Once again great conditions for a ride, sunny spells and it was soon warm enough to take off the arm warmers and windproofs.

The roads were quiet but the surfaces were well pot-holed in the traditional Oxfordshire fashion. But it was a small price to pay for a beautiful ride through a fine collection of stone-built towns and villages, from lighter grey stone in the South to the yellow ochre stone in the North (Ironstone John?).

We forewent the café stop at Farthinghoe on this occasion and consequently arrived at the National Herb Centre at Warmington at 1130 to discover that breakfast orders finished at 1100 and lunch orders started at 1200 (To note for the future!). However they were happy to rustle up breakfast baps which met our immediate refuelling needs. And it was pleasantly warm outside at the back.

The route after lunch followed the Edgehill escarpment then a ridgeline Southwards offering fine views of North Oxfordshire. The roads then became undulating and the legs started to tire , but the predicted showers didn’t materialise and the sealant in Steve’s tubeless tyre effectively sealed the only puncture of the day. We arrived back at the car park bang on 1430.

There was some discussion over county boundaries. I can now reveal that:
Upper Aynho – Chacombe = Northants
Chacombe – just before Warmington = Oxon
Warmington – Edgehill = Warwicks

Thanks to everyone for a very friendly, sociable ride – easy to lead. Well done Louis for once again ECEing* the route by an additional 76 km (* technical Audax term!).