Ride report

Discounting the flat bits at the start and at the end of the ride, we managed to cram in almost 900 metres of ascent into just 45k of route. Which explains the tired legs struggling up the final climb of Kingston Hill, which, according to Strava, reaches 18% in places. We usually manage to cope reasonably well with ripped tyres, broken derailleurs, jammed chains, lost cleat screws and the like, but even the combined wisdom and experience of 14 riders couldn’t help the rider whose right hand crank fell off. But one should never give up hope completely. Having limped to lunch with one foot scraping the ground, and even as plans were made to organise a taxi home, a white van turned up at the pub, advertising Cycle-tech.co.uk, Mobile Bicycle Repair Specialists. The final 35 kilometres back to the start were hilly, but uneventful apart from an unscheduled stop in Chinnor for ice-creams and chocolates – in preparation for the final assault of Kingston Hill.