I thought before summer's end, it would be good offer a challenging route to unknown territory for some of my regular Breeze Riders who like a challenge. (I have ridden variations of this route many times with hubby)
It was very strange then, that apart from Amanda T, none of my regular riders signed up for this one.... obviously had a better offer for today. 😉 It was also weird that of the 5 ladies who originally signed up, only 2 were still coming as of last night. So, with a final bit of advertising on FB yesterday, it was great that Amanda O and Cathy signed up to make us a group of 5. My hubby came along for the ride, but rode most of the first half on his own. He hadn't been able to download my route, but thought he knew the way.
Cathy rode to the start, doing about 7 miles to reach Mattingley. We set off from Mattingley Church, with John already ahead. Through Rotherwick, Tylney Hall and to Newnam X Roads. Here, we went straight over, soon across the A30, passing Miller Ark Animals, over the M3, and to Up Natley junction on Greywell Road, arriving with the pond on our right.
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Our first Pond of the day, at Up Natlley.
Right now on Greywell Road, then a turn to Mapledurwell. |
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Pond number 2 at Mapledurwell. And now we head uphill
towards Tunworth direction.
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| Top of our climb on Tunworth Road. |
A right turn at a junction onto Dickens Road, which tbh I didnt recognise, since I more often turn left at this juncion. But as we passed a very long wall, it became more familiar. Looking in my mirror, I spotted a cyclist way behind us, which looked like hubby. lol. He had gone via Andwell which added about a mile onto the route and which was why he ended up behind us! 😂
At the junction with the busy A339, a dogleg over and into a road which runs alongside the M3, for about half a mile. So a bit noisy, but we soon move away from the motorway noise to pass through the quiet village of Cliddesden.
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Cliddesden. We stopped here for a rider who had requested a nature break,
and the pub opposite this one was open. |
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Pond number 3. Cliddesden pond, where we turned left,
with the start of a gradual climb. Cathy commented that she could do
with some air in her back tyre. 😓 |
Cathy had ridden with me last week, when I had a puncture, and she realised that didn't have a pump, so had bought one this week. BUT she runs on tubeless tyres, and had obviously had a puncture. She wasn't running flat, but very "bouncy".
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Corner of Northgate Lane as we leave Cliddesden....
with a hill coming up! |
Myself, Amanda T and Cathy all tried to loosen the valve on her tube, but it was stuck, so were not able to put any more air in.
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| looking back to Cliddesden, with Basingstoke in the far distance. |
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| We are heading for the hill in the distance, which is an 11% climb.. |
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| I sent Cathy on ahead at her own pace, and stopped for a photo with Amanda T. |
Poor Cathy bounced.......slowly, up the hill, with was over 11%. Shame. But with a couple of breaks, she made it. We joined Amanda O and Caroline at the top, where the combine was hard at work.
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| Top of Northgate Lane, Ellisfield |
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| A narrow border of sunflowers on the field edge for pollinators. |
A turn now towards Farleigh Wallop, all easy going until the big down and up, which is always fun, unless you meet a truck (which I did once).
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Amanda, Amanda and Caroline ahead,
as I stopped to capture this photo.
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We arrived in Dummer, at the church, where hubby was
sitting on the bench. He managed to open the "stuck" valve
and put more air in Cathy's tyre. (obviously we must have loosened it!) |
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Team photo taken by John at Dummer church
and after Cathy is now back with full pressure. 😊 |
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| Our mechanic in shining armour. 😍 |
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Now following the North Waltham direction from Dummer
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| The Pheonix symbols at the Memorial garden in Dummer |
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oh look! Another Pond!!
Dummer Pond. This is Pond number 4 |
We've worked pretty hard, and came out of Dummer on "Up Hill", to turn off into "Dummer Down Lane"..... wheeeee. All the way to the bottom and to the cafe stop. A deer dashed out infront of two riders on the way down, and a second small one for another group. I didn't notice John's bike at the side on the way down, but Amanda did, so we got the cafe before him. He had stopped to take this photo.
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About 28degrees now, so we sat outside with the country views.
The cafe is in an industrial estate, so its nice to enjoy this view. |
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| Plenty of indoor seating too, but we all sat out. |
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| One of the industrial units is a cricket bat manufacturer. That's a bit unusual. |
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| Sorry, not in focus. Not a cheap hobby! |
John left us again as we set off for our return loop, which took us under the M3, then a dash across another A30 dogleg, heading to North Waltham.
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| Enroute to North Waltham. |
I knew from a previous ride that we had a POND coming up! I parked my bike on the kerb, but as I took this shot I heard a crash! It had fallen over, and my mirror was smashed. But I was glad that it had taken the hit, and not my gears.
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| Pond number 5, North Waltham. |
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| A bl***y great white van ruining my shot, but trying to hide it behind the foliage. |
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| A pretty thatch behind Cathy in North Waltham. |
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| And the final one. |
A little bit of gradual climbing as we left North Waltham. The crash had unfortuanltey done more damage than my mirror, as gear number 4 was clunking in and out , as it did for the entire ride now. Agghh.
A right turn into a lane which I rode just 48 hours ago on a different loop ( to Whitchurch). And guess whats's coming as we arrive in East Oakley?
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Pond number 6, East Oakley. 😂
(where another enormous van is just out of shot!!) |
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| We are now heading right here, with 2.5 miles to Wooten St Lawrence. |
We rode about 1/2 mile on the B3400, before a left turn into a quiet lane towards Wootton St Lawrence, called "Wootton One Mile". (I more often come into WSL dropping down from Ibworth)
An interesting bit of negotiation soon follows between 6 bikes, a taxi and a very large tractor. The tractor won!
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We climbed onto the grass bank, the taxi reversed back, and the tractor squeezed through.
We saw almost as many tractors as ponds today! |
A dash across the busy, A339 into the deserted Rooksdown Lane, which turns into a pedestrian track. It's great... all downhill. Then straight for a another couple of miles into Sherbourne St John, and not too long before we pass NT The Vyne, on Vyne Road.
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Quick water stop as we pass The Vyne.
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We caught up with John on the far side of Bramely.
Amanda O, Me, Caroline, Amanda T, Cathy W. |
Since I knew that the footpath on the A33 at Sherfield on Loddon is currently closed (roadworks), we finished our loop by heading to the Fair Oak xROads, around Stratfield Saye, over the A33, and our final climb passing Wellesley School. (A hill which apparently Amanda O didn't even notice! But
Cathy noticed ........ since by now the pressure was way down once more in her tyre. ) The argument for tube v tubeless continues.
When myself, Cathy and Amanda T got to the start, no sign of Amanda O, who was getting a lift with me in the van. She had kept going to get her milage up to 40, then she appeared. Well done.😇😂
Since we had a spare seat in our van, Cathy didn't argue about getting a lift home. She had worked hard. Well done Cathy and hope you sort out the problem.
"That was a tough one", said Amanda T. It was, but those downhills were great!
