Ride report

On Saturday there was a choice of 28 and 50-mile rides, both starting at 10am from Lymington and heading out eastwards towards Beaulieu before turning westwards to Brockenhurst and looping northwestwards through the New Forest and back to Lymington. The 28-mile ride was led by Steve Swanton at a leisurely ride at a pace of about 11mph, with plenty of stops to admire the scenery and points of interest along the way, with coffee in Beaulieu village and lunch in Brockenhurst. The 50-mile ride (led by Richard Morris, Oxford City) suited those used to spending a longer day in the saddle. On Sunday, there was the opportunity to ride the famous Gridiron 100km Audax run by CTC Bournemouth, or a shorter day ride of 35 miles led by Richard. The Gridiron, so-called because of the number of cattle grids en route, starts from Boldre about 3 miles north of Lymington. The shorter Sunday ride included more of the New Forest tracks, leaving Lymington northwest, through Sway to Burley for coffee (16m), then east to Brockenhurst for lunch (25m), before returning to Lymington at 3.00pm.