Ride Report - Wednesday Daytime - 28 January

[Ian Moore]

Every Wednesday morning members meet at a cafe or similar location at around 10.30. The ride commences at 11am & heads to a location for lunch returning in the afternoon to arrive home at about 4pm. 

Today was my turn to lead. Starting from the Catherine Wheel in Henley our destination was The King William at Hailey. 11 of us met for the social gathering. Of these 9 joined the group ride. 

Our route was as follows: The Fairmile, Bix, Nettlebed Estate, Highmoor Cross, Stoke Row, Hailey. It’s been several years since I visited this hostelry. By the time we reached our destination we had become 8. Of these just 5 sampled various offerings from the menu. Items on the menu were slightly more pricey than cyclists would normally pay but all those dining agreed the food was appetising & I would suspect not outside the price range of Oxfordshire. 

The day remained dry for us although roads were often wet & still had signs of the very recent flooding from major gales. Temperatures were at about 5-6C throughout the day so it was no wonder that 3 of the group headed for home following their packed lunches. They were followed by 2 who had finished lunch more quickly. The remaining 3 of us took the most likely route home that would avoid too much pooling on the roads. Our destination was Caversham so the return route was:  North Stoke, South Stoke, Catsbrain Hill, Woodcote, Goring Heath, Chazey Heath. 

A lovely ride to a venue we must use more frequently. Thanks to everyone for turning up despite the winter chill.