Not a promising start – gloomy weather with a hint of drizzle and the café at Snelsmore Common was shut and the toilets locked. This was rectified by 1000 but a bit too late for me who had battled the stiff Southerly wind from Wantage. I was glad to see four other Corallians turn up.

Five minutes into the ride we had the day’s main excitement when a bus driver took exception (wrongly!) to our roadcraft and executed a punishment pass, passing within a foot of my front wheel. Chris took off after him at speed, finally caught up with him at a bus top and attempted to remonstrate with him. Needless to say the driver refused to acknowledge his mistake and dangerous reaction (Immediately after the ride Chris wrote to the bus operator).

We then had a serenely peaceful ride up through Cold Ash, Upper Bucklebury and into Chapel Row where Chris suggested an early coffee stop at the Blackbird Café. I’d not noticed this café before (next to the Bladebone Inn) – it’s small but had one table (of two) free inside for a leisurely stop. This set the tone for what became a relaxed and very sociable ride. We diverted off the route onto the gravel at Greenham Common and inspected the last remaining piece of the 3 mile long runway and headed over to the Control Tower Café for lunch and a quick tour of the Control Tower Museum. Despite a very polite reprimand from one of the staff (bikes should not to be leant up against the war memorial fence!) it proved an amenable refreshment stop, although Pete again missed out on a bacon and sausage bap.

The ride continued through Crockham Heath and Marsh Benham to Woodspeen where Chris headed off back to Great Shefford. The remaining four enjoyed the quiet single track road along the Winterbourne Valley and back up the hill to Snelsmore. Thank you for all for your excellent company.