A good turnout of nine riders on this unpromising looking morning. The optimism of the majority riding without mudguards was rewarded with a mostly dry ride with just the occasional short spell of very light rain / heavy drizzle early on. We pressed on and soon passed RAF Fairford and arrived at the Magic Bean Cafe, a characterful place with nice indoor and outdoor areas.

The food was good, especially the BLT and the pancakes. The staff were very pleasant but unfortunately service was overwhelmed by a private party of 40. Our food arrived piecemeal and so there were winners and losers. Louis established an early lead with the first delivery of a fine BLT then clinched victory by polishing off a huge wedge of cake and coffee before most of the group had even received their orders. There was some sausage envy among the fry-up eaters and the last to be served poor Nick D had to endure us all watching him eat. We were in there for an hour all told!

From there we cracked on with some nice group riding over to Bampton where we paused for ice-creams and pop before taking on Buckland hill and the familiar run home. No takers for the pub today so I was home in time to watch the last 40 minutes of the Tour of Britain stage 1. What was Tom Pidcock up to?