Breeze Cantley to Sonning Common

At last some SUNSHINE!😎😎😎😎

It was lovely to have Hazel join me today, for a ride to Bottle & Glass, Binfield Heath. She more often does Friday rides, so we rarely see each other, since I dont do Friday Breeze rides. Rose teamed up with Sue who led a ride to Wargrave. We briefly met all the riders at Cantley, before heading off in separate directions.

After 2 cancellations this morning, Annie, Sandra and Louise joined us this morning, so a very civilised group of 5 of us, so we were able to stick together as one group for the whole ride. We started off on the quiet Hurst lanes heading to Hurst pond.

Route link screen shot at end.

Blue sky from the outset today,
and plenty of sheep in the Hurst fields. Lambs must be due soon.

At the junction with Hurst Pond, we took the left fork today and then doglegged over into Orchard Road. I had never ridden here until last Friday and it just shakes up the route a little. Next, a right into Sawpit Road to join Lodge Road to Whistley Green, and a little climb up Broad Hinton. A bit warmer now, so a stop at the top to peel of snoods.

An easy few miles now starting with a downhill to Twyford traffic lights, before a left turn on Old Bath Road, with very flooded fields on both side of this low lying area. A river called Old River runs both sides of this road.

Over the A4 to continue into Sonning, where we pulled in for the lights to changed at The Mill, for cars to pass, then making it almost all the way to the end before any traffic caught us up. A climb next up Dunsden Hill, with Sandra passing us all on her way to the top, with Louise hot on her heels.

Passing Loddon Brewery, straight over into a favourite unnamed lane (all downhill!) .

unnamed lane as we head to Bird in Hand Lane

Emerging from Bird in Hand Lane, to climb into Sonning Common.
Loved the clouds.

We climbed away from Sonning Common on Blackmore Lane
with this idyllic little landscape on our right.

Climbing the cheeky 10% Blackmore Lane to Crowsley

A couple of minutes for a drink at the top

Beyond this point our speed dropped dramatically
as the road surface is shockingly bad!

Right turn with a long down then an uphill to the pub at Binfield Heath.

The blue team, Annie and Hazel

The pink team, Louise and Sandra.

the mixed team! Sandra and me.

Lovely chatty coffee break, discussing various hobbies we all have. Great cakes too, and individual coffee and tea pots.

Beautiful blue skies as we came out.
the Barn, is not open mid week atm, but hopefully it will again
once the weather improves.

Rather than drop back downhill via Dunsden, we continued to Emmergreen, and dropped down passing the old BBC Berkshire site. Near the bottom, we pulled in at a bustop for a few cars to pass. It was such a beautiful day, that I asked if no one was on a deadline if they would like to add a couple of easy miles to detour to Caversham Lakes? A resounded yes please. Some had never been there before.