Having ridden from Cookham last month with Breeze champs Sarah and Rosie, it was our turn to host and plan a route. The ladies were willing to drive a little south of Wokingham, so Cathy and I were able to take them on some of the lovely quieter lanes around Riseley and Stratfield Saye.
It's still stubbornly chilly for May, 10 degrees, and no one quite knew what to wear. As we left the Memorial Hall car park and headed to Part Lane, a car driver advised us that Part Lane was completely blocked by a mobile home being delivered! Not the best start, so we had to ride half a mile on the main road, then turn into Charlton Lane, enabling us to join Part Lane further down, to get back on course and onto School Lane, passing the ford heading to Bramley.
Route
Not far after the ford, the second road block of the morning, but this time we were able to lift our bikes over it.
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| Ford Lane, Bramshill |
Now a short section of Bramshill Road, and a right turn to take us to Hazeley Heath. Crossing at the Shoulder of Mutton Pub we took the left turn towards Hartley Wintney direction, but then turned right to drop downhill to stop at Dipley Mill. It was looking stunning today with the dark clouds in contrast.
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| Bottle Lane near Stratfield Turgis |
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| Views from Bottle Lane |
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| I got ahead to capture them riding on Bottle Lane |
Soon, we cross the busy A33, skirting the edge of Stratfield Saye estate, turning left at the end, and soon into Sherfield on Loddon for our tea stop....or lunch in Sarah's case.
We had decided to wear our Breeze gear today, and not long after we arrived at SOL, two other lady cyclists arrived. One approached us and it turned out they were also Breeze Champs. One from Crondall, called Jillian, and the other Suzie, from Crookham. They ride with Karan and Lucy! And more amusing, they recognised that I was "the photographer" that Karan talks about.😂.
So, I asked Suzie to take our photo.....
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| At The Coffee Shop, Sherfield on Loddon |
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| then just for fun I took their photo. I will send this to Karan too. |
Fed and watered, we made one more stop in SOL just across the road at the green.
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Green Lane Stratfield Saye approaching West End Green.
If you squint you can see 3 helmets along the hedgeline. |
Turning right at the top into Mortimer Lane, a little undulating before we pull up at a field next to The Devil's Highway.
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| Mortimer Lane. |
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| Views where we stopped, looking towards Beech Hill |
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| Views back towards Stratfield Saye |
We continue on Mortimer Lane to then turn right at the end onto the main road towards Beech Hill (turns out Cathy had not ridden this part before). Shortly before Beech Hill, we turned right on the nice downhill run on Park Lane.
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| Park Lane, nr Beech Hill. |
We then head for Barge Lane, and do the mad dash over the A33 on foot, before we finally repeat the short stretch we had to do initially at the start on Charlton Lane, but this time turn right at the end. I noticed the new mobile home now delivered into a plot, so we were able to ride on through to the end of Part Lane, back to the car park.
Sarah and Rosie both got a "Fastest 40K " badge, so our pace of Average 12.2 it seems has pushed them a bit! I blame Cathy.😂. But it was not a difficult ride, just a few undulations, so easy to keep the speed up with such a skilled group of riders. Lovely to see everyone, and I'm sure we'll see you again soon for more adventures in new territory.
