Just myself and one other rider for todays ride. We dialled things back to super-chill setting and began the day with a very nice start line coffee at Ue Roastery. I went a bit crazy and had a cortado, it was fantastic. Then off we went through a very quiet Cotswolds, enjoying some beautiful scenery until we arrived at Fire & Flow Roastery at Bagendon. Here we had another excellent artisan coffee and pastries. The menu was a bit boujee even for me, so we left that for another day. More empty back lanes then led us back via a busier Carterton, were we paused for an ice cream boost, before the final leg back to Witney. Early cloud cover and a nice breeze had kept us cool and contributed, along with many other factors, in making this a very enjoyable day.

What a great evening to go to the pub with friends. Not a bicycle in sight although two of us did complete my little route of almost 13km. It was my first time up the Lains Barn hill in almost 9 years.

The King Alfred had a limited selection of beer available after a busy weekend but we managed and didn’t go home thirsty. Most of us ordered food too and that went down well.

A great evening.

After all the amazing weather it was pretty overcast and blustery as we headed out of Wantage, although it was a pretty inauspicious start with 4 of the 6 riders having "issues"!! Ride leader late due to forgetting water bottle, one return home for gloves, one stop for "lost" GPS signal and one stop for clicking sound!

Eventually we made our way over the downs and some rolling hills to Hungerford with some amazing views and some lovely quiet lanes.

Eliane was good, nice coffee and food despite the "Hungerford prices" and upsetting the locals by having our bikes in the outside dining area!

Homeward bound was more of the up and down, but more of a tailwind and a good deal warmer with the sun out.

A great ride followed by a nice drink in the sunshine at the King Alfred's.

A pleasantly cooler morning with a fresh breeze. Eight club members were joined by a new rider Neil for flat ride around the vale at a relaxed pace - good ot see you Neil! We saw lots of club rides and several other groups descended on the coffee shop at Stanford in the Vale, fortunately separated from ours by a few minutes. After a chilled ride, four of us managed to penetrate Wantage Choir's cordon around the KAH to enjoy a drink in the tranquility of the beer garden.

Bright sunshine and gentle breezes made for the perfect day to take on this picturesque undulating route over the back roads of the downs. The riding and the company were great and the cafe a real hidden gem. Krumbz cafe is tucked away on the banks of the river Kennett a stones throw from Marlborough market square. It serves great food and coffee while the area is a little oasis of calm with flowers and wildlife. Everybody got very chilled sitting in the sunshine amongst all of this.
All in all, great day out. Thanks everyone who came along.

A little light on riders today (5) due to a number of club members with other commitments, however, it was nice to see Andy, who had ridden over from home. We had a brisk Westerly headwind out to Ashbury, but made reasonably good time to enjoy refreshments at the Baking Bees. The ride back to Wantage involved a number of well-known short hills and we were back in Wantage before 12:00. Louise and Andy made their respective ways home, while the remainder had a quick drink at the King Alfred’s Head. A very pleasant short and relatively speedy ride (15.8 mph).

The ride out was well assisted by a nice tail-wind. We reached the Waterperry Tea Rooms just after 12:00, having taken a slight detour over Sandford Lock. Refreshments were taken under the large gazebo. After a short break we were back on the road to face the head-wind home. Even though the black clouds looked very threatening at times we managed to avoid any heavy showers. A drink in the King Alfred’s Head was taken to allow Paul to recover from his cramp – well that was what he told us.

Another decent morning - nice to see Andy back after a long absence and to meet Carlo, who's done a couple of rides that I've missed. After the climb of Boars' Hill and the descent of Bayworth Hill we enjoyed a refreshment stop in Abingdon Market Square, causing some consternation to the R&R and Java Cafe staff by splitting our custom between them but then sitting together outside. By ensuring that we returned the correct crockery to each establishment hopefully they will get used to the "concept". Louis left the ride at Abingdon for other business and Andy left at Sutton Courtenay. Back at Wantage beers were enjoyed by the thirstier half of the riders.

Good ride to Goring and back whilst experiencing all weather conditions! Dark clouds gathered around us in the Market Square and by the time we got to the top of Court Hill and over the ridgeway there was wild gusty wind and a reasonable amount of rain. Things dried off with a bit of a tailwind across the hills to Goring and whilst sat in Viv's cafe (which was great!) it absolutely hammered it down. Time for a full english for two of the group, especially for Nick who'd suffered two punctures!

Venturing out after the pitstop there were rivers of water coming down the hill from Streatley. Then for the last hour the run came out, the wind dropped and the roads dried up.

Good conditions for riding today. The temperature was perfect and, although it was blowing a strong westerly, this didn't bother us too much.

The early bumps in the profile were soon dispatched and we went on to enjoy the bucolic lanes around Bucklebury and onward to Shaw House. The cafe there is quirky, set as it is in a 16th century manor house owned and run by Newbury council and free for you to wander around inside.

The food pickings looked a bit slim at first and it wasn't until after most of us had purchased from the selection of two or three mediocre cakes on display, that it was revealed under questioning that there was a secret fridge groaning under the weight of a thousand sandwiches (apparently they had not sold many for some reason). Those of us who had been at the back of the queue had the benefit of being able to choose from this range of butties that were amazingly value at £3.75. On balance I liked the place for its quirkiness, but some of the grumpier (hungrier?) members of group were not so impressed .

After lunch we took turns on the front to cope with the headwind and made good time back to Wantage. Two of us had a nice pint in the buzzing Alfred's Head garden and checked out the silver band playing in the market square.