Tour to the Chilterns
The Day started misty and Murky as I cycled from Helmdon to our usual Start Point in Brackley.
I arrived early and stood there wondering if anybody would turn up. People began appearing out of the fog so my worries were unfounded… The small band of hardened Saddle Warriors consisted of Owen the DVT kid, Stephen , Malcolm , Simon ,joe , Robert and ( Ricky who thought he was on a Cruise and Disappeared early) and our Engine for first Twenty miles Duncan before he made some Excuse wished us luck and peeled off .
Duncan the Engine
So we were left with 6 heading for Waddesdon. We arrived at very clean looking café early waited five minutes and then were let in and the Cake fest began .We could justify this because in total ride we burnt over 4,643 calories…..
Waddesdon Manor
We cycled through Waddesdon Manor Grounds with Stephen ,our oldest rider showing us up and headed towards Haddenham and Towersey Buckinghamshire .The fog began to clear and we could see our final Hilly destination the Chiltern Hills, which Robert believed I wasn’t heading for…..We rode from Postcombe to Aston Hill were Joe steamed up it to win the polka dot Jersey despite Malcolm’s unavailing late bid ….The Sun came out as Studley Green Garden centre loomed, we met the Bicester Millenium warriors who cycled off in a blur but before they left they showed us how to get bikes in to café grounds by lifting them over the fence….I had a very nice lunch of eggs Benedict.
Joe King Of Chiltern Hills (Up but not Down)
We then retraced our route to top of Aston Hill and turned left across Christmas Common and down Watlington hill were I recorded a speed of 41.7mph down the hill. Malcolm was doing his excellent sterling duties bringing up the rear as usual and eating more Calories than he lost. We cycled from Watlington to Clare Hill on an training route of one David Millar when he was a top amateur riding for High Wycombe CC.
Cycling towards Ickford
Down a Busy A40 bristling with trucks ( not), …Tiddington towards ickford were Simon got a second wind, Worminghall along quiet lanes crossing the M40 several times before reaching our tea stop at Painshill Fisheries near Boarstall with views of Brill hill loaming near but far enough away for me. Blackthorn, Stratton Audley- the average millage was still going strong at 14.2 mph when we hit a mechanical at Hethe were joe’s bottle cage worked loose. Too much climbing hills at speed ,He could hardly hold the Allen key because of a bad case of white finger,Brackley loomed at 92.4 miles covered in 6hrs 30 mins riding time with 3,051 feet of climbing .We gradually split and riders peeled off for home until I was left on my own for a solo ride to Helmdon I passed the 100 mile mark with a total ride of 101 miles in 7hrs home for a well-deserved Beer or two.
