Louise joined us at the top of Sincombe Hill, having had to take the long way round to reach Wantage following yesterday's floods - so the slightly longer/slower route we took through Letcombe proved it's worth!

The ride was incident-free. We were expecting a lot of surface water on the roads but didn't find much, apart from the usual part-road-width puddles in the Lambourn Valley - and even enjoyed a a few fleeting glimpses of sun. Louise's local knowledge of Newbury led us to the King's Cafe near the clocktower which provided tasty teacakes for the three of us (other savoury and sweet options were available). After the coffees we did a quick recce of the town centre, locating the originally envisaged cafe next to the canal (The Old Tea Rooms) and headed back through Donnington, Chieveley and Lilley. Overall a very satisfying ride.