Seven brave souls set out on this rather windy day. Paul had already ridden into it from home to the start!

As we expected Hackpen was especially tough and the crosswinds down to Lambourn were 'interesting'. After that though with the wind mostly at our backs we had a great ride down the Lambourn valley to Newbury despite the standing water in places. There was a fantastic carpet of snowdrops in the woods at Welford Park.

I took the group on an interesting back route through Newbury and over Monkey Bridge over the Kennet and past my school. Paul had discovered a mechanical blunder when fitting a new chain so left us at Newbury to get it sorted before heading back solo.

The rest of us headed off to the control tower at Greenham Common for a break where Phil had driven out to meet us. Pete was especially impressed by the museum.

We had a nice run to Bucklebury including the tough Woolhampton Hill and had a good lunch in the farm park. We were trepidacious about the ride back from Compton but in the end the wind had died down somewhat and it wasn't too bad. We did spread out a bit on the rollercoaster road though as some (i.e. me) started to flag.

A quick dash down Chain Hill to finish at exactly 15:00. A tough ride given the conditions so well done everyone

Just the one rider, but it was a lovely evening to hit the quiet lanes!

Well despite what looked like a wet forecast we managed to miss the rain. The trip out to Lambourn was completed in just under 1 hour as predicted. An excellent coffee at Goodies as usual. The trip back to the East/West Hanney was swift with a pleasant tail wind. The last short leg was back into the head wind arriving back in Wantage about 12:00pm.

After a day of drizzle and mist, it would have been a totally dry ride... if the idiot driver on Hyde Road hadn't decided to splash a puddle all over us.

Anyhow, it all went very smoothly, not too cold, no wind, few cars out, and a very pleasant beer afterwards.

Just two of us but It was a fine evening for a ride, as good as can be expected for mid-January. We took a chance on Denchworth Road which was signposted as closed, which had up to 4" depth of water just before the bridge, passed an abandoned car at the bridge over the stream approaching Denchworth and headed over towards Hanney. A second closed road pushed us left through Lyford on beautifully quiet roads. After two painless crossings of the A420 the roads became a lot busier and I was glad of the draught behind Chris, where I was destined to remain. The headwind on the A338 was quite tough, for me anyway, and a recuperative ale was called for. Then Louis turned up for a natter. Very pleasant evening!

Started as 8 riders and then picked up Richard and Jarv on the way out, with a very healthy tailwind to help us along. Sadly, Richard succumbed to a brace of punctures and decided to limp his way back home from Moulsford. Didcot Phoenix had beaten us to the seats at the community store, but we managed to feed ourselves before the curfew at midday.

On the return journey, the wind wasn’t too bad, but most took it carefully back down Chain Hill.

Eight riders on a rather raw January day. A few glimpses of the Sun but mostly overcast and nippy.

A very enjoyable ride to Oxford via Boars Hill and the little climbed Foxcombe Hill (I think this is the first time I've been up this hill, been down it plenty of times!!). Oxford was quiet so no problems getting through the city and out via the pleasant traffic-free Marston Cycleway to Old Marston.

Up Elsfield Hill (this seemed like a mountain when I cycled up it as a child!) and along one of my favourite roads to Forest Hill. Up Ladder Hill (ouch) to Mill View Garden Centre where we managed to get there before the dead period between breakfast and lunch (11:30 to 12:00) so we could have hot food!

Louis suffered a pinch flat within a few minutes of restarting but that was dealt with swiftly before the flatlands back towards Wantage. A niggly headwind was quite sapping and we got rather spread out at one point but we regrouped and Pete and Jez did sterling work dragging us along.

A couple of riders peeled off home on the way to Steventon.

The Lain's Barn road was a pleasant alternative to the A338 into a headwind so we didn't mind the extra hill and we arrived back in the Market Place at 2pm.

A good distance for a winter ride so well done everyone

The final ride of the year and a chilled affair it was, with light wind, and an absence of rain and even a hint of sunshine later on.

Rapid progress was made to Cumnor where there was a slight delay for Andy to check his tubeless tyre following a spray of latex. The hole seemed blocked so onward down the hill and along the cycle path across the A34 through Wytham. There was a strong torrent under the bridge by the Trout at Godstow but Port Meadow had largely dried out after the recent deluges. The Jericho Cafe furnished ample supplies of caffeine and cake, and we decided to modify the route and sample the riverside NCN route South from Folly Bridge. Though not yet re-surfaced over its entire length this path provided a very pleasant traffic-free alternative to the intended route through the Southern suburbs of Oxford and through Kennington.

Andy and Claire left us at Abingdon to head home and the rest of us enjoyed a "lunch" stop at R&R. Only Caroline sampled the hot food, possibly because every option included Turkey! But the scone were delicious. John and Paul peeled off at Sutton Courtenay and Lain's Barn and the remaining four arrived at WMS at 1330.

Thank you everyone - a lovely finish to the Corallian year!

Well this was a great ride to lead. After days of rain and general sogginess we gathered under a bright sun in Wantage Market Place.

We headed west into a westerly through Challow and Baulking. The first bump came after Fernham as we climbed onto the Corallian Ridge. This spread the group out before we came together crossing the A420.

Faringdon was soon passed and then we had the run down to Radcot, which provided an opportunity for some to stretch their legs. With a tailwind from Clanfield we soon made it to our pitstop in Bampton.

Again we spread out at Buckland and Pete raced off after recrossing the A420 to keep up with a pacy cyclist. At Denchworth we opted for Circourt Road rather than the flooded Denchworth Road through to Grove.

With a final bump at Challow we swooped back into Wantage before noon.

Sunshine throughout