August EOM Ride Out

A joyous Summers days ride with Adam Shand with a rare treat to explore the Garden of England!

RIDE DETAILS

Sunday August 31st – meeting at 09:00 for a 09:20 briefing and 09:30 start.  Return anticipated around 15:30-16:00

Meeting Point Location:  Cafe Anatolia, 2 Brookfield Road, Ashford, TN23 4ES

Closest Petrol Station:  Shell, next to Cafe

Pre-ride coffee/tea:  At start location (open from 09:00)

Lunch stop: The Airport Cafe

Ride Description
A ride through The Kent countryside from Ashford, flirting with the East Sussex border as we arrive at the coast for our first stop. We then take some more challenging and twisty roads through the Romney Marshes, passing through farmland linked by old, beautiful Hamlets, heading towards one of my favourite lunch stops at The Airport Cafe. We then take some varied roads, exploring parts of the Kent downs before arriving at the coast once again at our main stop, The Battle Of Britain Memorial. This is a truly humbling location that offers a spectacular view of the English channel and an alternative perspective. They also have expert guides on site to talk to, a nice cafe and gift shop. This is where the route can end, allowing people to spend as long or little time here as they like, it’s also odirectly linked to the M20 or A2 for easy access to motorways. For those wanting a bit more, I have a shorter route back towards Ashford that takes in some more of the Kent downs as well of a few more of my favoourite roads, offerng an exciting ride for anyone looking to make the most of the days ride.
Total distance – 130 miles; with a number of shorter and longer stops planned (see above)

End of Ride:  Tescos, Kingsnorth, Ashford (TN23 3LU)

** New and Recent members – remember please you will need to have had your Initial Assessment Ride with an Instructor to attend this and any other club riding activities

** All members please carry your membership card on this and all club activities

REGISTRATION

There are no restrictions on how many can join the ride, but we ask that you please register by emailing the ride leader.  See details below.

Back-Marker System
One of the riders will need to Back-Mark so any volunteer for this please advise the ride leader when you register for the ride.  If you have an orange Hi-Viz please bring it with you, or one may be provided on the day, or dependant on the size of the group an alternative marker may be agreed.

Please make sure you are fully conversant with the rules of the “BACK-MARKER SYSTEM“.  Following these correctly is vital to the smooth running of the day and reduces the risk of losing someone or everyone. Details of the BM system are on our Southernriders.org  website.   If you’re unsure on the day, ask one of the attending Ride Leader. They will be more than happy to clarify any issues you have.

Hi-Viz
If you wear hi-viz, please ensure it is not Orange as this is reserved for the ‘back-marker’ during our ride-outs.  We appreciate you may normally wear an orange hi-viz whilst riding. However, some find it confusing when in the middle of the group to see two or more riders with the orange hi-viz.  So, in an effort to avoid confusion and markers leaving their post prematurely ONLY the back-marker is to wear orange hi-viz.   Thank you