Leaving Wantage in the car and heading over the Downs through driving rain to the start point I was anticipating a bit of an miserable day. But, lo and behold, by the time I parked in Hungerford the sun was actually shining! Against all our expectations we felt not a drop of rain all day, although the strong westerly wind never let up.

We made our way west, mostly on sheltered back lanes through spectacular autumn colours. Pausing briefly at Little Bedwyn to admire the quirky triple bridge that crosses the canal, railway and river there, the group expressed their delight with this hidden spot and the lovely view of the lock that it afforded as we portaged our bikes over the footbridge. Criss-crossing the Kennet & Avon canal we were entertained by splashing through some impressive puddles and overcoming the headwind. Honeystreet cafe was doing good trade but we managed to snag a prime table and top notch breakfasts. Now, slightly over refuelled, we benefited from the strong tailwind and beat back to Hungerford almost effortlessly.

In conclusion - an unexpectedly nice day out.

The most promising weather forecast I could find for the morning was Apple Weather predicting < 1mm of rain - I won't make that mistake again! Drizzle at the start became heavier after we picked up Simon at Childrey and by the time we reached Ashbury everyone was wet through and a coffee stop there was agreed. The decision after that stop was more difficult but the rain had eased a bit so we decided to stick with the original plan. We were rewarded after Fox Hill with some heavy rain and surface water everywhere. Fortunately the undulations allowed as to stay warm and the traffic was light. At Lambourn Richard and Simon decided to continue on home in order to stay warm, but Louis and I stopped and enjoyed the best ever fried eggs on toast while dripping on the furniture. The shortest route back to Wantage was taken. Five minutes after our return the rain stopped and the sun emerged!

Many thanks to the three of you for making the effort and remaining cheerful!

Grey and drizzly - not a very promising morning for a ride, particularly for a ride leader's first outdoor ride for over 5 weeks - still, good to see Richard, Libby and Pete. Unsure of my fitness and how the weather would progress, we agreed to play the ride "by ear" amending the route as we went along.

In Bampton we held a conflab - I didn't think my fitness was up to the full 70 km distance - and we decided to cut out the loop from Faringdon through Highworth and back to Longcot. After possibly the slowest ascent in history of Faringdon Hill (thanks for waiting guys) we entered a Faringdon preparing for its Remembrance Ceremony. After a surprisingly good coffee & cake experience chez Costa we listened to the Last Post (bugle or trumpet?) in the market square and joined in the two minute silence at 11 o'clock.

Resuming the ride the sky seemed to brighten but 5 minutes later the rain became a little heavier, which seemed to back up our route shortening decision. We were back in Wantage by noon. I don't know about the others but I headed straight home for a wallow in a hot bath tub.

My thanks to the riders for a very pleasant, sociable ride at a pace I could manage, and particularly Pete for volunteering to act as standby ride leader in the event of my non-appearance.

Windy:
- hard headwind
- angry cross-wind
- speedy tailwind
In that order:
- to the Ridgeway above Ashbury via Hackpen and Lambourn
- on the run to Bloomfields in Shrivenham for coffee
- back to Wantage via Gainfield
But sunny

A loop out to Cotswold water park in dry and often sunny weather, but with a brutal westerly wind which made the out leg fairly tough. A few of the roads were totally flooded, but never deep enough to get the feet wet.

On the other hand, once we turned east, progress toward the lunch stop at Magic Beans café was swift. Here the toasted sandwiches took a little while to appear, and when they did, mine was served in a trendy 'deconstructed style' on the floor.

After lunch a good tailwind got us back to Wantage in good time to miss the afternoon showers. Thanks to everyone for coming out.

Despite some very threatening skies, four jammy cyclists enjoyed a dry ride today. In the Halloween spirit, Chain Hill was littered with gruesome deer body parts but we managed to hold onto our breakfasts during the climb. Then, easing through a few road closures for drainage works, we progressed smoothly to the always welcoming Hampstead Norreys community shop/cafe for coffee and chat. After that we rolled home in a cocoon of dry weather while enjoying the drama in the skies all around us. It was only five minutes after the finish as we settled in at Alfie's that the heavens opened in style. Result!

A ride of many parts!

Start with 9 in bright sunshine in Wantage. Tight riding as a group through to Wallingford. Became overcast and a bit spread out as we got into the Chilterns. Intense rain as we climbed up to Nuffield and then took shelter in our planned stop at Maker Space.
The rain was still heavy when we left our pit stop and we were appropriately cautious as we descended down to Hailey.

The rain eased off once we were on the level and the pace increased.
Two riders decided they wanted a gentle natter and suggested that they go at their own pace.
Three riders parted company at various points in the drying conditions since the route went close to their homes.
One rider just disappeared off the front!

Three of us rode into Wantage in gorgeous sunshine.

Six turned up at the Market Place and we were all pleasantly surprised as the sun was shining. It was nice to welcome Peter (Brodie) back again after several months. Just outside Childrey we were joined by Simon. We worked our way over to Lechlade, encountering several “closed” roads and one bridge, but all were passable with bikes. After some consultation with the group, it was decided to take refreshments at the Lynwood & Co Café rather than the Lechlade Garden centre, while it was busy, we managed to find seating, if not all together. For some of the trip back to Wantage we had a tail-wind and we made good time, Nick dropped left us at Grove. Several of the group enjoyed a drink at the King Alfreds Head. A nice Tuesday ride at a reasonable pace.

A lovely day for a gentle ride to a delightful cafe stop.

Seven club members were joined by a new rider, David Basely. Welcome David!

Our route through the sodden Vale included a few road width puddles only as well as some flooded fields from the recent intense rains. We made good progress in close formation through to Uffington and then spread out on Fawler Hill before regrouping at the top.

The Cantorist was busy, but we found a table where the eight of us could sit together and service was pretty quick. After chatting for a while we set off on our indirect route back to Wantage, which included Lains Barn. We shed a few riders before reaching the Market Place, where half the riders went to Alfies.

An easy ride out to Abingdon for a coffee in the market square. It was quite windy on the way out but by the time we arrived the sun was quite warm so we sat outside and enjoyed a snack with our coffee.

Fortunately we had a tailwind on the way back so we were able to maintain a decent speed and all keep together. The sunshine allowed us to sit outside at the pub when we returned to Wantage.