With Cathy free to assist today, we were able to offer 6 places to riders, who signed up for this 27 mile ride. Strictly speaking Breeze website loads this as a "Challenging ride", but since it was mostly flat, I changed it to a Steady Ride. I was confident that everyone who had signed up could do this distance, otherwise I would have contacted them. (But challenging does put some people off. ) What would the ladies think at the end?
Route
We met at Watersplash Lane, where we normally enter Windsor Great Park, and it was quite amusing when the ladies were told to turn their bikes around, as we were initially heading up Watersplash Lane. "But that's up a hill!", they said. Well yes, it is, but so is going into Windsor Park!😁
We were heading for Ascot Racecourse, and since Louise had not been through there before, we opted for the long way round the track.
Leaving the racecourse, we now headed to Cranbourne, on a couple of stretches of main road, so split up into 2 groups. Turning left into Lovel Lane, then passing the "Fishing Cafe", left into Crouch Lane, where at a convenient point, we pulled over for a drink stop, and spotted these little ponies. It was hotting up nicely now, and as Carol spent a few minutes removing her jacket she suddenly realised she was covered in ants! Inside her shoes even. She has stood on a nest.
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| Re grouping in Crouch Lane. |
We split again, until after Drift Road, and regrouped once across the A308 and into Monkey Island Lane. Over the M4, and through Bray, we turned into Hibbert Road and a right into the Cycle Route 4 path, with its very annoying barriers, that most handlebars barely fit through.
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| Cycle Route 4 off Hibbert Road, Bray and into The Cut. |
Emerging at the roundabout, we go straight over into Oldfield Road, through the railway arch, then first right to wiggle through the residential streets to this very pretty (Horse?) Guards House, where we cut through to Thames bridge on the A4.
It's an awkward junction to use the A4, since the footpath/cycle lane is not wide enough for pedestrians and bikes, it chops and changes from one side to the other, and no one really wants to ride on the A4.
(I rode the A4 with John on my recce ride, and didn't like it, so had sussed out an alternative). So the majority of us decide to cross on foot and stop for a look at the river as we cross. Then first left into Mill Lane.
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| Bridge over Thames, Maidenhead |
Mill Lane consists of homes and offices, around this old Mill, with some beautiful public gardens. We soon turn right, where on my Garmin I knew there was a slight "blip" coming. But I was not quite expecting this lung busting, short climb. But better than the A4, and the reward was the fast downhill, on Berry Hill, to then cross straight over the A4 (on a green light) where our teastop was just a little further along a quiet lane.
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| Mill Lane |
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| Scent of Buddlea at Taplow Lake |
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| Enjoying the view |
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| Sticky ginger cake. yum. |
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| Cathy, Denise, Sarah, Rose, Barbara, me, Carol and Louise |
Fed and watered we now say goodbye to any traffic for at least 5 miles as we enjoy the tranquility of the Jubilee River path.
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| The impressive railway viaduct, and Louise photographing the castle |
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| crossing Eton Bridge, where a Scot asked us to take his photo. |
Busy along the riverside in Windsor as usual, but we were soon through, and climbed gradually into the Great Park, where we enjoyed a bit of shade for a few minutes.
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| One of the pink gatehouses of the Great Park. And now a bit more up hill. |
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| Last hill of the day |
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| Last hill done, and now the downhill to Watersplash Lane. |
On this last stretch, Rose who doesn't get the chance to ride too often, said how much she had enjoyed the route, although she was now feeling tired. I asked her if I had billed this as a challenging ride, would she have come? No, she said, I don't do challenging rides. Well she just did, so she can. So, it would of course have been challenging to a beginner because of the distance, but not because of the hills, which were very few.
Well done ladies! Great company, and look forward to seeing you all again soon.
