As we look forward to riding one of the Willesden CC’s biggest events of the year, namely Liam’s Tour de Ricky in June, what better way of preparing than riding the Isle of Wight Randonnée on the May bank Holiday.
The randonnée used to be a regular annual expedition for the Willesden CC, personally I have ridden this event over a dozen times and have always enjoyed it…. and not because it is totally free to enter!
The Randonnée is not a race, you can start whenever you what and finish whenever you want. The ride goes all the way around the island and is fully signposted. You can also start from any point on the round-the-island route. It’s an absolute gem of an event and is suitable for all types of riders.
For various reasons the club has not ridden this event for a number of years, but Marianne Harding has stepped forward to get all our wheels rolling for this year’s event. So over to Marianne to explain more about what she is proposing….
Miles Back
Happy New Year everyone,
I am going to ride the Isles of Wight Randonnée this year and wondered if anyone else from the Willesden or Minet Ladies would be interested and would like to join in the adventure?
The Isle of Wight Randonnée 2024, will be on the May Bank Holiday, Sunday 5th May.
It would be great if we could make this a social weekend, but we would need to book hotel and restaurant as soon as possible as hotel price goes up the nearer the date and will book up quickly.
Registration for the Randonnée opens in February sometimes and here is a link giving details.
https://www.cycleisland.co.uk/10-template/50-on-the-day
As some hotels can only accommodate a couple of bikes, or outside rack to lock bike up. I am enquiring about bike storage at some hotels and awaiting replies, Travelodge in Ryde. They offer double, twin and family rooms, sharing would cut costs. I enquired about keeping bikes in the bedrooms which they were happy with, even said if we let them know, we could request a ground floor room. They also have a lift. The downer with Travelodge is, they only do a cold packed breakfast.
It would be wise to book an evening meal for the Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th as it could be hard to find somewhere on the day, especially if you are tired from the ride.
I will be sailing early-ish from Lymington to Yarmouth on the 2nd or 3rd May, and cycle to Ryde, but taking in the Needles and maybe another attraction, 😷like the National Poo Museum in Sandown on the way🤭.
If you are not keen on riding far to the hotel one can sail to Ryde directly from Portsmouth, I think, which is a very short cycle ride to the accommodation.
For those who may want to join in the social, but not want to ride the Randonnée, but ride your own distance, there is a steam train. Or a small public transport train ‘Island Line’ that goes from Ryde to Shanklin that could take you to other parts of the northeast of the island to walk/ride a coastal path or something.
Would anybody be interested in a Willesden/ Minet Weekend Adventure?
Marianne Harding
Marianne can be contacted on willesdencyclingclub@yahoo.co.uk
