What a lovely day for a ride!

The picturesque route on quiet country lanes was enjoyed in the spring sunshine. A little breezy in places but nothing compared to earlier in the week. Coffee and cake were enjoyed at the half way point and then later on the Volunteer Inn proved to be a good place for our late lunch.


Good company, weather and route = A Grand Day Out.

With the wind battering the car as I drove to Wantage I was wondering if anyone would turn up to ride today! Three brave souls joined me with some trepidation but actually apart from a couple of sections it wasn't that horrendous.

With amazing planning (!) I had arranged to head into the wind first and the route to Baulking and Uffington was probably the toughest with the wind, a couple of times strong gusts brought us almost to a standstill.

However, once we turned the corner after Shrivenham we had a nice tailwind up Coleshill and Badbury although there was some tree debris on the road on the latter. In Faringdon we discovered that the Coffee House no longer opens on a Saturday or Sunday and we discovered later that the Rookery has closed down as well. A few doors down from the former is the Stay Grounded coffee shop which is cyclist friendly and we joined a runner who had just arrived as well for a natter.

After refreshment, we had a stonking tailwind on the A417 towards Stanford, it was tempting to stay on it all the way to Wantage as we were absolutely flying along! But we still had a lovely tailwind all the way back through Gainfield and Denchworth although we had a few spots of rain blowing in the wind to accompany us.

All in all a very enjoyable morning ride and very glad I decided to go ahead!

The weather forecast didn't look fantastic, but can't have been too bad as Lee (first ride of the year with us) was resplendent in shorts.

I changed the route to keep us on better roads, and they were all in great shape, a bit greasy in places, but not bad at all. There was a headwind at various places on the outward leg to Shrivenham, and a very light shower later on, but other than that, a deer on the grass verge but right at the roadside near to Gainfield was the only moment of note.

Very sociable riding, so thanks for your company, gentlemen!

Three determined riders took on storm Freya and won!

Actually, although it rained all day and was plenty windy enough, the conditions never got as dramatic as the Met Office had us believe. Some determined riding into the headwind got us to Gateway Cafe ahead of the worst of the weather. Here Louis was mightily impressed when I emerged from the gents having changed my entire base layers for a dry set that I had brought along.

The return leg saw us zipping along with the wind behind us for long stretches, especially through Kempsford, Whelford and from Lechlade to Bampton with Ken setting a strong pace on the front. Max speed according to Strava was 71mph and by RidewithGPS 83mph, so the true max speed must surely be somewhere between those two right?

A quick refuel at Bampton Garden centre set us up for the tough slog head-on into the wind back to Wantage.

A satisfying and enjoyable ride despite the conditions.

A group of 4 completed the ride tonight as we were joined by non-member Joe O’Dell.

Conditions were good for riding tonight with dry roads and very little wind. This combined with a strong group, enabled a quick pace.

No incidents on the ride tonight and we even cautiously navigated the bend on Newlands drive. The bend is still covered in chalk/clay but “ok” when dry.

Welcome to James, who caught up with the ride at Bampton.

A chilly start, but it became very pleasant as the sun burnt off the mist. February?

Four riders set out from Wantage on a mild for mid-February evening. Apart from a puncture Chris suffered near Lyford and John falling into a ditch whilst he was repairing it there were no incidents!

The head wind south through Abingdon to Steventon was quite annoying.

Thanks for joining the ride

Lovely evening, top turnout with a Talbot full house. Surprise but welcome drop-in from Dave Reading too.

Splendid day for mid-February with a moderate Southerly wind and unusually quiet roads. After the two tough hills of Walbury and Conholt the terrain was less demanding and we kept up a good pace to arrive quite early (1125) for lunch at Longstock House Café. We found that Waitrose lunches only start at 1200 so we had breakfasts instead, electing to sit outside - probably a mistake that! Still we quickly warmed up again in the afternoon when the sun reappeared. After the flatter area of the Test Valley Whitchurch signalled the arrival of the downland again. Despite much evidence of hedge trimming none of us succumbed to the puncture fairy and were back in Hungerford for 1430.

Thanks for your company on a very pleasant ride. There should have been a photo against a backdrop of Combe Gibbett but it somehow went missing in my phone.

The curse of the first time ride leader strikes again. We avoided the slippery corner on Newlands drive but the corner on Brereton drive was also very greasy with almost no grip and unfortunately Lee took a hard fall. Hopefully no serious damage, but bad enough for Lee to abandon the ride not far from home.

Thankfully the rest of the ride went without incident and roads we in much better condition. After what was a mild day, the temperature quickly tumbled to 2C and we followed a gritter from Charney Bassett towards Hatford.

5 riders started out tonight as we were joined by non-member Joe O'Dell. John rode to Wantage for the start and finished at home when we passed through Uffington.