Weekly Round-up: 18 Oct 2026
All the latest news, events, and results for NFCC Members from the previous week of two-wheeled adventures…
Gravel’n’GroggGravel n Grog is now entering into its third Autumn. As with most previous Autumn’s, day tends to make way for night a little earlier in the evening. This might appear to be stating the obvious but Gravel n Groggers are an unusually optimistic group for whom charging batteries or packing lights are apparently considered optional. In the past two weeks this has caused one non starter, one backtracker and this week Matt K had to ‘shoulder surf’ for most of the ride to catch a teammate’s light . Needless to say this did not affect Matt’s usual riding style one iota. |
| It was another unseasonably warm evening and 5 made the start line at Lyndhurst with a couple of no shows and we then picked up a couple more in Brock. As usual, this week’s GnG was billed as a chilled out, no-drop ride but perhaps inspired the the Gravel world championships on Wednesday night ended up being a fairly gruelling affair which included the Sisyphusian climb up to the Canadian war memorial. The descent however is always fun even though someone always overcooks the right turn at the bottom of the hill. As usual, Grog was taken at the Nonde’s club in Lyndhurst where we received a reasonably warm welcome considering that the previous week one of our members was apparently caught ‘bread handed’ making off with a salmon roll. |
Saturday Club RideThis week’s little leg-stretcher was a modest 115 km jaunt to the north, because according to the ride leader the best way to mark the rapid disappearance of daylight is to ride away from the Forest and look for hills. With the evenings drawing in and long rides soon to become the preserve of people with lights, thermals and families that encourage them to be away for hours, we seized the chance to make poor decisions in like minded company. Early morale took a predictable wobble when Smithy spotted Dean Hill, Pipers Wait and a sharp little effort at Kings Somborne on the route. For those unfamiliar with Smithy, you may assume the name comes from a proud line of horseshoe-makers. It doesn’t. It stands for SMITH: Saturday Mornings Involve Torturous Hills. Naturally, he announced he would be avoiding Bolderwood and meeting us at Milkham, which was less a surprise and more a brand-consistent decision based on a long history of hill avoidance. |
 We also welcomed Howard to his first group ride. Howard had met some of the club riders at a recent Cyclo Cross event and, against all logical evidence, decided he wanted more of this sort of thing. Eighteen riders rolled up at the start, which came as a shock to the ride leader, mainly because only ten had bothered registering by Friday morning. Just as he was wondering whether he needed a bigger barrel, Ben G raised the sartorial stakes by pairing an orange jersey with a club gilet. Joe then arrived, and said “hold my pint”, and unveiled an outfit best described as garden gnome chic. Fashion, like dignity, had left the building. |
 The ride began in temperatures so low that brass monkeys were frantically searching Flightbooker for emergency flights to the Canaries. By coffee time, however, conditions had become almost civilised, causing these same primates to cancel their bookings and the riders to begin shedding gilets like over-dressed reptiles. Most had wisely excavated their winter tights from the back of the wardrobe. Paul, the club bean counter and now identifies as a hard man of Cyclo Cross, declined such softness and instead displayed the gnarled legs of someone built to spend Sundays riding round muddy fields in circles and suffering like a dog with other muddied oafs. |
 Barely 8Km in, the hapless ride leader managed to make his left pedal disintegrate. He attempted to pass this off as evidence of enormous power transfer, but the peloton unanimously rejected this fiction and suggested the pedals were simply as old and creaky as their owner. After limping home, fitting a replacement, he set off to meet the group at coffee. His reward was two hours riding solo into a north-easterly wind while everyone else enjoyed some tidy through-and-off like a functioning cycling club. Naturally, through brilliant planning rather than blind luck (that might be the wrong way round), he arrived at the Broughton coffee stop at exactly the same time as Group Two. |
 Group One, meanwhile, enjoyed their own roadside entertainment when Ben became embroiled in an altercation with a cygnet. As there is every chance the bird is technically owned by the King, we wish Ben well with the legal process and look forward to seeing him again once the matter has been cleared up by the relevant palace department. He could engage Matt K for legal help but that might get him a length spell in The Tower. |
 The return leg was, mercifully, easier. This was not because the hills had gone away, but because a welcome tailwind gave everyone the illusion of form. Phil H dropped from Group One for a quick tyre top-up, joined Group Two over Pipers Wait, and then peeled off like a man who had seen enough. Group Two got slightly overexcited across Ocknells Plain, where the pace briefly suggested ambition and riders kidded themselves that they were cycling gods as the tailwind took effect. Thanks go to Phil J and Phill B, whose unselfish teamwork helped keep the peloton together and prevented riders from being quietly posted missing. |
 On the run back to Brock, attention turned to the prestigious two-man sprint for the 30 MPH sign between Phill B and Matt M. The result was never seriously in doubt, although Matt did secure a famous victory in the over-60s category, a classification introduced approximately three seconds after the finish. |
 Second Coffee Club then convened at The Brock Tearoom, where the usual suspects discussed the usual rubbish with the sort of confidence only cyclists in cake-stained kit can muster. BPG and Phill B rounded the ride up to a century, but frankly that no longer qualifies as news. It is simply what happens now, like punctures, questionable clothing choices and someone pretending a hill was “not too bad”. Thanks all for another quality ride: good miles, decent weather by British standards, some excellent teamwork and just enough nonsense to justify writing it all down.– Barry. |
Sunday Club RideOn a cold and somewhat blustery Sunday morning, 23 members made the start line for a return trip to the barren wastelands of the North. Group one was well packed with ten strong riders, group two with eight and group three originally a lttle light with just four. It did afford the opportunity for Andrew D to take pity on usand himself and join group 3 to help boost the slower groups numbers to five. The ‘drift’ was on at Rhinefield this week. A fact that had escaped your ride leader, although to be fair to myself you need to be a member of some secret organisation to get any reliable information on exactly where and when these drifts occur. We did manage to get through before they started but not without a few hostile stares and inexplicable shakes of the head (most were friendly). |
| Groups one and two seem to have made a lively start depite the often brutal headwind out and there were certainly a number of efforts made on the Col de Bolderwood with James A taking the days KOM on the ramp. Not bad considering the high number of cyclists that we came acroos on the day. Reaching the airfield, group three came across George S who had reconsidered his group allegiances and bade farewell to Clive P who was still shaking off a cold. It was at times a slog into a 100% northerly. All the groups quite rightly ignored my mapping error and went straight on to Furzley where group three were held up by my increasingly unreliable rear tyre. Re-pumped we headed for the dreaded Pipers Wait. |
| Some of group one had clearly been keeping the powder dry and beasted it up in style. Dan ‘The Sultan’ Soutan taking this weeks honours. Honourable mentions need to be made to new ‘boy’ Roger B, second fastest in good company. Roger looks like the latest competitor in the ‘good for age’ category. Neither Dan nor Roger came close however to Mr P Brown esquires efforts the previous day which now sits in silver medal place on the KOM leader board. |
| The joy of getting Pipers wait done was lost a little by group three now being delayed by at least 30 minutes as it’s leader, who is no stranger to punctures used up all three of my dynaplugs on different holes and to no avail. Unsurprising, as on closer inspection at home it turned out that I had 5 punctures.. Resigned to using the TPU tube that I have been carrying around for nearly two years I inflated it to find that it blew up like a comedy balloon. Andrew D’s spare tube was too short so last chance saloon was Rory W’s spare. Luckily this worked and we got moving again. The return leg was worth waiting for as we benefited from a well earned tailwind all the way back to Brock. |
 Groups one and two were held up now by the ‘drift’ until one of the the potty mouthed participants gave permission for them to proceed. Group three were unsurprisingly waved through as the show was over by that time. All the groups arrived at the cafe at different times with group 3 arriving just as everyone else headed home. Fun ride as always and good to meet new riders David P and Brigid L– Phil H. |
Get Involved:If you find yourself out and about representing NFCC, don’t forget to jot down a few words, snap a few photos and send them over to press@newforestcc.co.uk. |
