More lovely sunshine. It would be great if this is the start of a long hot summer - but I fear it is just temporary respite from the bad weather. A good turn out, but who wouldn't want to come out to play when it is so lovely outside? Welcome to Paula and Jerry - so 14 of us in all.

We started with a warm up through the Letcombes and then a climb up Hackpen hill. The wind was against us all the down into Lambourn but it was still a lovely ride with views across the downs. Then along the valley road and much appreciation for the new tarmac around Eastbury, a brief break from calling out all the holes in the road.

We split into two groups at Great Shefford and Terry led the first at a faster pace. On to Boxford and then a left turn to meander up to Brightwalton and then down to Saddlebacks.

Lovely to sit out in the sunshine and enjoy a coffee and sausage sarnie. The final quick blast back to Wantage through Farnborough and then down Chain Hill.

Sunshine, yeah. Only two Corallians out tonight, but three guests. Welcome to Paula and Jerry Broad and Phil Ingles. We decided not to do the warm up lap though town and instead spend the saved time having a pint. Lovely warm weather made chainhill seem almost pleasant and the roll down to the A338 a dream. A tail wind helped us back to Wantage and a nice chat at the pub. Thanks all

It really does bode well for our club when we can turn out a quarter of our members for an away ride when the weather forecast is poor!

Eleven of us left Hungerford right on the bells of the Town Hall at 9 o'clock. We made good time up the Ax Valley, with a few spots of rain that went away as quickly as they came. Jenny was rather relieved that we skirted Stitchcombe Hill and took the back route into Marlborough. Here we decided to stop and have a coffee to avoid arriving at lunch too early. Lyn took a tumble and I did my best to straighten his front wheel at the Food Gallery - clearly it worked as he managed the rest of the ride!

Coffee inside, we cracked on and enjoyed the plummet down to Alton Barnes, and then weaved our way to Caen Hill where we stopped to view the flight of locks, and also killed ten minutes...

Arriving at the Raven in Poulshot a little early, we were nonetheless ushered in and fed and watered in a very convivial manner, including a history lesson about Devizes Jail from the lovely lady who served our lovely food (a 1937 picture sparked the enquiry, and no, she was neither old enough to remember the picture, nor had a spell at Her Majesty's Pleasure )

After lunch it was a different ride, headwind and some rain. Head down, good disciplined riding, and we covered the ground to Pewsey very nicely. Team decision to push on, so we did that, right to the point where Jordan and Barry both punctured. We split the group - 5 carried on, and 6 repaired rubber. A slight diversion to the original route to save the poor lanes of North Standen, both groups arrived in Hungerford within 10 minutes, despite the faff of changing tubes in the pouring rain.

Very enjoyable ride, despite (or in spite of) the weather - a very supportive group!

Route changed due to mist on the hills, so a flat ride in the vale was undertaken. Very eerie weather as misty darkness descended apon us, good ride and good company.

Six Corallian riders completed the Harlequin Hack in damp conditions today. Nick pre-rode it on Friday in windy conditions! Unfortunately Louis had a fall before Cogges so had to abandon. No serious injuries I'm happy to report. Me and Chris completed the ride as a route check the week before.

In total 116 riders set out in the morning and 112 completed the route (one other had mechanical issues and two others abandoned to help). Which is a massive new record for this audax.

Huge thanks to Nick D, June, Tracey, Jasmine, Des, Hugo, Nick S, Chris and Louis for their help at HQ and at the controls. A massive thanks to Kath Boyce at Flexicare for the catering, it looks like we will have raised over £500 for the charity

We had lots of happy riders despite the iffy conditions and have already received several emails...

"Massive thanks to all involved with the harlequin hack today it was my first audax and I loved it even though there was far too much rain and mud lol"

"Thanks for organising today John. Excellent route and excellent spread on return!"

"Just a note to say a big thank you for today's event. It was a lovely route and very well organised."

"Thanks for organising this event, all fantastic! Thoroughly enjoyed the ride albeit a bit damp towards the end!"

"Today was my first Harlequin Hack. A big thank you to you and the rest of the team for such a well organised event. The post-ride refreshments were fantastic. I'll definitely be keeping my diary free for next year's ride."

The hall is already booked for 14th April 2019

After the day's heavy rain showers it was nice to have a dry and sunny evening!!

Obviously there was some standing water in a few places but nothing too bad, and the majority of the roads were actually dry. No dramas other than Jon not being able to get into the big ring so he was getting some high cadence training.

Riders peeled off to their respective homes on the way back to Wantage and I got back to the Market Place bang on sunset

Good to see seven riders out today on a cool sunny morning... well, it stayed sunny for at least half of the ride.

Little to report until Ashbury, when the group left the leader behind, and the Chairman decided to take his own route, and Barry lost his saddlebag. The group finally reassembled, and we set off again in a much more orderly fashion, after a stern reprimand from the Ride Leader about group riding skills .

It seemed as though there was a perpetual headwind for the whole ride (or maybe it was just my legs grumbling), but after the brief climb at Challow, we were all ready for delightful coffees at marmalade, in the Market Place.

The forecast said it would brighten up after it stopped raining. Which it did. Eventually. The air was particularly clear later on, so the views from the Col de Circourt Bridge were most vivid.

Maybe a few more out next week?

Finally a Sunday when it wasn't snowy and cold. It was a pleasure to get out and do some riding without having to worry about ice or cross winds.

There were no punctures or technical issues, which given the amount of pot holes we had to dodge was good going.

Welcome to Jordan on his first ride with the group.

This was a no incident flat ride to Bampton for a pleasant cup of coffee and snack and an easy route back.

Thank you to all who attended, enjoyable morning well spent in good company.

A nippy ride to start with. Traffic was manic in Wantage, and pretty busy all the way through Abingdon, so I varied the route to focus on the quieter roads.

No dramas, good pace, good banter. Jon turned off at Gainfield to head back home, and the other JB and I nattered all the way back to Wantage.

Next week, on to 6:30 starts and rides in daylight... wonder if we'll have to cancel a summer ride due to snow, if The Beast From The East 3 puts in an appearance?