10:00 Sunday 9th July 2017
This will be a day ride but the starting point will be Ryde esplanade at the base of the pier, because we constantly neglected the eastern end of the island. We will aim to ride off at 10:15 or shortly after.
To get to the start you can cross the Solent using one of three ferries:
The Southampton to Cowes car ferry (08:00 recommended). The crossing takes about an hour and a further hour should be left to ride to the start location mostly along the well signposted round the island route which is a mixture of quiet roads and gravel paths,
The Portsmouth to Fishbourne car ferry (09:00 recommended). This crossing takes about 45 minutes and the ride to the start will take a further half hour, again along the signposted round the island route.
The Portsmouth to Ryde Pier head fast ferry (09:15 recommended). This crossing takes about 20 minutes. There is a limit of 21 bikes on the ferry so it is advisable to book your place with Wightlink if using this route.
Keith Whitten will be leading this ride. if you do not have his mobile number or that of anyone else you know will be attending this ride please ask for it via the message board.
Keith has done a recce and reports that there is a car park on University land about 5 minutes ride away from either of the Portsmouth terminals on the corner of Museum Road and the A3 that is open to the public at weekends for £2 all day. Alternatively there are other public car parks in the vicinity but they tend to be rather pricey, or you could park in some cheaper options in the northern parts of Portsmouth and cycle a bit further to the ferry.
We are intending to ride as a single group for the first half of the ride, with a few opportunities for those who would normally ride in a slower group to short-cut whilst the more enthusiastic riders do longer or steeper sections.
Depending on the time we make and weather conditions we could stop for lunch at either the Culver Haven with it’s magnificent views of Sandown bay or one of several pubs in Arreton.
Return ferries on the Portsmouth routes are half hourly on both routes through the late afternoon so we will not plan a definite return time as it will not be too long a wait for the next one, and thus our return time into Portsmouth will be sensible and reasonable depending on how long we take to do the return ride after the lunch stop.
Post Ride Pub: Pub lunch on the ride