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@user20714
An accident has left my elderly Grandma a bit shaken up and in need of some tlc, so this weekend's riding centred around the Oxfordshire village of Shrivenham. While she snoozed the morning away, I snuck out for some early miles around the Wiltshire lanes under heavy grey clouds and a brooding horizon.
My Dad has previously ridden the White Horse Challenge, and so I picked a few bits of the route which would take me up and around some of the few lumps that are to be had in this part of the world. As I blissfully sailed straight out of the front door and into abandoned country lanes, I couldn't help but contrast this to the usual weekend routine of battling traffic and fumes for at least 50% of my rides into Kent and Surrey.
The first few hours of the ride took me up the Uffington white horse, with the views quietly muted by the low hanging clouds and the humidity in the air, and down through the enormous Savernake forest. Tempting as the multiple bridleways and forest paths branching off the tarmac were, I wasn’t sure that summer race tyres and the best bike were a good combination for the mud and logs – next time I’m bringing the cross bike for some proper exploring.
The southernmost point of the route took me past the Alton Barnes white horse, located on the joint-highest point of the county (which isn’t saying much), but well placed for a little on-the-move cameraphone snapping:
After a section of fast-flowing and HGV laden riding on the A4, I was ready for some quieter roads again and turned north out of Mildenhall onto what looked like a series of B roads that linked through to Ogbourne St George. Part of the joy of riding new roads is the guesswork involved in not making wrong turns, but I do find it frustrating when Google marks minor roads on its maps that ultimately peter out into gravel tracks or worse. Still, it’s never too bad when there’s a mobile phone mast within sight and the 3G signal is strong enough to re-plot. Undeterred, it was time to power home for lunch: this time a selection of pizzas that my ‘none of this foreign muck’ Grandma has suddenly developed a taste for. The things a knock on the head can do for you..!
http://www.strava.com/activities/84139609