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Sunday ride to Bampton and Lechlade
Sunday, 2 April 2023 - 9:30am
Ride or Event Navigation
A spring ride to enjoy some of the Cotswold back roads and the Vale of White Horse. Any post lunch complacency will be treated with the climb up to Coleshill after lunch.
Ride report
It was a cold north head wind as we headed into Oxford. Fortunately the forecast said it would warm up later – it did but not as quickly as hoped. A few observant souls noticed on my arrival that my new bike was finally finished. Progress to coffee was helped by the wind, so maybe it was more of a northeast wind. The plan was to take a slightly circuitous route via Cote to Bampton Garden Plants for coffee. Just after Cote a lady warned us the road was flooded “…to about 4 inches “. A quick group discussion reckoned 4″ was alright, so we carried on. The first flood was in accordance with 4″. Shortly after, a 2nd short flood was somewhat borderline 4”. The 3rd flood sort of started with a 4″ fail, but then continued as far as the eye could see along a 1/4 mile straight stretch of road. A few bravely/rashly gave it a try, but soon stopped. Adrian gave it a more determined try, but stopped with the water over his hubs and bottom bracket – have you checked your bearings yet Adrian? Despite having been in over 12″ of water, Adrian deemed his new cycling shoes “more water proof” that his old ones. So we retraced our steps, some with slightly damp socks, some with soaking socks. The plan was to get to coffee via Aston and Bampton, but the fact we had to cycle past Aston Pottery to get there was too temping, so Aston it was for coffee. On arrival it was remembered that they sell dry socks at Aston, so Rosey, Helen and Phil P went shopping. Phil B took his socks to the hand (or sock) drier. A smaller group continued on to lunch in Lechlade, looping west before entering Lechlade. The general impression was that Lechlade seemed closer than remembered. After lunch we realised of course Lechlade wasn’t closer; the all afternoon headwind reminded us we’d had a tail wind before lunch. The return through the Vale of the White Horse saw the weather brighten and the sun appear.
Ride leaders
Role | Name |
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Full ride leader |
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Leader back from coffee |
(No leader)
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Ride venues and times
Venue | Time | Notes | ||
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Start |
Broad Street, Oxford | 9:30am |
Please arrive 10 minutes before the start time (especially if you are new, so that we can say hello and sign you up). | |
Coffee |
Bampton Garden Plants, Bampton | 11:00am |
For about half an hour. | |
Lunch |
The Riverside, Lechlade | 12:50pm |
For about an hour. | |
Finish |
Oxford area | 4:00pm |
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All of the times (apart from the start time) are approximate only, as weather or punctures may affect them. |
Ride options and attendance
Ride option | Distance | Pace | Attendees | |
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Full ride |
99km |
20kph |
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Half day ride Ride to coffee and back again. |
54km |
20kph |
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Please note: you need to log in to see the list of people who attended the ride. |
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The pace listed above is the average pace we do, so in general when cycling along the flat we will go a bit faster than the average pace. Please be aware of this if you are wondering whether you will be able to keep up on the ride. |