Cycling UK Wantage | Programme of Rides and Events

Past Ride

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Sat Mar 19th 2022

1* Saturday Half Day Ride	1*

Leader: Steve Swanton	Start Time: 2:00 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Please note the 2pm start time now that the days are lengthening. The forecast is looking good: sunshine with an easterly breeze, so perfect for an easterly ride with the breeze to blow us home. We'll head into Wantage to pick up NCN route 44 to Ginge, then a short stretch of the Icknield Greenway to East Hendred. We'll zig zig through to the top of Milton Hill, enjoy the descent of Steventon Hill and then return across Cow common to the Hanneys. We'll have a refreshment stop at one of the pubs before a short hop back to Grove. As a courtesy to the ride leader, we ask that you pre-book for this ride. Monthly 16-32km (10-20 miles) family and social afternoon rides, usually with a tea stop, at a riding pace of 13-16km/h (8-10mph). Occasional short or gentle climbs. This is a pre-bookable ride. To book a place, text your name to the ride leader no earlier than 9:00am on the Sunday before the ride. You will receive confirmation or be advised that the ride is fully booked. A reserve list will be maintained.
Riders: David Jackson Diana Whidborne Lorna Swanton Stephanie Haddrell Steve Boreham Steve Swanton Riders = 6 Weather: Report: A lovely sunny cloudless afternoon for a ride with a nice friendly group of 6. We stopped briefly in Vale Avenue to admire the display of daffodils before heading on to Wantage. After riding through the Charlton Estate, we picked up NCN route 544 from Larkhill and continued into a steady headwind to Lockinge. An advantage of an afternoon start was that the lane through Betterton to Ginge was bathed in sunshine. With leaves yet to come, this is the best time of year to enjoy the sweeping views. We stopped at the top of the hill above Ginge to admire. After an easy off-road section of the Icknield Greenway, we coasted down into East Hendred. The short stretch of the A417 before Featherbed Lane was the last into the wind and we were soon enjoying the long descent into Steventon and a fine tailwind across Cow Common. We stopped for refreshments at the Black Horse in East Hanney, sitting in the garden in the Spring sunshine. Steph and David shared the last piece of Lardy cake, while the rest of us went for chocolate brownies, which after inspection were discovered to be chocolate bread and butter pudding! Heading back the last few miles to Grove through West Hanney and Denchworth it was becoming decidedly chilly as the lanes were cast into deepening shadow with the lowering sun. It felt like an evening ride in April and whetted the appetite for the season to come. Thanks everyone for you company for a lovely mellow ride. Our next Saturday 1* will be the Back-on-your-bike ride on Easter Saturday. Do mark it in your diary.
Distance: 30.42 km (18.90 mi)
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38785594"
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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