My friend Linda wanted to be confident of a route to Henley, so she came out today with John and I. From Wokingham our round trip was 34 miles and for Linda 41 miles. There were winds gusting at 30mph, so it was a battle towards the end!
The route took us initially through Hurst and across the ford into Charvil, and over the Thames at Sonning.
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| Lifting our bikes over the stile in Whistley Mill Lane, we cross the ford using the pedestrian bridge |
A quick stop once over the bridge in Sonning for a water stop.
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| Fishermen at Sonning |
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| John and Linda |
Then the climb up through Playhatch to Dunsden Green, and along to Binfield Heath
Left then right at Binfield Heath and following the road towards Harpsden, where we opt to turn left at this pretty cottage to go down Perseverance Hill.
Once down the hill, a nice ride through Harpsden and crossing the main Henley road, into Mill Lane, we join the towpath. I photographed this lovely house next to Marsh lock a couple of weeks ago, and now the spikes of Acanthus join the Hydrangea.
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| huge spikes of Acanthus |
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| Thames at Marsh Lock |
As we cross over Henley Bridge the skies look rather threatening!
We continue along Remenham Lane, and stop for a snack in the church grounds. Just as we finish, the heavens opened. We took shelter under the lychgate, along with a couple and their dog. Thankfully the rain soon past and we set off to climb Aston Lane. As we turned onto the main road, I saw these lovely Hollyhocks on the verge. I then actually overtook another cyclist still heading up hill!
From here, we came past Velolife, and back through White Waltham and Shurlock Row. We had a good pace going, partly because it was threatening to rain again, and partly because we had friends due for afternoon tea and still had to make the scones. The wind increased during our ride, and the final push over the motorways coming into Wokingham was a battle.
John doesn't normally go at this pace, so was delighted with his new PB "badge" for Fastest 40K. Our average speed 12.6.
Got the scones made, and had a lovely afternoon with friends, although the rain came on several times, so our planned afternoon sipping wine in the garden, didn't quite work out.
