Three routes to tempt riders out this Sunday, thanks as always to route master Dave Bembridge for the short and medium routes. I’ve patched in the same final 10 miles on the longer route, making use of the forecasted southerly wind to blow us home!
We have two routes starting at 10am and one at 10.30am. As always please arrive ahead of the planned start time with a good idea of the route and enough repair items to be self sufficent out on the roads. We aim to leave no one behind but wrong turns and detached riders can happen.
10am medium long https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48794047 32 miles 1550 feet of climbing
10am medium https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48789861 29 miles, 1440 feet of climbing
10.30am back to the pub before 12 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48790330 22 miles 1193 feet of climbing
We have a kit order poll currently open. We have 9 items of promised orders and we need 10 items to justify opening the order. If you ride with us regularly and don’t currently have the “team” kit, now is the time to update your wadrobe.
Treasure hunts!!…… Two live cycle hunts active right now (watch out for the November “Elevation Game” coming soon).
Two weeks left before we draw a line under the ghost ride treasure hunt, we’ve had a number of successful ghost busters so far…. with halloween fast approaching, now is the time to give it a try! Please see previous posts and the facebook event for this mystery to find the clues and route etc.
As of yet, no one has solved the cheesy chip mystery! Here is the clues so you can give it a go!
Ivinghoe Velos Cheesy Chips Mystery
For this magical mystery tour you can make your own route up, ride on road or off-road and start from Pitstone, Berkhamsted, Chesham or Tring. You could even make a note of the clues needed and do the challenge over several rides.
Following complaints regarding enhanced cycling performance within the Ivinghoe Velos the UCI have banned post ride carb snack cheesy chips for all cyclist. To enforce this ban all copies of the recipe have been destroyed, or so the UCI thinks!
One remaining copy of this magical recipe is apparently hidden on a usual Ivinghoe Velos route. The task to find the recipe will be a tough one. We have enlisted the services of some of the world’s top cycling detectives, Hercule Pinot, Felt Maulder, Dawes Scully and Bikelock Holmes, .
Sadly none of the detectives have managed to locate the recipe! We need some local knowledge for this one…. It’s time to get on your bike and use the clues provided along with your best detective abilities, come up with the location of the hidden recipe. Can you bring cheesy chips back on the menu and enhance our performance for ever more?
The recipe is hidden in a secret location. Using clues you will be able to identify the location on the “what three words” app or website.
The clues will provide letters to fill in and the numbers of the clues correspond to the position of the letters in the puzzle- it’s a bit like hangman! You never know the cheesy recipe might be closer than you think!
To make life more tricky the clues list destinations but how you get there is down to your own planning skills- road routes, off-road, hilly or flatter, the choice is yours! Start at any clue you like, as long as you find all the letters you should be able to input your words into “what three words and find the location we are after!
The puzzle and clues should fit into two sides of one piece of paper, don’t forget your pencil to mark your letters onto the puzzle.
Good luck!!!
Letter position is dictated by the clue number……The recipe is located at…..
word 1
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 8 10 10 12 12 11 9
word 2
_ _ _ _
3 2 8 6
word 3
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
4 2 1 5 8 7 9
The clues!
1) From Pitstone roundabout turn up vicarage road and opposite the park seek out the big roller. Read about Castle cement works. In line 7 of the paragraph below the heading the second letter appears three times in total in the information provided (all in the same word repeated 3 times). This is the first letter you need, write it in the first space!
Pitstone museum opens periodically through the year and celebrates lots of local history including the castle cement works which dominated life in Pitstone
2)Time to appreciate the old church in Pitstone, ride up and leave your bike by the gate, after peering in the door, turn round and pay your respect to Mrs Runham, wife of Jno H Hawkins.. What is the first letter of her first name?
Pitstone church dates back to 1250, while it was declared redundant in 1973 it is still a well loved local landmark.
3) Head to Tring station, The railway line through Tring was built in 1838 because the station was so far from the town a dual purpose building was built just outside the station, one use was a post office to sort mail from the trains, what was the other use for the building (first letter please)
Robert Stevenson planned to run the railway much closer to Tring but local land owners objected, meaning modern Tring commuters have to suffer from a very remote station.
4) From Tring station we head into Berkhamsted and need to find the castle. Looking at the sign at the entrance, what is the first letter of the name of Robert of Mortain’s half brother?
Berkhamsted castle was originally a timber framed motte and bailey Norman castle, important in controlling the northern approach to London. It has a rich history of occupation by key historical figures such as Thomas Becket and the black prince.
5) Now circle round through Waitrose car park and look for the dark sign by the bench which tells us about the grand union canal. From the sign what type of Chilterns stream is the Bulbourne? (first letter)
Waitrose has been in Berkhamsted since 1969, originally four small shop units, it was rebuilt into a 7,000 square foot supermarket on the highstreet, it remained in this location, providing beer money for a certain A level student, until moving to the current location 31,000 square foot location in December 1996
6) By the torch beacon on Ley Hill Green (near the pubs) there is a big seat with a sign close by. Have a look at the sign to find out more about the local area.In a boxed off paragraph talking about a form of transport from the Swan pub what is the last letter of the paragraph?
Beacons were used across the country to warn local people of approaching enemies. In more recent times the fire beacons have been used in commemoration ceremonies like the anniversary of D day in June 2024 and Queen’s jubilee in 2022.
7) Near the bottom of white hill in Chesham there is a green with a gravestone in the middle, easy to miss if you are flying down the hill! Find out who was executed close by, he was tied to a stake with a fire lit underneath him because of his beliefs. To solve this puzzle look for the first letter of the single word on row four on the stone
Chesham was known for it’s three Bs, Baptists, boots and brushes, this may have been useful for a different clue!!!
In Chesham park, the place with the big pond take to the cycle path, it’s part of the national cycle network, which was 12,739 miles of signposted recommended cycle routes, look for the national cycle network mile marker, Two destinations share the same first letter, what is this letter?
Chesham was named in the Saxon period Caesteles-hamm which means “the water meadow by the stone heap”. It’s still as glamorous as this in modern times.
9) While in the Park have a look at the information board close to the park road exit, what is the first letter of the name given to the cute “historic” cottages in Church Street?
The lowndes family owned the land as part of their estate, after if was requisitioned by the arm for the second world war if was gifted to the council, the top part of the land is now used for a school, while the lower grounds are a well used public par
Now we are heading for Tring, you might want to rest and refuel from all this detective work at Chiltern Velo cafe in Hawridge,there are no clues here but they do great coffee and know a thing or two about cycling nutrition.
10) You may have chosen to blast down Hastoe Lane into the back of Tring (close to the dead animal museum), as you reach the T junction there are some timber framed houses named after a lady, What is the first letter of her name?
Among the grandest Almshouses in the country, it’s believed they were named after Walter Rothschild’s mother; she had these houses built for estate workers and Tring locals.
11) now to Tring memorial garden near to the Robin Hood pub roundabout. As you enter the garden you will see a big sign board all about the Royal British legion. A lady featured on the right has the same letter three times in her name, what is that letter?
The memorial gardens were created in 1950 to commemorate those who had fallen in the second world war, with fish pond, trees and beautifully planned beds it’s a perfect place for contemplation.
12) in Wilstone we are going to pay respects to those who gave their lives in the first world war. Once again you are looking for a letter that appears three times, this time it’s in Earnest’s surname.
In 1751 Wilstone was the scene of a horrific witch ducking. A crowd of 4,000 carried a couple to their certain death at the pond and a proprietor named Colley collected money from the crowd for the “enjoyment” the ducking had provided.
So thank you, you have completed the quest, have you found the location from the three words you have found? Hopefully the answer is yes and we can retire to the Rose And Crown for a drink and that banned post ride snack!