There were quite a few cracks of thunder in the hour before the ride was due to set off. Combined with a power outage in Wantage this was clearly discouraging. Just one rider joined the leader, so I didn't have to make the difficult solo ride decision.

The question in our minds as we set off was, were the no-shows right to give this one a miss?

There was still quite a lot of moisture in the air as we set off and rode past the stables towards the Hendreds. There were a couple of puddles going through Drayton and relatively little traffic. As we left Abingdon and turned into Barrow Road it became clear that there had been an intense storm in the Vale. The road was flooded!

We just rode through the first flood, which submerged our bottom brackets. The second flood wasn't much better. Our bikes were making some very odd grinding noises by then.

We just pressed on with our ride, passing some fallen branches and the occasional puddle, as the rain moistened us more. We got back to the Market Place ahead of schedule and each of us decided to forego a congratulatory drink in the pub for a cleansing shower in our respective homes.