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Regular Wantage Ride | 3* |
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Leader:Sharon Bedford |
Start Time:9:00 am |
Start Location:Beacon |
Description:Monthly 80-100km (50-65 miles) all-day touring ride, lunch and possibly tea stop en route, at a riding pace of 18-22km/h (11-14mph). Not suitable for irregular riders. Climbing almost inevitable. Please pre-book for this ride by contacting the ride leader. Monthly 80-100km (50-65 miles) all-day touring ride, lunch and possibly tea stop en route, at a riding pace of 18-22km/h (11-14mph). Not suitable for irregular riders.Moved to a Saturday so not to clash with the flexicare walk which is popular with club members, (especially 3* ride leaders). Change to earlier published route - so not quite so hilly. Out to Carterton taking a meandering route on the way out and a direct route back. First stop at Coleshill. Second stop Lynwood in Bampton (with Aston Pottery as a back up if too busy). Please note 9am start from Beacon |
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Report:Just a select 4 today and as we are all ride leaders we took the front at different times. Thanks to all for being such a great group.We had a glorious warm and (mostly) sunny ride out to Carterton and back. Route generally worked well - with quiet roads and great views. A consolation for all the wet weather earlier in the year is that everything is looking very green with an abundance of wildflowers. It was busy however around Lechlade and between Brize Norton and Bampton. Unfortunately we met too different drivers who shouted "unpleasantries" at us - but whilst we were annoyed we were determined not to let it spoil our day out. Cafe stops worked well and I am still licking my lips from the cinnamon bun at Blakes. Well done to Chris for completing his first 100k for some time. Great to see you back riding so strongly. | ||
Distance:104.00 km (64.62 mi) | ||
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46662333" | ||
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1* Saturday Half-Day Ride to Uffington | 1* |
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Leader:Steve Swanton |
Start Time:2:00 pm |
Start Location:Wantage Parish Church |
Description:A special themed ride to Uffington to mark the 40th Anniversary on Sunday of the death of the former Poet Laureate and Wantage resident, Sir John Betjeman. As well as living in Wantage (1951-72), the Betjeman's first family home was in Uffington before the war, making the perfect destination for a relaxed themed ride.For a change we will meet outside the parish church in Wantage and pay our respect to Sir John, whose bust stands opposite, outside the museum. We will ride out to Uffington through the springline villages, take refreshments at the Fox & Hounds PH, check out a blue plaque, then return through the vale, finishing by the Betjeman Memorial Park in Wantage. A round trip of just over 18 miles taken at relaxed pace. There may be a few verses along the way too. Our regular social and family ride on the third Saturday of the month, usually with a cafe stop. We cover 16-32km (10-20 miles) at a leisurely pace of 13-16km/h (8-10mph), tackling the occasional hill (nothing too long) and easy off-road track (conditions permitting). Please let the ride leader know if you are planning to come. |
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Riders:Alan FisherAngie Fisher Anke Otto Carin Tranter Lorna Swanton Louise Bowers Patrick O'Leary Steve Swanton Riders = 8 Weather:Report:A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing ride on what turned out to be a lovely sunny afternoon. And personally, it was great to be out on the bike again after the tumble last week.We shifted the start slightly to meet beneath Betjeman's bust outside the museum. With the parish church behind us, it seemed most apt to read his poem Wantage Bells before we set off. We had a quick photo call at the top of Betjeman Lane and then continued to Locks Lane where we stopped beyond the brook to peer up to the Mead, the Betjemans' family home from 1951-72. And before we set off on the ride in earnest there was time for a few verses from On Leaving Wantage, 1972. Anke joined us at East Challow and we continued on through the Springline villages as far as Kingston Lisle before dropping down to Uffington via Fawler Hill. We stopped opposite the church in Uffington, where Betjeman was sometime warden in the 30s to hear the rather maudlin poem Uffington. We circled the village pausing by Garrard's Farmhouse, with its blue plaque, where the Betjemans' lived before the war, then stopped for refreshments at the Fox and Hounds. It was lovely sitting in the garden in the sunshine where a few more verses were shared. Nice also to meet a group of women riders from Winchester CTC on a weekend away in Oxfordshire. Our ride back across the Vale was through fields of buttercups between verges brimming with cow parsley but otherwise was uneventful. Carin and Louise went their separate ways once we reached Grove, but not until Betjeman had had The Last Laugh. The rest of us continued into Wantage to finish at the Betjeman Memorial Park. It was such a lovely evening, everyone was happy to linger and enjoy the park for a while before we went our own ways. Thanks all for your company on what was a memorable memorial ride and a joy to lead. | ||
Distance:29.45 km (18.30 mi) | ||
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46658121" | ||
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