Monday 1 May. Isle of Wight Weekend
Overnight there was a spell of heavy rain which gradually cleared by breakfast. The rest of the day was bright and sunny.

We headed back home from our base at the Hillside Hotel, Ventnor taking lanes fairly directly north to stop for elevenses at the Amazon World Garden Centre Cafe near Newchurch.

We took more lanes to a steep climb to the top of Arreton Down the East West Ridge going along the centre of the Island with some great views. Then a good long descent to the North Coast and a stop for lunch at Wootton Common.

We caught the 1.00 pm ferry to Portsmouth and had some great views of the Spinnaker Tower in the sunshine as we came in to dock. Then on the cycle route out of the City to Cosham and across to Havant and then Emsworth for tea. For the second time in 2 weeks some of the faster members engaged in a sprint for the Tea Rooms with aim of getting an order in first for the last few slices of Caramelized Apple Pie with Ice Cream!!(I clocked 28.1 mph at one stage!)

I gained another puncture on the ride into Chichester soon sorted with assistance from Phil and Sam making a total of 2 punctures in the weekend for the group, both mine!

Edwin