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Saturday morning off-road ride | 2* |
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Leader:Robin Tucker |
Start Time:10:00 am |
Start Location:Crowmarsh Gifford C of E Primary School |
Description:Off-road rides around local trails - this one starting at Crowmarsh Gifford (near Wallingford) and heading East to take in some of the prime trails of the Chilterns.Start point: Road outside Crowmarsh Gifford C of E Primary School, Old Reading Road, OX10 8EN. Grid Ref 618890 Will be 20 to 25 miles on a variety of terrain (nothing scary) at a moderate pace. A well-maintained mountain bike with knobbly tyres is required. Please let the leader know if you are coming in case the ride needs to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. |
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Report:A nice fresh day for an off-road ride. 4 of us headed out from Crowmarsh to Grim's Ditch, a wonderful mile of singletrack built by the ancient Norse people - how did they know?We then had to climb and chose the one at Hailey, past the King William IV pub (though it wasn't early this early!) We crossed the road and followed a track that would have been very nice if not for the nettles, into Stoke Row. We took the road east out of Stoke Row and half way down a hill, swung right and climbed on bridleway. Then working our way round south and eventually to the junction of the A4074 and B4526. Along the B road for a bit then right and through the woods up to Woodcote. Lovely singletrack, though slightly uphill in this direction. After passing through Woodcote to the north and crossing the A4074 again we had a well-earned and fast and rooty descent. Then picked up the road to Ipsden and Well Place. We left the road again and climbed up past Handsmooth House, where large areas of land have been stripped back for a redevelopment. Looking it up on the web, it is for Rowan Atkinson's "dream home" - also described as a "space age petrol station" - we'll have to wait and see! At the top of the climb we turned left and then had 2 great sections to complete the ride. First down through Mongewell Woods. Then back along Grim's Ditch. There was a 'ping' from David B's bike here - a spoke broke. We zip tied it to another and he took it easy for the last couple of miles back to the cars. All said, a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning. | ||
Distance:38.62 km (24.00 mi) | ||
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