It was lovely to have Martina join us again today, for the first time in a while. Work had got in the way, but now she is free again on Fridays, for a while at least. Louise and Andrea missing today.
I was out yesterday with John and it got quite cold the higher we went up to Stoke Row, so today I suggested a climb to Sonning Common to warm us up, and give us a bit of hill to climb. Lots of us have not done so many miles this past month, or hills, so 25ish miles was enough.
Route
Gill came to meet us at Woosehill, so rather than head over to Sonning via Woodley, we aimed for Twyford. Over the 2 motorways initially, round the Hurst Lanes, popping out at the Pond. Still some ice on the pond this morning, as there is on our pond at home. Through Hurst, then we climbed up Broad Hinton to the roundabout at Stanlake. That warmed us up too! Left then on the main road, crossing the railway, into Twyford. Interesting that Lynne had never cycled on that section and now has a missing link complete.
We passed the Bia Cycle Hub (now also Velolife cafe), as we dropped down to the traffic lights. I noticed quite a few ladies in their "aqua" coloured gear inside, having a coffee before they started their ride. We passed another couple of ladies heading for BIA after we turned at the traffic lights, making our way to Charvil.
We split up into two groups on these main road sections, and Gill and I pulled over once we reached Sonning, to regroup with the others. Lynne arrived and kept going.
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| Lynne arriving in Sonning |
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| Followed by Martina and Jeanette... keep going! |
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Lynne got through the lights at the bridge, and pulled over at The French Horn.
Gill's first outing of her new blue overshoes, that nearly gave her a hernia getting them on! |
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| Opposite the French Horn, Sonning. I could see some writing on the archway.... |
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| ... a closer look. Something here isn't straight! Think its the lampost. |
I hadn't ever looked at these before, so googled them. They are a B&B option belonging to The French Horn, with room service for breakfast. You learn something new every day! 😉
French Horn Furleigh Cottages
We split into two groups again to continue through Sonning to cross the roundabout to Playhatch. It's such a shame there is no cycling lane/ route here, since it is not a nice road to cycle on. But we do it often enough and with bike mirrors can see when the traffic starts to follow when the lights have changed at the bridge. We all made it up the hill to Dunsden, which always feels like a real sense of achievement. It is also "The gateway to the Chilterns" so it's worth the climb.
Left in Dunsden today, on Church Lane, which is quite narrow and the last thing you want is a tractor coming up behind you!
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| pulling in for the tractor to pass, Church Lane, Dunsden. |
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| looking back from where we stopped, and its looking brighter where we came from. |
Across at The Bird in Hand pub, we gradually climbed up Kennylands Road. "Is this Caversham?", asked Jeanette. Hope not! We took the first road on the right called Westleigh Drive, which loops around and joins a section of cyclepath to The Herb Centre.
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| Blue sky just about appearing at Dunsden, where the Wishing Well was used for the camera selfie. |
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| The ER postbox at Dunsden. No more of those to be fitted now. Will be CR. |
Once through Sonning in two groups, we returned through Woodley, leaving Gill at Sandford Lane.
I was just home, when this photo was shared.😅
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| Gill with her oven gloved on. |
See you all next time, when it's forecast to be a little warmer. EMMA if you are reading this, we all keep up with news of your adventures, and hope you have a blast in the Alps. I hear you are hoping to join us to make a guest appearance on my blog when you come back in spring. Look forward to it.😄
