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Past Ride

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Sun Jul 6th 2025

The Betjeman Ride	1*

Leader: John Tranter	Start Time: 2:00 pm	Start Location: Betjeman Millennium Park, Wantage, OX12 9AB
Description: In partnership with Wantage Town Council and the Trustees of the Betjeman Millennium Park in Wantage, this is a gentle beginners ride from the Park to Uffington, where John Betjeman lived during the 1930's. The ride is particularly suitable to invite friends and family to try out. We leave the Park and cut across to Grove, then Denchworth, Goosey and Baulking to the parish church in Uffington, where delicious tea and cakes await. The average speed will be a very leisurely 10mph. There are two options: - 10 mile ride to Uffington Church for drinks and cakes. Get yourself collected from there. - 20 mile ride to Uffington Church for drinks and cakes and then back to Wantage. NB: in previous years we have found that the majority of riders manage the 20 mile route fine even if they have not done a long ride before.
Riders: Anke Otto Chloe Legate John Leggott John Tranter Laura Legate Lorna Swanton Matthew Legate Natasha Legate Nick Portsmouth Penny Hasler Rachel Smith Rob Godfrey Steve Legate Steve Swanton Riders = 14 Weather: Report: The resurrected Betjeman Ride after a six year absence, The weather forecast had been all over the place all week, and even on the day it was hard to predict whether we were in for a soaking or not. Despite this uncertainty, it was great as always to welcome a lovely set of people wanting to join the ride and get out into the glorious Vale. It was particularly nice to welcome back the Legate family. We were sent off by the Mayor of Wantage, Iain Cameron, who very kindly gave up his time to do that. By an interesting coincidence, we also had the Town Crier Liam on the ride! In total we had 16 riders, with 5 new riders, and it was lovely to introduce them to the Vale, including the mysterious village of Baulking and of course the wonderful cakes and drinks provided by the team at Uffington Parish Church. All went well, everyone completed the full distance and we managed to almost entirely avoid the showers that we could see dotted around the horizon. Many thanks to Steve, Lorna and Nick for assisting with leading and sweeping.
Distance: 32.19 km (20.00 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/304831438
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51308321"
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Start Locations: WMP
Wantage Market Place; OMH
Old Mill Hall, Grove

Categories: 1* - Suitable for irregular, social, beginner or family riders, pace will match the slower riders. Not hilly or long. Expect rides up to 3 hours. Gentle exercise.; 2* - Suitable for regular riders who prefer to cover some distance but at a more relaxed pace. Likely to be half-day rides. Solid exercise.; 3* - Suitable for experienced riders, may be hilly, long, quick, or any combination! Likely to be half or full-day rides. Challenging exercise.; 4* - Suitable for athletic riders who can ride safely above the 3* standard. Quick rides for the fit.; More Information