Chichester U3A Cycling for Pleasure

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 Gallery of Recent Rides

Cycling for Pleasure Group Information

The cycling group meets twice a month on the second and fourth Thursday, all year round (unless the weather intervenes). The rides we do are varied: many start in or near Chichester and enjoy the beauty of the coastal plain, while for more variety we sometimes take a train and explore a wider area (when Southern Rail is reliable!). Occasionally we plan a 2 day event – in the New Forest or the Isle of Wight for instance.

We prefer to avoid main roads and cycle on quieter lanes, dedicated cycle paths and well maintained bridle ways. Rides are typically 12 to 16 miles, starting at 10:00 until lunch-time, and punctuated by at least one refreshment break; and we normally end at a pub giving an opportunity to finish off with lunch for those who want to stay.

The group currently has vacancies so if you are looking for an enjoyable way to keep fit tempered by some pleasant social interaction this is the group for you.
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Forthcoming Rides

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Recent Rides

Fortune in the shape of the fine day’s weather – blue skies and light winds – smiled on us Peppy, Colin, Andrew, Michael, Rod and Ray made their way by train to the Wightlink car ferry port in Portsmouth for the 10:30 crossing to Fishbourne. From here we made our way across Wootton Creek and followed a disused railway track and the Medina riverside path into Newport. (There were also one or two short sections of main road and one or two short sharp hills – but the memory forgets about those long-term!) In Newport we had a great lunch at the Bargeman’s Rest on the Quayside.

After lunch we followed one of Wight’s lovely bike trails – the Red Squirrel trail – another disused railway meandering its way down to Sandown passing through a varied, quiet landscape: woodland, nature reserves, farmland, alongside the higher reaches of the Medina, and then the eastward flowing river Yar. The trail was punctuated by the sites of the long disused railway stations this line used to serve until its closure by British Railways in 1956 (ten years before Beeching wielded his axe).

From Sandown with a few more miles still left in our legs and the sunny weather encouraging us we pushed on along the Esplanade to Shanklin for an ice cream in Toppings in the Summer Arcade, before setting off for home.

We had intended to take the Island train back to Ryde Pier Head, but remembering that that train only takes 4 bikes at a time the six of us decided to complete the loop and cycle directly back to Ryde along the main road. Everyone agreed it was a great day’s ride.

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