For a slightly chilly December ride a good turnout of 7 riders congregated in The Market Place and we picked up Simon in Childrey on our way through. We made it in good time to Farringdon and stopped off at the Farringdon Coffee House, we managed to all squeeze onto one table! After suitable refreshments we headed back to Wantage, the sun appeared, and the temperature had increased a few degrees. Louise peeled off to Stanford-in-the-Vale the remainder went onto in to Wantage. An enjoyable ride and for the ride leader after a 5 week layoff with an injury, a relief to be out on the bike.

Great to see Richard make a return to road riding after his wrist fracture. He peeled off at Wallingford leaving the rest of the route to the two of us.
We stopped in Goring at the Village Cafe before the lumpy route to Pangbourne. (Preferable to crossing the river and climbing Streatley Hill.)
We made steady progress and were back in Wantage shortly after 1pm.

After the storm ... came a beautiful day. Five at the Market Square were joined later by Louise who had once again struggled to get out of Stanford. A hastily re-arranged route kept well clear of the flooded lanes of the vale but this necessitated a fair few hills - the climb of White Horse Hill was gratuitous but was worth it for the wide-ranging views. After a refreshment stop at Lambourn we took on Hackpen hill, the last of the climbs. Half of us enjoyed a post-ride drink at the KAH. Thank you all for a lovely ride!

After a cloudy and dull start it turned out to be one of those crisp but sunny autumn days just made for cycling. Hampshire was resplendent in golden colours and the route is a belter. The Yard at Chilton Candover provided a welcome early coffee stop and is a great place, very popular with many other cyclists coming and going. A great ride through some stunning scenery at its best at this time of year.

Due to the number of riders, we deliberately split into two groups as we left the marketplace and made our way out of town. Then, along the way, we reformed and split up again several times as the conditions dictated. Seemed to work pretty well on the whole I thought.

Given the group size we decided to give the small cafes in Lechlade a miss and ride on to the larger Blakes at Coleshill. This might have backfired given that even at Blakes most of the inside tables were occupied. Fortunately the sun burst through the clouds just as we arrived and made it very pleasant to sit in the courtyard. Many cinnamon buns and a few other cakes were consumed.

Five of us enjoyed a pint and more patter in the the Fred's Head after the ride.

A beautiful day.

Still mild, still dry but also still cloudy although the cloud seemed to be breaking up by the time we reached Lambourn on our return. Nice, sociable ride, particularly pleasant through the quiet lanes between Marsh Benham and Membury - the beech trees were at their autumnal best. Our timing at Hungerford, arriving just before 2 minute silence at 1100 was ideal and everyone was happy with the Tutti Pole snack options. Good collective effort on one of our hillier rides.

An experimental route:
- Do we split into small groups to allow cars to pass? Yes!
- Do we use cycle paths when available? Most of us much of the time.
- Do we sit far enough away from the log fire in the Snug and not get roasted? Mostly.
- Does the route planner take us on paths suitable for bicycles? No - fortunately there were no pedestrians and the surface was dry.
- Can we navigate the cycle paths in Didcot successfully? 8 out of 9.
- Can we all arrive back together in Wantage? No, 7 out of 10.
- Did we miss the kitchen at The Snug? No - fabulous cake selection.

And as a bonus, Richard was in The Snug showing us the shiny blue cast for his fractured wrist.