It was meant to be e-bike Sunday, starting from The Chase, near Newbury. But at the last minute, the forecast changed, with rain due by mid day. So we stayed local, with me leading a route to Wargrave.
I put on my brand new shiny green cycling shoes, which arrived yesterday, ( my old ones went to the tip with John yesterday afternoon as he took a van load of our blight riddled Box hedge.) I only wear a cleat on my right shoe, and had only got a few yards from the house, placing my left foot on my peddle and instantly realised that these shoes would not work without cleats..... much too slippery, and they slipped off the peddle. This is the second attempt to buy cycle shoes online, since the first pair did not have SPD compatible soles. It's a minefield!
I changed into my training shoes, and packed up my new shoes for a return when I got home. I really missed not being clipped in, with my foot in mid air a couple of times, taking off at junctions!
When cycling to Wargrave, it's difficult to do anything different, but there were a few tracks which John had not yet done.
First to Hurst, and then onto the track next to Chocoholics entrance. It was looking very pretty with Cow Parsley, but all flowers were white today. My camera has been playing up on the last few rides, so having done a factory reset, I was back in control today. 😊
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The track alongside Lodge Road, Hurst.
John not been here before. He was on his road bike, but it was fine. |
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| White Campion |
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| John amongst a bigger patch of Cow Parsley. |
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| Back in control in Aperture priority to control the focus. |
A change of plan, not that there was one, and we looped back to ride along Hogmoor Lane. We passed the crop field on the main Twyford Road, where a couple of years ago there were sprinklings of Red Poppies amongst the crop, but nothing today. I actually scored 19/20 for it recently in a photographic competition. I called it "Ethereal".
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| Taken previously in the field in Hurst, but no poppies today. |
We linked to Hungerford Lane, and passing the old site of Woods Yard, I asked John if he had ever ridden on Mire Lane, which is a left turn coming up soon? (Mire.... "a stretch of swampy or boggy ground." )
There had been some overnight rain, but I thought it would probably be ok since its been so dry for a while.... it was. We passed the Pony Club, but saw no ponies today. The road soon turned to a track, with just the usual couple of spots where it gets a bit muddy, hence the aptly named lane. At the end, we turned left, and very soon right into Nut Lane, to cross to Milley Road on the western edge of Waltham St Lawrence. (John not done this bit before either).
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| Nut Lane to link to Waltham St Lawrence. |
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| Oxide daisies at Milley Bridge crossing. |
We did a loop now down Castle End Road to Ruscombe, then New Road to cross the main road into one of "Gill's" tracks, across the field.
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| The track opposite New Road, Ruscombe. |
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The man with the dogs kindly stepped out of our way, but the dogs didn't.
John stopped for a chat. |
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| crossing the crop field at Ruscombe |
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| catching me up. |
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| The track does a slight bend here next to this tree. (Cedar?) |
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We crossed the A4, to ride past the strawberry tunnels, which were laden with fruit.
One of the fruit pickers, Bulgarian, who didn't speak English, offered us a strawberry. They were HUGE! There didn't seem to be enough pickers. These are definitely ready to each NOW. |
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| Man size! |
We dropped down to Wargrave, and even though it was a short ride, decided to stop at h'Artisan. It was very busy, with families and friends having breakfasts, but service was quick. Rather than return via Loddon Drive, which we do feel a bit uncomfortable doing since its private, we just used the cycle path along the A4. Noisy of course, but a good path, and then cut through to Charvil.
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Loved the light from the buttercups on this field near
Lands End Ford as we headed back to Woodley. |
It started to rain lightly as we passed the end of Dinton Pastures, but it got much heavier just a minute of so after we got home. Phew, made it. Good for the garden!
