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Past Ride

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Sun Oct 20th 2013

Regular Wantage Ride	3*

Leader: John Talbot	Start Time: 9:30 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: 80-100km all-day touring ride, lunch and possibly tea stop en route, riding pace 18-22km/h (11-14mph). Not suitable for irregular riders. Climbing almost inevitable. Southwards to Ludgershall and back. A hilly 100km. Out from Wantage and up Manor Hill and along the A338 with its fabulous descent to Great Shefford, along the Lambourn valley to Welford and Kintbury. Then the fantastic ascent of Walbury Hill, one of the best climbs in the area, and the lovely country lanes through Combe, Linkenholt and Vernham Dean (including a rare, for southern England, hairpin bend!). The autumn colours should be showing but beware of wet leaves on the roads! Nb. If we are having major issues or the weather is really bad we can cut across via Oxenwood to Hungerford for lunch from Vernham Dean. We'll aim to take lunch at the Queen's Head in Ludgershall which has a range of bar meals available on Sundays. Failing that there is a café in Tidworth we can go to (I've drawn that on the route below but that won't be my 1st choice). The route back is past Wilton Windmill and through Great Bedwyn close to the Kennet & Avon Canal. We'll aim to stop for tea and cake at Azuza in Hungerford. A choice of routes from here depending on the time, either straight down the A338 back via Great Shefford to Wantage or a slightly longer but quieter route to East Garston before Great Shefford. Just for variation the mapped route goes back to Wantage via Farnborough and Chain Hill. If we do the route I plan it'll be a whisker over 100km but with several options to make it shorter if we need to. There's no doubting that this is a pretty hilly route with over 1000m of climbing so be prepared for that. At this time of year its sensible to have lights on your bike in case of late delays or poor light but I anticipate finishing in daylight. If it's wet, for the comfort of your fellow riders (and to avoid annoying lunch/tea stops!), some form of mudguards should be considered.
Riders: Andy Pixton David Smith John Talbot Lyn Taylor Ursula Hallam Riders = 5 Weather: Report: This ride is forever to be known as "The Wet One". Four riders gathered in the gloom at Wantage, John Tranter only had time for a short ride so joined us as far as Welford, a few spots of rain but nothing as bad as an hour earlier. Manor Hill was as hard as ever and we couldn't really enjoy the descent due to a strong headwind. We met up with David and Ursula in Great Shefford and headed to Welford avoiding huge puddles. Uneventful ride to Kintbury where Nicole Pethybridge was waiting for us, unfortunately she wasn't feeling too good and only stayed with us for a few km. The hills came thick and fast, Walbury, Linkenholt, Conholt the main three before lunch. We were well sheltered so the wind wasn't a big problem, there was a lot of debris washed onto the roads so descents had to be taken carefully. Lunch was taken at the Queen's Head in Ludgershall, very nice home made food. Lyn had suffered a puncture just before so he ordered his food and repaired that. As we ate the heaven's opened, absolutely torrential rain. We decided to hang on for a few minutes to let it pass(!) We had to go at some point though and it started to ease off so we went for it. It didn't ease off for long, it basically hammered it down. So much for short showers. At least we had a nice tailwind to blow us along. The pace quickened substantially and it became a heads down ride to Great Bedwyn where the rain got even worse. We were all soaked through but it wasn't too cold. We had to cycle through some large floods and the roads were rivers, as we cycled alongside the canal it was hard to tell which was the road! We made it to Hungerford where David and Ursula headed home. We didn't stop for tea as it would have been miserable to stop and have to get going again. Lyn, Andy and I went the direct route along the A338 back to Wantage, Lyn was quicker than us two so he went for it back home. Andy and I tag-teamed through Great Shefford and back to Wantage. The rain hadn't eased at all and we were both starting to get cold. Andy pealed off home in Wantage leaving me as the only finisher back in the Market Place! Definitely a ride of two halves, before lunch we had a lovely ride along the Berkshire and Wiltshire lanes. After lunch was a complete washout!
Distance: 101.40 km (63.01 mi)	Ride Details: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1935467
Proposed Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3452147"
Comment on this ride

Written by : Louis

Posted on : October 20, 2013 at 5:48 PM

I'm sorry I missed it.
Epic!

Written by : Angela Sanders

Posted on : October 25, 2013 at 3:54 PM

Were there any pictures?

Ride Filter

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