Past Ride
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Sat Sep 9th 2023
| Ride and Stride for Historic Churches 2023 | 2* |
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Leader:Steve Swanton |
Start Time:9:30 am |
Start Location:Old Mill Hall |
Description:The second Saturday in September sees the annual Ride and Stride event in aid of the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (further details at: https://ohct.org.uk/ride-stride/ ). The idea is to either stride or ride (awheel or ahoof) to visit as many Oxfordshire churches as you like between 10am and 6pm. Many churches will be open (thanks to the generosity of many volunteers) making for an interesting, sociable ride and a great day out. Discovering historic gems, often in hidden corners of local villages, away from the beaten track, is one of the great charms of this event.The plan is for an all-day ride at 2* pace (8-20km/h or 11-13mph) covering around 44 miles with not too many hills and (obviously) a lot of stops. Some will be brief and some longer depending on particular points of interest and, where churches are open, the chance to look around and the temptation of refreshments. We will start as per usual at 9:30 from OMH and this year we will head westwards to visit churches in the north-west of the vale and south of the Thames. The provisional route (below) will visit about 20 churches including Coleshill, Buscot, Faringdon and the isolated church of St Michaels and all angels at Eaton Hastings. We will stop for a café or pub lunch along the way. It's not compulsory to do the whole ride and the planned route includes a shorter loop option visiting up to 13 churches around the vale. We can advise on alternative routes home. You could also potentially join us en-route too. For those who fancy the whole day, we expect to reach our last church just before 6pm. And we'll expect to be back in Grove before 7pm - but lights recommended. Although participants are encouraged to seek sponsorship, we normally make a donation. This is split between the OHCT and a participating church you can nominate. Please contact me for more information and/or please let me know if you’d like to come. It's an interesting and fun day out and a very social day awheel. Do join us for some or all of the day. |
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Report:Well it was hot!! But once again Ride & Stride provided a thoroughly enjoyable and different day out. We rode at a leisurely pace and took a slightly shorter route than originally planned so as not to overtax ourselves given the conditions. Many of the churches were open, providing sanctuaries of shade, coolness and much appreciated refreshments. Over the course of 8 hours 20 minutes and 36 miles of riding, we managed to visit 19 churches; 20 stops in total when you throw in lunch at Faringdon coffee house. Highlights for me were: the warm welcome, cold drinks and wall paintings at Baulking; the unexpected chance to see inside the Friends Meeting House in Faringdon; and the small hidden church at Little Coxwell. My thanks to Lorna, Anke, Julie and Mike for being such good company and it was a pleasure to welcome Mike J back on a club ride. Our thanks also to all the volunteers we met on the day and to all those who organised refreshments. We couldn't have done it without them.P.S. We got back to Grove at 6pm just in time to allow Anke to sign in at St John's and the Methodist churches in Grove, which she had missed in the morning. The evening light was beautiful and I was keen to make it 20 churches, so fuelled by carrot cake from Grove Methodists, I continued into Wantage for a solo tour of the 5 churches in town, making it 24 in total. | ||
Distance:57.94 km (36.00 mi) | Ride Details:https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44314325 | |
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| Proposed Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40815558" | ||
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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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