Wednesday 7 April 2010 Purton to Honeystreet 40km

Wednesday 7 April 2010 Purton to Honeystreet 40km

Pathetic, that's what we were when we rode past the Barge Inn, saw the canal and the boats putt..putting by then not 100m up the road a gorgeous thatched roof B&B.  What were we to do?  We had only ridden 40km but we were cold and it all looked so inviting we made an executive descision. We would rather be drinking a pint by the canal than riding our bikes.....so we did.  This is a holiday afterall :)

Let me rewind to this morning:  As we were packing up the owner of the B&B in Purton came out and said goodbye and gave us a little parcel for the road.  It contained a block of chocolate, two yohgurts and four apples, I love English people.  We got free Internet access last night so we spoke to Eleanor and Greyson and my Mum.  We also cooked some pasta and vegies for dinner.

Todays itinery saw us pass by:
Lydiard Millicent
Great Field
Hook
Wootten Bassett
Broad Town - saw our first White Horse here and cycled up a bloody big hill to get out of there.
Avebury - Avebury boasts a henge (you know circle of big stones from about 4,000 years ago)  This was pretty cool and we had lunch here. Nice little village altought squareley aimed at the tourist market.
West Kennett
not to be out done by East Kennett - it was here that we passed a farmer walking his two border collies down the lane.  He saw us coming and said "you've got a big climb coming up." I quickly motioned toward another laneway and acting the goat said "What about that way?" he laughed "You've got big climbs no matter which way you go out of here". And climb we did, although I think we are finally starting to get our 'touring legs'.
Alton Barnes
and then Honeystreet....the demise of our cycle day.

White horse at Broad Town

Part of the stone circle at Avebury

Church at Avebury

Avebury Manor

Chalk downs

White horse at Honeystreet

This was a great days cycling as for the first time we had a tailwind the whole way.  So really we picked a pretty stupid day to cut it short so we could take in the ambiance of the canal over a pint.  Nevermind, there will be other tailwinds......we hope.

We walked from the B&B to The Barge Inn and had a pint.  Considering we were so cold earlier it wasnt such a bad day and we almost considered sitting outside to have out pint......almost.

Our B&B is nice, not old, the plate on the wall says "1996" but they still put a thatched roof on??  The view from our window is pretty special, the window frames a white horse on the hill in the distance.

Cooked our dinner on the Tranigia outside and then settled in with a cuppa to read our books.

Caution bike geek content:
I have been riding the Schwalbe Marathon XR (26x2.0) which are a big heavy tyre designed for expidition touring like South America or the Gibb River Road.  I bought Sandy some new Schwalbe Marathon Duremes (26x2.0) which are the same width but with less aggressive tread and weigh just about half as much.  Today I put the almost slick and narrower Marathon Supremes (26x1.6) back on Sandy's bike and I swapped the XRs for the Duremes on my bike.  I'm hoping for an improvement as the XRs have been pretty tough compared to the Supremes I was running in Australia.

Tuesday 6 April 2010 Stow-on-the-Wold to Purton

Tuesday 6 April 2010 Stow-on-the-Wold to Purton 63km

We had a day of the bikes yesterday and needed it.  I know the distances have not been great but with the hills and headwinds we were tired.  Anyway we had a great day poking around Stow-on-the-Wold.

The Horse and Groom, we had dinner here

A garden in Stow....

The B&B

Today we just wanted to get some miles under our belts so the first not so good choice toward that end found us on a very scenic back road that had the steepest climbs so far.  The second not so good choice was to ride a portion of the A429 from Northleach to Cirencester, sure it was a more direct route and the grade less angry but very stressful, lots of cars and very little shoulder.  I noticed something that may contribute (and readers are welcome to offer comments on this), the big 'A' roads have a surface like grooved concrete.  The closest I've seen to it is on airport runways and I assume it's to provide more traction in icy conditions....someone please let me know if I'm on the right track.  Anyway I think those grooves make the road noise of the vehicle much higher.

We left the B&B and rode on very undulating back roads, sure they were quiet but we faced some steep climbs today, at least they were only short climbs. Somewhere near Clapton-on-the-Hill we saw our first deer.  It was in a paddock/field and ran for the the wood. I was stoked, I know what people new to Australia feel when they see their first Kangaroo.  I must look like a prize pillock pointing and shouting with glee
everytime I see a rabbit or pheasant.

Burton-on-the-Water

Just another English village we rode past, and no they dont get boring, I am loving it.

We rode into Cirencester looking for a park so we could cook our lunch and as we rode through the traffic we came across a Welsh Pasty shop (they are a chain here) so naturally the healthy cook-it-ourselves option was thrown out and we ate a big pasty each :)  yummy!!!!

From Cirencester to headed toward Swindon again on a big 'A' road.  About 10km down we noticed a small road on the side running parallel so we jumped on it relieved to be away from the noise and traffic.  It was on this road that we saw a eagle/hawk/falcon/harrier??? swoop down and catch a rabbit, very cool I had not seen anything like that before.  We had a look at the map at this stage as neither of wanted to be near the 'A' road and we turned into Crikdale and headed for Purton.

Not as pretty now and things are definiately less touristy which means we have less accomodation options.  It's not like Australia that has a caravan park in every town.  Even if we wanted to camp there is nowhere to camp.  So Sandy called into the pub in Purton and they gave us a card for a B&B 3km back down the road.  Now I dont normally like riding back the way we came but that 3km saw us riding with the wind for what feels like ages and we sat on 26-28kph with no effort.  It made me realise that we had put in a bit today for our 63km.

Sunday 4 April 2010 Banbury to Stow-on-the-Wold

Sunday 4 April 2010 Banbury to Stow-on-the-Wold 37km

We had planned on a bigger day and regretfully turned down the offer of another day in Banbury.

The Steiger's, great hosts

As it turned out our legs would have liked a day off and climbing the hill into Stow-on-the-Wold saw us deciding that we had had enough for the day so we stopped and found a B&B.  We talked about it and booked for two nights as our legs needed a day off.

We gathered our belongings and said a reluctant farewell to the Steiger family.  The weather today was not too bad, no rain, head wind, cool but not freezing so we rode OK.  After a quick trip into Banbury to get some money and to take a picture of the Banbury Cross it was off toward the Cotswolds, famous for being the 'most' English of areas.

The Banbury Cross, read about it

The first stop was Broughton then we followed the back roads to Little Tadmarton, Hook Norton (beautiful little village), Great Rollright, Little Rollright, Adlestrop, Oddington and then onto Stow-on-the-Wold.

Just a random shot

In between Great Rollright and Little Rollright we stopped and had a look at the RollRight Stones.  An ancient circle of stones left by neolithic man.

The Rollright Stones

The view from the Rollright Stones

Just after that we entered the Cotswolds, we knew that from a sign on the road.  It all just looked like beautiful English countryside to me.

Zooming down a hill into the Cotswolds

 The riding though, was getting a little harder as we now had hills, not too steep but some first gear hills.  I asked Sandy what was so special abou the Cotswolds, apart from the sign 'How do we know we're in the Cotswolds?', she didnt know.  Sandy asked me if her tyres were flat, they weren't but it was an early sign that we were getting tired and needed a break.

Today was our first day of navigating by map as we have left the designated National Cycle Network.  Not too bad, we just pick a point on the map in the general direction of where we want to go and then go from village to village on the quiet back roads.  Today we had one stretch on the A436 coming into Stow-in-the-Wold but it was not too bad.  People say drivers in the UK are not very tolerent toward cyclists  but I think those people have not cycled in Australia.  We have found the drivers to be very courtious.

When we got to Stow-on-the-Wold we started looking for somewhere to stay and Sandy went into the Visitor Information shop and came out with a booklet on the Cotswolds.  We went into a cafe and ordered tea for two and Sandy laughed as she started reading the booklet the first words were 'In simple terms the word 'Cotswolds' refers to an area of gently hilly country spanning over 100 miles north to south'.  "oh great" I laughed "we've gone out of our way to ride up hills!!!"

Stow-in-the-Wold

Rang a B&B as the YHA hostel only had dorm accommodation and booked in to a lovely farm house 2km out of town.  Could get used to this B&B lifestyle (he says as he just finished his bacon and eggs) even though it eats into our budget but it's just too damn cold to camp yet :)

The view from our room...not too bad ;)

Day off tomorrow as were knackered.

Saturday 3 April 2010 Oxford to Banbury

Saturday 3 April 2010 Oxford to Banbury 54km
Much thought had been put to staying another day in Oxford. We had really only had an introduction but then we had told Rachel we would be in Banbury today and if we explored all of England to the detail we would like this trip would take the rest of our lives so headeofd off.

We did a quick lap of the city of Oxford for some photos while the streets were empty and then had to find the Route 5 Marker.

Using the big overview map and the GPS we headed toward where we thought we'd cross the route.  On the way I posted some surplus stuff home to Mum to save carrying it, 2 pairs of shorts and a book on the Tower of London.  I'm starting to get the hang of what you need to pack for a cycle tour, as little as possible :)

Out of Oxford we rode on the tow path of the Oxford Canal past lots of canal boats moored to the bank with people living in them.

The little bridges and locks are all self-operated and paint a very pretty picture as we ride past.

We veered off the towpath and headed toward Woodstock, yes that Woodstock.  The path goes this way so you get a chance to see Bleheim Palace....we didnt, seen on palace seen them all.  After Woodstock it was a collection of very muddy and slippery bridal trails thst saw us on to Westcote Barton and then quiet country lanes past Middle Barton, Over Worton.

We past one of the most magnificent farm houses/mansions I've seen, complete with Landrover.  It showered a little here and got a bit cold so we put our wet weather gear on for the first time.  The shower didnt last but it stayed cold.

A little further on I started to feel colder and sluggish so Sandy suggest I needed lunch.  We cooked pasta and vegies with a stock cube in a little forest on the side of the road and I felt heaps better.

We rode on a saw a strange collection antennas....

....we suspect we may have stumbled upon the headquarters of Torchwood.  Or at least a RAF HF Station but I'm pretty sure it would be Torchwood.

We rode on, forgetting to take anymore photos and arrived in Banbury.  Sandy rang Rachel to get her address and we plugged it into the GPS.  I have the GPS routing set to 'By Bicycle' and it led as on a merry dance around Banbury avoiding the much more direct but on the main road route.  We had quite a laugh at that.

Top night at the Steiger's and I exceeded by two pint quota

Friday 2 April 2010 Long Wittenham to Oxford

Friday 2 April 2010 Long Wittenham to Oxford 21km

We were both still feeling a bit knackered from the cold so instead of following the Thames Valley Route (5) up to Oxford which was about 50km via a very wiggly path we chose to find some quieter roads that at least headed toward Oxford and cut the journey in half.

The Grange B&B at Long Wittenham

As we left Long Wittenham we rode across the Thames to this view

We headed off and rode across the Thames and through a collection of classic thatch cottages.  The thing that is so amazing is that in Australia you see the odd amazing house or cottage but over here it's every house building, fence or shed.

The weather was cool but not freezing and I, for the first time on this leg of the trip, felt like riding but poor Sandy was still chesty.

We got onto the A415 and steeled our nerves for riding with traffic but were nicely surprised by a seperate cycle path the whole way to Abingdon.

Riding over the bridge into Abingdon

Once at Abingdon we rejoined the Thames Valley Route (5) to get to Oxford.  

More mud....love the Rohloff hubs

We arrived in Oxford and followed the route all the way into the City Centre without having to ride on a main road.  I'd read somewhere that Oxford was the most cycle friendly city in England and my the number of bikes out the front of houses/units/terrace houses it must be.

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We got to the YHA hostel and Sandy was handed the bike locker key on the biggest stick!!!

There are alot of cyclists here, this is the car park at the train station and there were only about 20 cars.

Yep alot of bikes

This is St George's tower......I have some history to catch up on. (Mary I've bought a book on St George)

The Oxford mound.  I thought there must be some special reason for it's existence but no it's just the pile of dirt left over from digging the moat and they didnt clean it up.

Went on the cheesy double decker bus tour, it was interesting

Thursday 01 April 2010 Wargrave - Long Wittenham

Thursday 01 April 2010 Wargrave - Long Wittenham 45km

It's starting to look like 45km is the best we can do and at the moment it is.  We're both still sniffly and chesty and probably if my Mum saw us she would suggest we stay warm and indoors.  One thing we did today was manage to get the average speed up to 12kph as there were a few less muddy trails.

We left the White Hart in Wargrave after been fed the world's biggest breakfast.  The hospitality shown to us by our Maltese hosts was wonderful.  After yesterdays cold and wet slog we both, still feeling a bit crook, cautiously looked out the window to be surprised by bright sunshine.  Still a bit cold but 2-3 deg warmer than yesterday, which meant it was twice as warm :)

Put a bit of oil on the chains this morning, the bikes are a mess but still riding well.

We had a late start as breakfast started at 8am and we dragged our feet to get ready so we hit the road just before 1000.  On our way we came back to the Thames near Reading.

Lots of people living in canal boats

Canal boats...they looked a bit feral but I could think of worse places to hang out.  We met some other cyclists going the other way today, it's always nice to stop and chat.  One block was on some 12 Rugby tour which we think means he rides for 12 days watching a game of rugby each day.....he was madder than us.  Another two blokes were doing the same route as us but the other way and were having an easy day as they had a big night at the pub they stayed at last night :)  Not like us, I've learnt my limit is two pints of ale.

Passed by Caversham Lock

It would be very peaceful touring by canal boat, might have to put that on the list of things to do.

They put little slots so you can walk your bikes up the stairs

The stairs were hard but we were greeted by this at the top, a view of Caversham

A nice view near Stoke Row

While we were cycling through a little village I cant remember the name of, the weather started to turn....quickly.  We stopped to put our wet gear on, or at least zip it up and then next then there is sleet falling on us and an arctic wind.  yah!!  This is good, so we rug up and bravely face the wind.  We hardly rode 500m and it stopped.  Weird but we were glad it stopped.

Look I cant say it often enough, if your going to ride in cold and wet weather then get yourself a cheap plastic showercap and whack it on your helmet.  Sandy is horrified that I walk into shops with my showercapped helmet on but I wear it pride, it's the mark of a practical cycle tourist.

If you look closely you'll see a pheasant...it might pay to click on the photo to see it fullsize :)

Lunch stop at Wallingford

We are following these route markers

An earthen wall around the park we had lunch kept the bad guys out for the Saxons and it must still work as we made it through unscathed.

Sandy planning the next leg of our trip....actually she was feeling pretty bad so I think she was looking for the next bed.

Rode through Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell and the thatched roofs were amazing.  This trip has been a torrent of wonderful scenery

The plan was to try and get to Oxford today even though we both knew that we our current rate of travel that would be a big day that neither of us was up to.  After struggling up a hill in first gear poor Sandy's health was going the other way so we decided the next accommodation we see will do us for the day.  We rode through Little Wittenham which didnt even have a pub then a few km further on we got to Long Wittenham and saw a B&B so we pulled in.  A chap came out and I asked "Any chance of a room for two cold and weary cyclists?"  He hesitated and then his wife poked her head out and said "Yes", "Oh OK then Yes" he said.  I thought the site of two oddly dressed and wheezing cyclists might have had him a little worried but it turned out that they are headed to France tomorrow and he thought I said "two nights" to his "How many nights?" enquiry.

All's well, our bikes are snuggled up in their shed and we have a nice room albeit with twin beds (it was the only one they had available).  At least the bikes can snuggle.

Wednesday 31 March 2010 Staines to Wargrave

Wednesday 31 March 2010 Staines to Wargrave 45km

OK I think we have experienced a winter's day.  I dont think the temperature rose above 5degC today!!!  Combine the low temp with rain and a strong head wind and you get a nice image.

Big plug for Gore Bike Wear goretex socks and overpants!!!!
Bigger plug for Icebreaker wool thermals!!!!
Not so big plug for my SealSkin gloves, Sandy's are fine mine are wet.
Huge plug for my custom helmet cover, image further down.

Now that I've got that off my chest I can carry on (again) about the glorious countryside.  The Thames Valley ride is bloody brilliant.  Well signposted and it avoids any busy roads.  We rode through woods, bridal paths, lanes and tow paths today and when we weren't worried about frostbite we had a look around.

Caution bike geek content:
Some of the paths we so muddy that we were very glad for the Rohloff hubs (again).  Our drivetrains are covered in mud and grime.  The mudguards are full of mud and rubbing on the wheels but the Rohloffs still change gears like new.
The Schwalbe Duremes that Sandy are using have been great.  My Marathon XRs are fine but just heavy so I'll be glad to replace them with Duremes after I use their expected 15,000km life time :)

Have I mentioned that it was cold today?

My shower cap/helmet cover...Sandy is embarrassed but my head is warm.

Left Staines and found ourselves riding through Windsor Park, yep that Windsor Park very near the Castle.  Wow!!!!  Bloody funny, the trail notes told us that they are not allowed to signpost the route in Windsor Park but we should just follow the signs to Ranger Gate.....ha!!!  The only sign we saw for Ranger Gate was about 100m from Ranger Gate.  Took a couple of wrong turns but it wasnt so bad, saw lots of well-to-do people walking their labradors and spaniels.  Also saw a squirrel, very exciting for me.  Unfortunately  I didnt take any photos of Windsor Park as it was raining the whole time.  Plus how many photos can you take of stunning English countryside???

Some very steep hills today, the camera does not show the grade :(

We were freezing so stopped at this dodgy cafe for ordinary tea and crap cakes

A view of the Thames as we crossed it

Cooked a yummy lunch on a path near Bray

A lovely, recently retired, couple walked past us as we ate lunch and we chatted for ages.  Very nice people in England so far.

More muddy trail through the woods

As we rodewalked up this hill it started hailing, not golf ball size, just little 2-3mm pearls and it's the first time I've seen dry hail i.e. there was no rain with it and it just bounced off you without melting....it was very cold so it took a long time to melt.

Very low average speed here, in Australia we aim for about 17kph but we are struggling to get to 11kph.  We have spent many kilometres on muddy trails so not surprising the speed is down.  Not a big deal as we are enjoying our surroundings and it's not as if we're in a hurry :)

Staying in Wargrave tonight at The White Hart.  Lovely people, great room and once again great ale......

We arrived and asked about a room.  The Maltese couple of run the joint were lovely and apologised that the double room was not made up yet.  "No worries" says I "we can amuse ourselves with an ale".  So 5-6 hours in the saddle, very hungry.  I have a pint and Sandy has a half-pint and we were both a bit giggly.

Also hooked onto someone's free Wifi :) to update the blog.....I like it.