With this group of riders, I was never going to spend much time on the front - and so it proved: thanks to everyone for taking the wind and especially to Dave who did most of the heavy lifting. The road through Easington and Clare was marked “Closed – no access to cyclists” so of course we pressed on and had a few kilometres of loose gravel with not a work operative in sight. We initially stopped at the Haddenham Garden Centre but, after a mild altercation with one of the staff about where we could leave our bikes, we were told we were 5 minutes too late for breakfast and 25 minutes too early for lunch. We left in a huff and after a little faffing by the leader managed to find Norsk Café which was heaving with trendy brunchers. Having secured the last available table, they fed us very well although they had run out of bacon sandwiches so Dave was forced to have bacon and bread instead. The rolling hills after lunch slowed progress a little but not by much. We stopped in Long Crendon for the obligatory photos of the Manor and finished off the ride with tea and flapjacks in my garden. And there was still time to catch the final 50km of the Tour. Kudos to those who rode from Wantage. Thanks all for a great ride.