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Leader: Richard Pethybridge	Start Time: 8:00 am	Start Location: Vire
Description: The club will be organising a repeat of last year's very successful weekend trip to France at the end of September/beginning of October, taking the Friday evening ferry across from Portsmouth to St Malo, arriving early on Saturday morning. An outline route follows the coast eastbound before turning inland and heading up for an overnight stay in Vire. On the Sunday the route goes via Caen down to the coast and the return ferry from Ouistreham. Full details are as follows: Fri 29 Sep – Depart Portsmouth 2015. Cost £80 for 2 people, plus £55 for a twin berth cabin. Free parking will be available in Portsmouth courtesy of the Royal Navy! Sat 30 Sep – Arrive St Malo 0815. Ride to Vire. Distance approx 120km, with approx 1,000m of climbing. Stay overnight in Vire. Potential hotel accommodation in the Hôtel Saint-Pierre at approx €68 for a twin/double room Sun 1 Oct – Cycle to the coast via Caen (and hopefully the Café Gondree at Pegasus Bridge, for D-Day aficionados). Distance 80km, with approx 750m of climbing. Catch the 1630 ferry to Portsmouth, arriving 2115. Again about £80 for 2 people, cabins £21. Anyone interested in going is requested to contact Richard Pethybridge (07875 456521 or pethybridgera@yahoo.co.uk) as soon as possible so that he can make an assessment of feasibility. Travel and accommodation is the responsibility of individuals, and early booking is recommended as it will be cheaper. Accommodation is limited, and early responses would be much appreciated. Outline routes are as follows for those interested:
Riders: David Bridge Eddie Little Jan McCabe Jo Little John Tranter Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Neil Bridge Nicole Pethybridge Richard Pethybridge Riders = 10 Weather: Report: After some overnight rain we woke to great skies and drizzle. After a decent breakfast we got underway hoping for the best, and soon completed the first climb of the day. With the weather holding the updated route proved to be popular, and after a couple of hours of roller-coaster riding up and down hills we arrived at Thury-Harcour to pick up the velo route into Caen. This proved to be a fantastic trail, with smooth and wide tarmac following the route of an old railway including through a tunnel. Accompanied for a while by some garrulous French touring cyclists we arrived in Caen ready for a well-earned lunch. Again a change of plan resulted in a great alternative, with some colossal salads and excellent burgers consumed to replenish calories burned. The last section from Caen to Ouistreham went very smoothly with a decent tail wind, interrupted only by a quick history lesson at Pegasus Bridge. Long queues at the port immigration meant that we did finally get caught by the impending rain, but as it was during the ride towards the ferry ramp no-one was really complaining. Triumphant spirits were redoubled when the group won the ship's quiz, narrowly pipping the Portsmouth Audax Club to the trophy. After a very tasty dinner the boat arrived on time and disembarkation was swift. A short final pedal to Whale Island and our (very) secure parking followed, and everyone was on their way towards home in good time. Overall this was an excellent weekend. My thanks go to everyone who came along and for making my job as a leader so easy. I very much look forward to running the trip again next year.
Distance: 82.08 km (51.00 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/18119472
Start of Day 2 - Vire to Ouistreham Brief stop near St-Pierre-La-Vielle What is the French for "Selfie"? Riding through "La Suisse Normande" Karen leads though the tunnel at Thury Harcourt Viaduct on the route from Thury Harcourt to Caen A very well earned lunch!
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/21849919"
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Written by : Karen T Posted on : October 4, 2017 at 3:07 PM

Thanks for all your hard work on logistics and route planning Richard; it was a great weekend.

Leader: Karen Townsin	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: This is the first in a block of 10 turbo sessions. Drop in for a one off session or sign up for all 10. You'll find us a friendly, inclusive bunch who'll never leave you behind on the hills; we can guarantee that the weather will be good too! Each session, of approximately 1 hour's duration, will comprise of a warm up, a workout focusing on different elements of training and a warm down. Different leaders plan and deliver each session, accompanied by a soundtrack. Tonight a simple speed pyramid. A chance to get used to the equipment, play with cadence and resistance, and hopefully have some fun. The entire workout should be less than an hour.
Riders: Amanda Seddon Des Higgs Eddie Little Jo Little John Hibberd Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Karl Blake Yvonne Bird Riders = 9 Report: A great turnout for the first turbo session of the Winter season. Welcome back everyone and an especially warm welcome to Eddie, John and Karl, who were joining us for the first time. You were all still speaking to me at the end, so I guess it can't have been too bad. It was meant to be a gentle introduction before Phil's technical insight next week, but I managed to set a new maximum heart rate record! That's a good thing ........ isn't it? See you all next time.
Karen's pyramid session
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Written by : Karl Blake Posted on : October 4, 2017 at 9:35 PM

Thanks for a great first turbo session Karen and the Paul Weller tracks 👍

Leader: Nick Stokell	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Monthly 60-70km (38-45 miles) afternoon ride, with a tea stop, riding pace of 20-24km/h (13-15mph). Likely to visit distant destinations. Not suitable for irregular riders. Climbing likely. Clockwise loop starting with the tough climb up Blowingstone then down to Lambourn, back via Ashbury and Shrivenham - but route subject to tweaking! Hills can be taken steadily as we'll re-group at the tops. Depending on group size and speed we may or may not fit in a tea stop, so please bring some snacks.
Riders: Eddie Little Nick Stokell Riders = 2 Weather: Report: Overcast and windy, and feeling very autumnal, but a good afternoon for a ride. Only two of us but it was very pleasant to chat with Eddie who I had not ridden with before. After the grind up the Blowingstone and a headwind on the stretch up to the Ridgeway from Lambourn a pause in the Ashbury Shop/Tearoom was very welcome. My first visit there - limited range of cakes on offer, but comfortable, quiet and suitable for groups of up to 7 or 8. After Shrivenham a tail wind ensured rapid progress back.
Distance: 66.00 km (41.01 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/18244247
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/25647527"
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Written by : Eddie Little Posted on : October 7, 2017 at 8:23 PM

Nick, thank you for your time!!🚴👍

Leader: Phil Ward	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: This is the second in a block of 10 turbo sessions. Drop in for a one off session or sign up for all 10. You'll find us a friendly, inclusive bunch who'll never leave you behind on the hills; we can guarantee that the weather will be good too! Each session, of approximately 1 hour's duration, will comprise of a warm up, a workout focusing on different elements of training and a warm down. Different leaders plan and deliver each session, accompanied by a soundtrack. This week, while riding I'll give an overview of training zones and the linkage to heart rate and power levels. More importantly, how best to use these data with respect to indoor training. 18:30 set up for a prompt 19:00 start please.
Riders: Des Higgs Eddie Little Jane John Jo Little John Hibberd Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Karl Blake Nick Portsmouth Phil Ward Roger Postbeschild Sara Ward Yvonne Bird Riders = 13 Weather: Report: Roll up, roll up, not much room to spare tonight... a popular session, designed to illustrate and measure each and every level of effort experienced in a structured training program. Great application resulted in some weary bodies at the end of the hour, well done all.
Zones The session Zones & levels
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Written by : Karen T Posted on : October 12, 2017 at 8:31 AM

Another very informative session Phil; I always learn something new. Thanks.

Leader: John Tranter	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Monthly 45-55km (30-40 miles) afternoon ride, with a tea stop, at a riding pace of 18-20km/h (11-13mph). Not likely to be very hilly. A re-run of an extremely soggy ride earlier in the summer, this is a real classic on some rarely used little roads down into the Thames Valley. Out via Denchworth and Park Lane to Stanford in the Vale, then to Hatford and a tiny road to the north. Then a quick dash down a short section of the A420 to Littleworth is rewarded by a dramatic drop into the Thames flood plain. Over the river to Clanfield, along to Bampton and a great tea stop at Aston Pottery. Pot buying is optional, but the cafe is great. Suitably fortified, we will take some time to explore the rarely travelled tiny lanes around Shifford and Chimney (tantalisingly close to the other side of Duxford ford), before conquering the modest challenge of Buckland Hill and (after exploring the back streets of Buckland village) heading for home via Charney Bassett. 37miles / 59km, at a speed of around 12mph / 19kph.
Riders: Andy Cowan Barry Stanton Des Higgs Jan McCabe Jo Little John Groves John Tranter Karl Blake Michael Tayler Nick Portsmouth Robert Treadgold (deceased) Roger Veasey Steve Boreham Steve Swanton Riders = 14 Weather: Report: Infinitely better weather conditions than the 'summer' edition of this ride - and an amazingly large group turned out for it. This time we were able to see the great view opening up as we swooped down into the Thames Valley from Longworth and we had a quiet and uneventful trip to Aston Pottery (apart from an angry van driver who seems not to like us being on his road - interesting, we were stopped by a police car later and it seemed this chap had been caught by them speeding and seemed to think this was in some way our fault for annoying him. The policeman didn't seem terribly impressed with this hypothesis). The fun really began after coffee, when we headed onto very obscure roads around Shifford and then even more remote ones to Chimney and down to the river Thames. We found the bridge across to a small island, on the other side of which is Duxford ford, so now the trail blazing is complete for a planned amphibious ride next summer! We finished off with a tour of the back streets of Buckland before heading for home. Thanks to Nick P for sweeping and thanks to all for making this such a fun ride. And - an honourable mention to Andy C, using the ride as a physio session and yet still hammering everyone on Buckland Hill (well, the first half anyway!)
Distance: 62.76 km (39.00 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/18407172
The peloton sweeps through Shifford. The peloton sweeps through Shifford. The peloton sweeps through Shifford. on the Thames bridge on the Thames bridge on the Thames bridge
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/23231081"
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Leader: Robin Tucker	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: This will be a short and gentle paced off-road ride of 10-15 miles. The big hill, The Ridgeway, will be optional! We will set off from OMH and go down Crab Hill, then gently meander to the foot of The Ridgeway. That is where we will decide who would like to make the climb and who prefers to take a more gentle option through the woods. Aim to be back at OMH by 3pm, 4pm at latest to avoid the need for lights.
Riders: Robin Tucker Riders = 1 Weather: Report: Perhaps thanks to Storm Brian, or perhaps because finding the ride on the schedule was a bit of a surprise, it was only me. I kept it short, up Crab Hill, Goddards Brook and Bitham Woods. Thinking it wouldn't be a fast ride, I had brought secateurs and I did some pruning of puncture-risk brambles along the way. (I may do more gardening on Bridleways than in my garden!) At the top, it started raining heavily, so I turned 180 and headed back the same way.
Distance: 17.70 km (11.00 mi)
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Leader: Nick Stokell	Start Time: 9:00 am	Start Location: Woodstock 09.00
Description: Ride starts at 0900 from Woodstock (Free car park by the Library & Fire Station on Hensington Road, OX20 1JQ ) Undulating but not excessively hilly ride at standard 3* touring speed generally following the Cherwell Valley, passing through the scenic Cotswold villages of Steeple Aston and Somerford, onward to Farthinghoe (possible coffee stop at 31 km). After Middleton Cheney and Cropredy, site of Civil War battle in 1644, we cross the M40 for lunch at Warmington (National Herb Centre) (54 km). The return route follows the second half of John Talbot's Ironstone Country Route back to Woodstock through a cluster of fine Cotswold villages. Please let me know by Thursday 19 October if you're coming.
Riders: David Smith Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Katherine Boyce Nick Stokell Sharon Bedford Ursula Hallam Riders = 7 Weather: Report: Very convivial ramble through the numerous ironstone villages and towns of North Oxfordshire and South Warwickshire. No mishaps, punctures or close calls with motorists and the fresh westerly wind was largely mitigated by the hedges. After a hilly start through the Astons we entered the flatter Eastern side of the Cherwell Valley with fine views to the West. Good cakes (but no crumpets!) and coffee at the first ever (by CUKW) stop at Lime Farm, Farthinghoe, provided a welcome respite from a still chilly wind. We eventually crossed the M40 for the 3rd time and climbed the steep hill through Warmington to the National Herb Centre and a very pleasant lunch. After lunch we headed back South and soon hit the undulations. At Nether Worton, Ursula had a bad turn and she and David split off, while the rest of us took it in turns to open the gates (4 I think) through the Worton House Estate. The drizzle started then became a little heavier, but we arrived at Woodstock before it got serious. A few minutes later David and Ursula, fully recovered, arrived back. Thank you all for you good company! (sorry no photos)
Distance: 93.00 km (57.79 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/18591135
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26063964"
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Written by : Karen Townsin Posted on : October 22, 2017 at 5:57 PM

Great ride today Nick. Lovely route. Thanks for leading.

Leader: Katherine Boyce	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: This is the third in a block of 10 turbo sessions. Drop in for a one off session or sign up for all 10. You'll find us a friendly, inclusive bunch who'll never leave you behind on the hills; we can guarantee that the weather will be good too! Each session, of approximately 1 hour's duration, will comprise of a warm up, a workout focusing on different elements of training and a warm down. Different leaders plan and deliver each session, accompanied by a soundtrack.
Riders: Amanda Seddon David Talboys Des Higgs John Hibberd Karen Townsin Katherine Boyce Phil Ward Sara Ward Sharon Bedford Riders = 9 Report: Great session. Everyone worked very hard on an exceptionally warm evening. Not too many groans over the cheesy spot the links game that kept the brain cells working nearly as hard as the legs
25/10/17 Turbo Session
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Leader: Karen Townsin	Start Time: 1:00 pm	Start Location: Greenham Common Control Tower
Description: An opportunity to ride in a different area with quite varied terrain. We'll start from Greenham Common Control Tower, (Grid Ref. SU499651) where there is ample parking available for a voluntary, discretionary contribution. Starting with some of the well surfaced gravel tracks on the common, we'll head West and South through some of the little villages surrounding Newbury. A shorter ride - 50km/30 miles, but undulating, with a tea stop at Kingsclere. See below for proposed route.
Riders: Alex Robertson David Bridge Jon Townsin Karen Townsin Nicole Pethybridge Richard Pethybridge Robert Treadgold (deceased) Roger Veasey Sharon Bedford Victoria Smith Riders = 10 Weather: Report: Brilliant October sunshine had brought the dog walkers and families out onto Greenham Common as well as the 10 of us, which did mean some careful negotiating along the tracks and shared pathways of Newbury. However, we soon left the crowds behind as we swooped down from Wash Common and headed West towards Kintbury. The westerly wind was a little stiff at times, so it was a relief to turn back East and South through Woolton Hill and the Cleres. Everyone managed the various 'undulations' and we arrived in Kingsclere to take over the empty cafe. A few more ups and downs through quiet leafy lanes saw us back to Greenham and a slight change to the route, thanks to local knowledge, allowed a complete a loop of the common and a crossing of the runway - carefully looking both ways. A warm welcome back to Alex and Vicky on their second club ride. Thanks to Richard and Jon for back marking duties and thanks too to everyone for your company on a lovely Autumn ride.
Distance: 49.00 km (30.45 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/18706184
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26002622"
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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.

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