse Drive and the estate to Birchwood Road, down Puddledock Lane to Hextable where we picked up Lower Road and followed it down to Hawley Road and a welcome cup of tea and piece of cake at the Hawley Garden Centre. The tea was good and there was a nice range of cake on offer!

We then returned via Hawley Road and Main Road through the village and up Ship Lane to Swanley Village. At this point Chris had a near miss when his bars came loose as he went down Highlands Hill and he suddenly became extremely aerodynamic!! A bit of bolt tightening later and we were off once more up New Barn Lane and Leydenhatch Lane, to return along Birchwood Road. Anne left us to go home at Birchwood Drive and then the very unfortunate Chris acquired a puncture on Summerhouse Drive, so close to the finish!

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, doing a total of 14 miles instead of the 10 we set out for. Zoey and Chris, who came by train from Gillingham, have already asked to return for next month’s ride and will be bringing a friend. All in all, a successful and fun ride!

Ladies’ Day Sunday 30th March 2008

The second Woolwich Club Ladies’ Day was a bit touch and go to begin with, a damp morning threatened a cancellation! The weather did hold up for us though. Three of us met in Bexley Village, Ollie, Carole Cozens and Pauline Skinner, we were also joined by Mick McLaughlin, who accompanied us on our ride.

Unfortunately, last month’s riders had other commitments this month, Anne was off kayaking and Zoey and Chris honouring family commitments. We set off on the usual route up Vicarage Road and working our way through the estate. Pauline showed us an alternative route to climbing Summerhouse Drive, still a climb but in a much gentler, round-about way. Pauline joined us for the first time this month, having only just set out on her cycling career. She very bravely joined us for the first few miles of the ride (the hardest part!) and then sensibly left us when she had reached her limit. With some more practice during the month, she is hoping to join us for the whole of the next ride. Well done Pauline!

Puddledock Lane was living up to it’s name, with the puddles threatening to become small lakes, but we had a smooth ride down to Hawley where we deviated from our original plan of visiting the Hawley Garden Centre and aimed for the Speedgate instead. After negotiating the Horton Road road works and the heavy debris on School Lane, we were treated to a small shower as we reached the woodlands at the top. Here we were amazed to spot a young stoat running along the side of the road and disappearing into the woodland, quite a highlight for those of us who hadn’t seen one in the wild before!

At the Speedgate we met up with Dave Brimson, who accompanied us back and apart from a puncture and a flood half way down Mussenden Lane, we had a smooth ride home, leaving Carole on the Hawley Road to get a lift home to do her lesson planning for the following day. By the time we got back to Bexley Village, we were riding in warm sunshine! All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride, a big thank you to the lads for keeping us company! Next month’s ride will be on Sunday 27th April starting at 10.00am. We will hopefully have the riders from both previous rides and also the promise from four of them to bring along friends. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the weather…….