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Past Ride

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Sat Sep 25th 2004

Inpromptu Off Road Ride

Leader: Robin Tucker	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: WMP
Description: An extra off road ride led by Robin who has kindly volunteered to take us back onto The Ridgeway. Please give Robin your support for his first ride as leader
Riders: Liz Russell Martin Curran Mike ODonnell Nick Stokell Robert Shaw Robin Tucker Riders = 6 Report: Ride report Riders: Robin Tucker (leader), Martin Curran, Mike O'Donnell, Liz Russell, Rob Shaw, Nick Stokell. We left Wantage Market Place at 1:10pm and climbed to the Ridgeway up Lark Hill. Unfortunatley, this was just as the rain started, but a check with the Met Office (text "wthr4 wantage" to 82222 for a 6 hour forecast - costs about 25p) indicated that it should dry up between 3 and 4pm. Liz abandoned as we started the off-road sections, realising that the combination of mud and rocks wasn't going to be kind to her narrower tyred bike. The remaining 5 of us worked our way up to the Ridgeway to discover the first real mud since the summer Gears started changing of their own accord and comments were made about grinding paste. However, the wind was behind us and we made good time to a snaking singletrack descent just East of the A34 that had us smiling (we did it again on the return leg). By this time, I'm glad to say the rain had stopped, so it was onward East and back up to the Ridgeway, turning back just before Lowbury hill where Martin got stuck in a rut and "elegantly" fell over - no damage done. By this time we'd figured out that sticking to the grassier sections meant picking up much less mud. We had 2 punctures on the return leg and curtailed plans for another climb back to the Ridgeway, preferring the low road home and chatting about the best maintenance regime for chains and cassettes. We got back at about 5pm, mud-covered but grinning, having covered 27 miles at an average cycling speed of just under 10mph.
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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