It was a chilly Autumn morning, so everyone turned up fully kitted out, well, that is everyone apart from Dave, who was nursing a slight hangover and had been unable to find all his warm cycling gear including gloves. Nick S arrived in the nick of time, only to discover his front tyre was a little soft despite having pumped it up before leaving. He decided to go home and sort it out with the possibility of meeting us later. The ride started by going up Chain Hill with a slight headwind, so no better way to get the blood flowing, warm the extremities and shake off a hangover! Just as we were approaching Hungerford, we were met by Nick cycling towards us, with fully inflated tyres. Refreshments were taken at the Tutti Pole, which allowed Dave to thaw out. The temperature had picked up when we resumed the ride, and we made our way back to Wantage at a good pace. Despite all the recent heavy rain, we did not encounter too much standing water.