Cycling UK Wantage | Programme of Rides and Events

Past Rides

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Sat Dec 4th 2010

Saturday afternoon ride from Grove	3*

Leader: John Talbot	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Monthly 60-70km (38 - 45 miles) afternoon ride, with a tea stop, riding pace of 20-22km/h (13-14mph). Likely to visit distant destinations. Not suitable for irregular riders. Climbing likely. Gonna keep it simple given the likely weather conditions. We'll do a 30-35 mile blast around the Vale and back to Grove (Cornerstone Café probably) to warm back up. Route: Denchworth, West Hanney, Fyfield, Longworth, Hinton Waldrist, Pusey, Clanfield, Hatford, Shellingford, Fernham, Longcot, Uffington, Baulking, Goosey, Denchworth. I'll add an optional loop to take in Compton Beauchamp depending on time/cold/road conditions. Lights essential.
Riders: Bryan Charleston Chris Walters David Bridge Derek Boutle Janet Charleston John Talbot John Tranter Neil McColl Riders = 8 Report: We managed to avoid ice but we didn't manage to avoid the cold and wet. Still a good turnout despite the poor weather outlook. It was very raw and the roads a lot wetter than expected with large puddles in many places. It was heads down and pedal for stretches and we managed a decent 15.6mph average over 33 flat miles. We were all very wet and cold as we approached Denchworth at the end of the ride and the consensus was that we all wanted to get home as soon as possible to have a hot shower and dry out. So we missed out the tea-stop at the end of the ride. Sorry for the rubbish weather and lack of tea-stop. I hope everyone enjoyed the ride anyway. December riding conditions can be a bit of a lottery!
Distance: 53.19 km (33.05 mi)	Ride Details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58737664
Proposed Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/234291"
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Tue Dec 7th 2010

Turbo Session

Leader: Ginny Henderson	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: 17 The Causeway, East Hanney, OX12 0JN
Description: Group turbo trainer sessions to try to maintain those fitness levels. There are two club turbo trainers that club members can use for the session. You can expect the cycling time, including warm-up and cool-down, to last 60 minutes, and that you'll get a very good workout to keep your body ticking over during the winter period. Space is limited so please contact Ginny directly if you'd like to find out more about the sessions or to book a slot. See the blog for more information about the turbo training sessions.
Riders: Andrew Robertson Des Higgs Ginny Henderson Maurice Bawden Neil Warner Tony Smith Riders = 6 Report: Amazingly people have kept coming through all that snow ice and freezing weather. Well done to all of you and thanks to Neil for holding the fort while I was away. Some comedy last week when the heaters tripped the switch but after next week we should have some insulation in there which will make things a lot nicer for turbo training and for personal training for all of us (except for Des who seems completely impervious to the dropping temperature once he is on the bike!). Also good to have Maurice back.
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Sun Dec 12th 2010

Mince Pie Ride - 3*	3*

Leader: John Tranter	Start Time: 10:00 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: Ride with us to the NT car park at White Horse Hill, Uffington, for mince pies and mulled wine. A collection will be made in aid of the Whizz Kidz charity, which provides mobility solutions for disabled children. The 3* ride will be a hilly one, designed to get those climbing muscles working. Heading out through the Letcombes the ride will climb up Hackpen Hill towards Lambourn. After regrouping at the top, the ride will drop straight down to Sparsholt and continue through Westcot and on to Kingston Lisle. Time permitting, we'll drop down to Uffington before ascending back up to cross the B4507 and continue up the classic climb over dragon hill below the White horse. We'll join the other cycling groups for minced pies and mulled wine (in aid of Whizz Kidz) in the main NT car park. (about 14 miles) Afterwards the ride be heading for the Fox at Denchworth for lunch with a loop through the Vale. The 3* ride will set off shortly after the briefing at 10 am, so please arrive in good time for registration and a prompt start.
Riders: Bill Flockton David Bridge David Ryan Derek Boutle Des Higgs Frank Schroer Iain Kent John Tranter Martin Bate Michael Brooke Paul Ryan Robert Ryan Steve Greene Riders = 13 Report: We had so many keen riders for the 3* ride that we ended up splitting into two (thanks to David B for stepping in as second ride leader). A great gang from Didcot Phoenix made up most of the first group, which meant that your leader was well and truly last up the hills! A bit of excitement with black ice in places (but fortunately it seems Didcot Phoenix riders bounce), and then what might be called a technical ascent of the White Horse - or to put it another way, impossibly icy and most of us were walking up...
Distance: 38.62 km (24.00 mi)
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Sun Dec 12th 2010

Annual Mince Pie Ride to White Horse Hill 1/2/3*

Leader: Steve Swanton	Start Time: 10:00 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: Our annual festive ride, which again is in aid of Whizz-Kidz, the children's mobility charity. Guests and other cycling clubs are very welcome to cycle with us from Wantage at 10am or join us at White Horse Hill NT car park (grid ref SU 293866) from 11:15 to 12:00 for mince pies and mulled wine. All proceeds on the day will go to Whizz kidz. We shall have rides at 1, 2 and 3* grades - see separate ride entries for route details. This is a very popular event, so please arrive in good time for registration. There will be a short briefing at 10 am. The 3* ride will set off soon after, the 2* ride 5 mins after that and the 1* at about 10:15. Afterwards the rides will continue to the Fox at Denchworth for a pub lunch (at 13:15). There will also be a ride directly back to Wantage . We have 20 places booked at the Fox - please contact Steve to reserve a place by 9pm on Thursday 9 December. Tues 7th - Only 4 places left. First come first served. Donations of Mince Pies and red wine gratefully received from club members on Friday 10th / Saturday 11th - please contact Neil Warner (01235 763533) for drop-off details.
Riders: Chris Eley Dean Douglas Henk Altmann (deceased) Kevin Fairs Neil Warner Pat Hurt Rex Belcher Sue King Teresa Belcher Tom Millar Wenfeng Yang Riders = 11 Report: What a fantastic day after all the recent wintry weather. Around 80 cyclists gathered in the sunshine in the NT car park and tucked heartily into the mulled wine and mince pies. The mulled wine was excellent - special thanks to Neil for all his efforts on the catering front, and to all those who donated mince pies. Thanks too to everyone who gave so generously - a fantastic sum of £456.45 raised for Whizz Kidz on the day. Those on the left are club members who made their own way to White Horse Hill and met us in the car park. As ever, it was a great social occasion. We were also joined by riders from Faringdon (who entertained us with impromtu carol singing) and Swindon. Perhaps it was the convivial atmosphere, the lovely conditions in the sunshine or trepidation about the descent, but I can't ever remember so many lingering in the car park for so long (most didn't set off until about 12). Please see individual rides entries for details of the rides...
80 cyclists gathering in the winter sunshine Thronging round the serving table A Pat in a hat Frank topping up ... a happy snap
Proposed Route: http://www.whizz-kidz.org.uk/"
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Sun Dec 12th 2010

Mince Pie Ride - 1*	1*

Leader: Steve Swanton	Start Time: 10:15 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: For full details of the event see the "Annual mince pie ride" entry below. The 1* ride will be a sociable ride at a leisurely pace leaving after the other groups at about 10:15 - but please arrive at least 10 minutes beforehand to register. We'll take the direct route to White Horse hill (about 7 miles)following the A417 out of the Market Place to East Challow, across the track and (metalled) bridleway to Childrey, through Sparsholt, Westcot and then rejoin the Downs road to White Horse hill. There will be the opportunity to climb (or push) up the road beside Dragon hill and beneath the White Horse to enjoy the fantastic views across the manger and the vale. We'll then drop down to the main NT car park for mince pies and mulled wine (all in aid of Whizz Kidz, the disabled children's mobility charity). After the meet, the ride will return to Wantage (by about 12:45) by a similar route and continue on through Grove to Denchworth for those coming for lunch at the Fox (for 1:15).
Riders: Matt Chambers Peter Hallowell Ros Hallowell Sara Smith Steve Swanton Riders = 5 Report: 7 of us took the easy route, include Nick (on his trike) and Amanda from Didcot...
Distance: 28.97 km (18.00 mi)
En route to White Horse hill Starting the climb... Peter and Ros following on their tandem The road started to get slippy about here... ...and most of us continued on foot. Nick's delight on reaching the top Safety first on the way down and everybody made it ok.
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Sun Dec 12th 2010

Mince Pie Ride - 2*	2*

Leader: Glen Savegar	Start Time: 10:00 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: Ride out with us to the NT car park at White Horse Hill, Uffington, for mince pies and mulled wine. The 2* ride will head out to the Letcombes with a short climb of Holborn hill to get the climbing muscles working. We'll then drop down to Childrey and continue through Sparsholt and Westcot to Kingston Lisle. Time permitting, we'll drop down to Uffington before ascending back up to cross the B4507 and continue up over dragon hill below the White horse. We'll join the other cycling groups for minced pies and mulled wine (in aid of Whizz Kidz) in the main NT car park. (about 13 miles) Afterwards we'll be heading for the Fox at Denchworth for lunch with a loop through the Vale.
Riders: Adrian West Amelia Tombs Barry Gillott Chris Sykes Chris Walters David Roberts David Smith Glen Savegar Guy Yeates John Rushton Ken Tombs Lawrence Brabin Lucia Singer Paula Tansley Richard Divall Steve Belcher Tessa Darley Ursula Hallam Riders = 18 Report: A fantastic turnout under the statue of King Alfred, for a crisp and sunny ride. A cautious pace due to icy roads in some sheltered spots was the sensible option of the day. Most (including myself) decided to walk and push (rather than cycle) the ascent to White Horse Hill due to the slippery approach. It was nice to see a great gathering at the NT car park to enjoy the mince pies and mulled wine, (thanks Neil) and even a spontanious carol rendition. A big thankyou to Steve Swanton for organising a lovely event, and to all the volunteers for helping to make the day a real success Glen S
Distance: 33.80 km (21.00 mi)
While many walked, Dave Roberts kept going... as did Lucia. the car tracks were lethal... ... and there were one or two slips on the road. Ursula and Amanda reaching the top... ...followed by some of the cream of Oxfordshire... Relief at the top...
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Sun Dec 19th 2010

Regular Wantage Ride - CANCELLED	3*

Leader:	Start Time: 9:30 am	Start Location: WMP
Description: The ride this Sunday is cancelled.
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Mon Dec 27th 2010

Santa Special	2*

Leader: John Talbot	Start Time: 10:00 am	Start Location: Wallingford Market Place
Description: An opportunity to burn off some Xmas pud! We will start from Wallingford Market Place (SU 6073 8941), there is plenty of parking in the Waitrose Car Park off of the High Street nearby (SU 6060 8945). Location Map If this car park is charging on a Bank Holiday use the one in Goldsmith's Lane nearby which doesn't have a 2 hour limit. This one charges £3.30 for up to 8 hours but not sure if charges apply on Bank Holidays. Goldmsith's Lane Car Park Plan is to cycle for about 2-3 hours to a lunchstop and then a short hop back to Wallingford before it gets dark. Lights are strongly recommended though. Distance will be about 35 miles and there will be one moderate hill and a couple of smaller rises (nothing very demanding though). Easy touring pace of around 10-12mph average. Route will head up to Christmas Common and along the Chiltern ridge before dropping back down at Kingston Blount. We will return through small villages to Benson and back to Wallingford. Just turn up at 10:00am at Wallingford if you would like to join the ride. Update 23:00 26th Dec ----------------------------- A group of us are going to give the ride a go. Benson forecast is for temperatures between 0 and 2C tonight and tomorrow. Wallingford had about 2" of snow last Saturday which was patchy by Thursday. Some of the minor roads might be icy still but we'll see how we get on and amend the route if necessary. Please note car park details above. You might need to use the Goldsmith's Lane car park and not the Waitrose car park.
Riders: Bryan Charleston Chris Walters David Smith Jamie Worth Janet Charleston John Talbot John Tranter Ursula Hallam Riders = 8 Report: Eight brave riders gathered under the Christmas tree in Wallingford Market Square for the Santa Special ride. Including a warm welcome to 14-year-old Jamie who was on a family visit from his usual home in France. With snow still on the ground it was very Christmassy! However this snow was to be our undoing fairly early on as we attempted to climb up to Christmas Common from Crowmarsh only to be thwarted by deep snow covering the entire road. Minor roads were obviously a no go area so we descended and had a quick rethink and made a new loop sticking to A and B roads which were pretty quiet in most places as it was a Bank Holiday. We headed north to Shillingford on the A4074 before taking the A329 to Stadhampton, Little Milton, Milton Common and Thame. This latter road was pretty quiet as far as Stadhampton, the bit from the M40 junction to Thame was busier. We threaded through the sales shoppers in Thame to take the B4012 to the A40 at Postcombe. This stretch was straight into a biting SE wind and was really hard work. The short bit along the A40 to Lewknor was really tough going into the wind. We turned onto the B4009 which took us out of the worst of the wind to Watlington, this road was rather busy with cars but nothing really bad. We continued to Benson and a lunchstop at the Waterfront Café. Bryan and Janet needed to get back to Harwell on their bikes so they headed off at this point. Once our feet had thawed - to be honest the ride wasn't that cold out of the wind. With an average temperature of 4C it was actually warmer than the ride I led at the beginning of December! - we headed back to Shillingford this time turning left over the Thames and back to Wallingford. All in all I think we did rather well to get out on a ride. It was a shame we had to stick to main roads but we didn't have much choice. Thanks for joining the Santa Special, I hope we can do it again next year!
Distance: 60.51 km (37.60 mi)	Ride Details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60810752
Approaching Lewknor on the A40 Smiling faces back at Wallingford
Proposed Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/235793"
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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

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