At the start point in Lydiard Park Swindon there was a bit of discontent in the ranks due to the lack of coffee since the cafe there does not open until 09:30. My enjoyment of the travel mug of delicious hot coffee and the Jaffa Cakes I had bought with me didn't seem to help matters. Also, although the sun was shining, it was still a nippy 7degC plus windchill. Fortunately, for the first 25km this was a tailwind so we made good progress to begin with and the lack of caffeine was temporarily forgotten. On this leg we got mixed in with lots of other cyclists out riding the White Horse Challenge sportive. Pam seemed to know most of these and she chatted with several of them along the way. We contemplated nipping into their feed station but decided against it.

Turning into the wind towards Calne we started to put in a bit of effort so we decided, almost unanimously, to make an early coffee stop in the town. Now, doped up on double expressos courtesy of Louis, we continued on north through some delightful scenery in the valleys of the river Marden and of the river Avon. Climbing out of the valley up to RAF Lyneham afforded us some stunning distant views towards Chippenham.

At Lyneham we visited the cafe tucked around the back of the REME (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers) museum. We sat outside in the sunshine next to a static helicopter but it was still naturally windy enough to play havoc with the flaky pastry on Louis' sausage roll. I was wearing half of it by the time he finished. After the cafe we got the full effect of the chilly headwind but fortunately it was only 15km to the finish.

The route was a big hit and the banter was free flowing. All round a great day out.