Cycling UK Wantage | Programme of Rides and Events

Past Rides

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Thu Aug 1st 2019

Daytime 1* Thursday Ride	1*

Leader: Martyn Wigmore	Start Time: 10:30 am	Start Location: OMH
Description: Social rides up to half day - 32km (20 miles), usually with a cafe stop, at a riding pace of 16-20km/h (10-12mph). Please check website on the morning of the ride if the weather is poor as it may be cancelled or the start time changed. A slightly longer but flat ride this week heading out as we often do to Denchworth, Goosey and Baulking before turning right past Uffington Station, then Fernham, Shellingford, Hatford and then Standford for coffee before a short hop back to Grove via Park Lane.
Riders: Barbara Jarrett Barry Stanton Carin Tranter David Bridge Des Higgs Diana Whidborne John Groves Karl Blake Lizzie Long Martyn Wigmore Phil Jarrett Roger Postbeschild Stephanie Haddrell Susan Holdroyd Riders = 14 Report: This morning we were pleased to welcome Phil and Barbara Jarret.
Distance: 32.19 km (20.00 mi)
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Sat Aug 3rd 2019

3* Saturday Half Day Ride	3*

Leader: Jo Little	Start Time: 9:30 am	Start Location: OMH
Description: Half day ride (60-70km / 38-45 miles), with a tea stop, riding pace of 20-24km/h (13-15mph). Likely to visit distant destinations. Not suitable for irregular riders. Climbing likely. We'll go from Grove to Denchworth, Uffington and Compton Beauchamp before using the Spring Line for a short while to get to Ashbury. Here we'll go up Ashbury Hill and then enjoy the wonderful ride to Lambourn. After Lambourn we'll go to Great Shefford then through the villages of Chaddleworth, Peasemore and World's End. There is the chance of a stop at Saddlebacks, should anyone wish and then afterwards the wonderful descent down Chain Hill. Please note this ride will end in Wantage. The ride is 71km (44 miles).
Riders: Barry Eggby Barry Stanton Calum Ferguson Chris Bailey David Jackson Jo Little John Groves Nicole Pethybridge Paul Bentley Richard Pethybridge Sharon Bedford Stephanie Haddrell Riders = 12 Weather: Report: Good weather and not much traffic meant very good cycling conditions and we made good time to the main climb of the day - Ashbury Hill - before a ride against a headwind to Lambourn. Once through Great Shefford the lanes provided some great views over the countryside. Saddlebacks was quite busy but we all managed to get a drink before the lovely descent down Chain Hill. Barry S. was unfortunately stung just above his eye, which was painful and has now swelled up very badly (see photo on facebook). It was good to have David back on a ride, though he has decided hills and just mended broken bones don't always go well together! Thank you to everyone for being such a good humoured group and a special thank you to Nicole for her sweeping duties.
Distance: 70.81 km (44.00 mi)
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30613316"
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Sun Aug 4th 2019

Oxford Urban Safari	1*

Leader: John Tranter	Start Time: 2:00 pm	Start Location: Seacourt Park and Ride, Botley, OX2 0HP
Description: UPDATE THURSDAY The weather for Sunday is looking good! I can confirm that the Seacourt entrance height restriction is 2.2m or 7ft 3inches. I will arrive a little early and wait at the bus turning circle. Anyone with a bike on a roof rack should drive there first to unload and then head into the car park. It would be useful if you could let me know if you are riding so we don't miss anyone. A very special opportunity to use tracks, riverside and canalside paths and quiet streets to do a 17 mile 'urban safari' around Oxford. This ride really gives a remarkable insight into some hidden corners of this complex city and is almost entirely traffic free. This is an away-day ride, run at a beginner 1* pace. Major building work in Botley means that the best place to park is the Seacourt Park and Ride (bring 2 pounds in coins). Note there is a height restriction on the entrance so let me know in advance if you have bikes on a roof rack for further instructions. There is also some parking in front of the West Way shops. We use the separated bike track on Botley Road to get to Osney, then up the river, across Port Meadow to the canal, up to Wolvercote and then through the exclusive back streets of leafy Summertown until we get to the Marston Ferry Road. Then there is a fascinating series of hidden tracks and roads through to the Oxford Brookes University campus (including an unexpected manor house), a swoop down to Florence Park and a final section of beautiful riverside towpath. Some of the tracks will be rough in places, so this is not the ride for carbon super bikes. Mountain bikes would actually work as well as hybrids for this. Really interesting - don't miss it! 17 miles at a leisurely pace - 10 or 11 mph.
Riders: Alvaro Rey Carin Tranter David Talboys Diana Whidborne John Tranter Kerry Tucker Lizzie Long Martyn Wigmore Nick Portsmouth Robin Tucker Roger Postbeschild Tony Botto Trish Richardson Riders = 13 Weather: Report: It was a new idea to begin the ride at Seacourt Park and Ride - I wasn't sure if this would help or hinder. Well, we had a great group so I guess it wasn't too bad! Wonderful to see so many people turn out, some had done similar rides before, many hadn't. The ride went very well - I was slightly worried about how such a large group would work on some of the smaller tracks and alleyways, but it all seemed to go fine. We saw lots of sights - the Thames Path, Port Meadow, the Oxford Canal, leafy Summertown, the wonderful Marston Ferry cycle path, the extremely wealthy back side of Headington Hill and, of course, the mysterious surprise of Headington Hill Hall. We also decided on a bonus pitstop on the main campus of Oxford Brookes University - very handy for 'facilities' and ice cream! The second half was equally pleasant as we swooped down through east Oxford alongside Florence Park and up into Iffley village. The final section was a lovely run along the river towpath past all the College boathouses and along to North Hinksey. Thanks to all for a most enjoyable afternoon - particularly to Trish on her first ride with the club.
Distance: 25.75 km (16.00 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/38167267
1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford 1* away day ride to Oxford
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30406924"
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Tue Aug 6th 2019

Tuesday evening 1* Ride	1*

Leader: Carin Tranter	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Our leisurely and sociable 10-mile club rides are designed specifically with adult newcomers to cycling and youngsters in mind, or those who just want some relaxed and sociable exercise. We cover a distance of about 10 miles at a gentle pace of 8-10 mph, following quiet country lanes and the occasional easy off-road track. We stop regularly to catch our breath, to take in the views and anything that takes our interest along the way. Slightly longer route of about 14 miles out to the village of Garford. We will go via Lyford on the way out and return via West Hanney to Denchworth and home.
Riders: Carin Tranter Diana Whidborne Martyn Wigmore Riders = 3 Weather: Report: Despite the weather forecast we had a sunny evening for a leisurely ride to Garford. We visited the old church through the farmyard and sat in the porch and chatted. We went out through Lyford and back through Hanney about 14 miles.
Distance: 23.34 km (14.50 mi)
A quick stop at Garford Church
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30715182"
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Tue Aug 6th 2019

Tuesday Evening 2* Ride	2*

Leader: John Tranter	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Weekly 1.5 hour rides at a riding pace of 18-20km/h (11-13mph). Not likely to be very hilly. Weekly 1.5 hour rides at a riding pace of 18-20km/h (11-13mph). Not likely to be very hilly. A slightly longer ride tonight, but well worth it. We head north via Denchworth and Charney Bassett, cross the A420 on the wonderful bridleway bridge at Southmoor, then run along to Appleton before cutting back across the A420 at a nifty dual carriageway crossing into Tubney Woods. After a brief section of A338, we cut across through Tubney village to take the secret tunnel entrance to Fyfield. Then home on familiar roads via West Hanney and Denchworth. 23 miles so we should be back by 8.30. There are some short cut options if we need them!
Riders: David Jackson Des Higgs John Tranter Julie Haynes Roger Postbeschild Stephanie Haddrell Steve Boreham Tess Evans Riders = 8 Weather: Report: Another Tuesday evening with an apocalyptic weather forecast - torrential rain one hour before the start, but in fact once again we got lucky. A brave group gathered and in the end we had wonderful weather conditions for our long evening ride. We had talked about short cuts but all was going well and we did the full route. We ended up crossing the dreaded A420 four times, but even that was uneventful. All round, a great evening ride with great company!
Distance: 37.01 km (23.00 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/38257389
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30715366"
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Tue Aug 6th 2019

Tuesday Evening 3* Ride	3*

Leader: Jane John	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Weekly 1.5 - 2 hours at a riding pace of 20-24km/h (13-15mph). May be hilly. Weekly 1.5 - 2 hours at a riding pace of 20-24km/h (13-15mph). May be hilly (no 'may' about it, it is!) We're going up Chain Hill, through Brightwalton, Chaddleworth then back to the A338 and a glorious swoop down Court Hill to Letcombe and back to Grove. Secondary ride leader is...
Riders: Ben Mitchell Chris Bailey Clare Hazell David Talboys James Bosley Jane John Jon Townsin Joy Arthur Nicole Pethybridge Sian Mitchell Riders = 10 Weather: Report: A last minute change of plan (a common theme in my rides!) due to some very heavy rain showers earlier meant that we decided to stay low and ride an alternative route around the vale. As we missed out on the work out of riding up Chain Hill the pace was kept up and we completed our 21 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes at an average speed of 14.9 mph. Not bad with a headwind in the first half of the ride. The sun shone and all in all it was a lovely evening ride. Welcome to Ben Mitchell, who had his first ride with Wantage CUK and thank you to Jon for sweeping and Chris and Sian for giving me some relief from the afore mentioned headwind!
Distance: 33.83 km (21.02 mi)	Ride Details: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/38278442
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30749742"
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Tue Aug 6th 2019

Tuesday Evening 4* Ride	4*

Leader:

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6:30 pm

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OMH

Description:

Weekly 1.5-2 hours ride at a riding pace of 25-29km/h (16-18mph). May be hilly.

**NO RIDE TONIGHT**

For something a bit different, the regular 4*'ers are joining the OFF ROAD ride.

Feel free to join!

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Tue Aug 6th 2019

Tuesday Evening Off Road Ride	2*

Leader: David Yearley	Start Time: 6:30 pm	Start Location: OMH
Description: Off-road ride around local tracks, usually about 15 miles. Knobbly tyres and good lights required. We are keen to welcome new riders and have spare lights available to borrow if you let me know. Dark, cold and wet - we'll ride in any two. But please let me know if you are coming so I can tell you if I decide to cancel due to really bad weather.
Riders: Andy Cowan David Brown David Yearley Jason Jones Peter Cowan Steve Legate Riders = 6 Report: How great to see a joint operation between the usual off-road suspects and the usual 4* Road crew. All riders took to the mud beautifully.
Distance: 32.00 km (19.88 mi)
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Thu Aug 8th 2019

Daytime 1* Thursday Family Ride	1*

Leader: Stephanie Haddrell	Start Time: 10:30 am	Start Location: OMH
Description: Social Family ride of between 9 & 14 miles. This ride is planned for for young riders and their parents/guardians. There will be experienced riders on hand to support and deal with any mechanical problems.We will take the ride nice and slowly, and stop regularly to ensure everyone is happy. Please meet at Old Mill Hall Grove at 10.15am to allow time to collect consent forms and check safety. Please check website on the morning of the ride if the weather is poor as it may be cancelled or the start time changed. This week we will leave Old Mill Hall and travel through Grove Main street towards Charlton using the cycle path. We will the pick up the bridleway towards Lockinge , we will then make our way through this beautiful horse racing village, head out towards Betterton, and look out for the Rhinocerous! As we turn left towards Ardington the only hill of the morning will provide some splendid views of the area before a lovely sweep down into the village. Here there will be the option to take a break for snack and refreshments at the village cafe, or for those preferring their own snacks rest and refreshments at the foot of the millenium stones. From here we will retrace our steps for most of the retun journey along the bridle way, through Charlton Village and back via cycle paths to Grove. A trip of 9.2 miles.
Riders: David Bridge Des Higgs Diana Whidborne Ellie Hollick Josh Hollick Judith Hollick Karl Blake Lizzie Hollick Lizzie Long Martyn Wigmore Roger Postbeschild Stephanie Haddrell Riders = 12 Report: We were blessed this morning with beautiful weather and perfect riding conditions! Judith Hollick, and her children Lizzie, Josh and Ellie joined us for the first time and we had a lovely group of regular riders supporting this ride. Heading out to Wantage along the cycle path it soon became apparent that Josh 11 and Lizzie 13 were able to go at a pace more akin to the regular Thursday rides and so we split the group and 'Rapid' Roger led the faster group with Di as sweep. This left, Steph leading the rest with Des and Karl at the back. Ellie at only 7 years of age and with no gears on her bike, was amazing, especially as she had taken a tumble on her way to the start of the ride. We met at regular intervals, and stopped briefly in Lockinge for drinks and refreshments. We also enjoyed a lovely coffee/ice cream stop at Ardington Tea rooms. After coffee we made our way back along the bridle path, through Charlton Heights and along the cycle path to Old Mill Hall. There were a couple of challenges on the way parked vans in Grove Road obscuring our view from Cane Lane on the way out, and the traffic lights at the bottom of Charlton Heights being out on the way back. I felt at these points that I was missing a Lollipop stick! The group were very sensible and I have to say that car drivers were also particularly accommodating. A lovely ride with excellent company.
Distance: 16.50 km (10.25 mi)
BM6 BM2 BM3 A short stop opposite Best Mate
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Sat Aug 10th 2019

2* Saturday Half Day Ride CANCELLED!!	2*

Leader: Eddie Little	Start Time: 9:30 am	Start Location: OMH
Description: Half day ride (45-55km / 30-40 miles), with a tea stop, at a riding pace of 18-20km/h (11-13mph). Not likely to be very hilly. Might be a struggle for new or irregular riders in winter months. UPDATED 10/8/19/ 07:50am. Hi everyone, unfortunately I've decided to cancel today's ride as the weather is not looking very good, gusts of 40-50mph!! I've rescheduled this ride for 28/9/19/ 09:30am Old Mill Hall. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE MET OFFICE HAS ISSUED AN AMBER WARNING FOR STRONG WINDS.THIS MAY PROVE TOO DANGEROUS TO CYCLE IN SO I MAY HAVE TO CANCEL THIS RIDE. I WILL MAKE A FINAL DECISION ON SATURDAY MORNING BY 08:00am. SO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS WEBSITE & FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES!! We'll head out passing through the villages of Charney Bassett & Buckland.Then we can enjoy the descent of Buckland Hill passing over The River Thames at Tadpole Bridge. We'll then head on through to Bampton & Clanfield. From Clanfield we'll take a lovely very quiet 4 mile back route passing over the now disused Oxford, Witney & Fairford Railway line, passing onto the Cotswold villages of Broadwell & Filkins, this is where we'll have our tea stop (Cotswold Woollen Weavers) You'll find a nice selection of fresh cakes, sandwiches, tea, coffee & other beverages. We are expected!! Once we are all refreshed we'll head out along some more quite lanes passing through Langford & Little Faringdon. We'll then have a small section of the A417 to cycle along Buscot through to Faringdon with only one small hill! After we have passed through Faringdon we'll cross over the A420, then we'll head on through to Fernham, Baulking arriving back in Grove just before 14:00hrs. Ride distance 40mi/64km.
Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30630965"
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Sun Aug 11th 2019

Easy on A Sunday Morning Off Road Ride	2*

Leader: Robin Tucker	Start Time: 10:00 am	Start Location: Wantage Market Place
Description: Regular off-road rides for 2018 we are toning these down and keeping them closer to Wantage. Free parking at The Beacon, and meet at Wantage Market Place, by King Alfred.
Riders: Robin Tucker Roger Postbeschild Tony Clark Riders = 3 Report: Glad to say that we found a dry gap in otherwise poor weather. The high winds of Saturday had died down, and there was a gap between the various rains of this summer. Also good was the eclectic mix of bikes at the start. Tony's MTB and my 29er were pretty conventional, by Roger was on a gravel bike and Brian Hipwell on a steel rigid all bike. Unfortunately, a bit of tyre rub early on caused Brian to retire to adjust his drop-outs. The three of us continued East out of Wantage and up Goddards Brook and Bitham Woods to the Ridgeway. Getting up was hard, but once on top, the Southwesterly wind blew us along to Harwell, quite easily and we enjoyed the views. We wondered if this was the last time we would see the three remaining cooling towers at Didcot. Coming down the hill at Harwell, shall way say happened at different speeds, but everyone got down with a smile. Soon we were in the wooded section where the twisting trails once again were a favourite. We wroked our way across to Rowstock, turned back West through more woods and back on the NCN route through Lockinge.
Distance: 28.97 km (18.00 mi)
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Written by : Roger Postbeschild

Posted on : August 12, 2019 at 4:41 PM

Thanks, Robin, a decent baptism for the gravel bike. Harwell Hill was taken with a level of circumspection due to the lack of front suspension! I will be fitting a larger volume front tyre....

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