Bright, crisp morning's ride out to Red Rice and then Longstock, pausing on the River Test before heading home. So covered 26km in one hour and twenty minutes. Stopped in Longstock to check out the their Telephone Box Library and then on to 'The Bunny' which crosses the River Test, allowing us to join the Test Way and make our way back up to Chilbolton Common, Fullerton and Clatfords.
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Out to Fosbury via Upper Chute in glorious morning sun, only to find thick mist in the Bourne Valley at Fosbury which stretched all the way to Hurstbourne Priors. The watery sun was trying it's best to burn through the mist but was making slow progress. All the climbing was in the first part of the ride to Fosbury and then the leisurely descent down the Bourne valley to Longparish where a couple of lumpy bits get you to Wherwell and the Clatfords. 63km's in three hours and twenty three minutes.
Cycling in Holland is always a pleasure, segregated infrastructure and protection in law makes it a much less stressful activity, An added bonus is at cycle paths go through some of the best areas in Holland. The De Hoge Veluwe National Park proves this point as cycling is the best way of getting around, giving you a great view of the varied landscape on the White Cycles which are freely available on arrival at one of the entry points into the park. It's just a matter of ensuring selected stead is cycle worthy and off you go. No gears to worry about and a kickback brake is enough to navigate around the many cycle paths which crisscross the park.
The first hot day of the year and a long ride out to Great Bedwyn and back, this wasn't suppose to be the planned ride of the day, that was going to be the 33rd running of the HNOC. Unfortunately due to bad packing I didn't notice the lack of a helmet until over halfway there, so back home I came and rode out from the house. Off to the North and off the OS ranger map which covers the local area to Great Bedwyn and back. So over the big saddleback ridge which the Chutes Causeway runs along and down the other side, via Marten and joined the Wiltshire cycleway which goes pass Wilton Windmill and on to Great Bedwyn. At Great Bedwyn took a bridleway to Stock Common and then looped back the way we'd come to Oxenwood and then cycled down the Bourne valley until St Mary Bourne and then climbed the saddleback ridge to Upper Wyke and via the Stoke Road to Smannell and finally back through Andover to home. Longest ride of the year, four hours and 69km's. Out to Kimpton and beyond to the long bridleway of Cow lane and back via Quarley and Monxton, Abbots Ann and Anna Valley.
Very foggy morning, so a short ride out to Kimpton and back, added another piece to the local jigsaw in the shape of a Rose Lane - which is a bridleway between Fyfield and Kalis Corner.
A glorious spring morning - for a lovely ride to remember Mike Hall, who was tragically killed while competing in the the Indian Pacific Wheel Race in Australia. I'd Dot watched him smash the Tour Divide record in 2016. Attended a talk he gave about his experiences at the Cycle Show last September, this inspired me to get the Mango Point AR frame and build it up for a more versatile bike to extend my range from the home door to get lost and unlost, to explore further afield. I'd gone to bed after watching his dot chasing down the Monaro Highway to try and catch Kristof Allegaert the leader of the race. Woke to the unbelievable news that Mike had been been involved in a collision with a car and had died at the scene of the crash. The response from the cycling community was been great with organised memorial cycle rides in all the city's that the IPWR went through. Also a crowdfunding page has been setup to assist Mike's family in this difficult time. We we did get a little lost and found a nice country lane to add to the mental map of the area. We'd passed through Kimpton and come to T junction at Woodway, where I normally turn right towards Tidworth, I turned left and came to a junction with the Andover to Ludgershall road, not I road I'd choose to ride on, even on a Sunday morning, so looked for the first lane off to the right and this took me through Redenham Park (Home farm) and on to Redenham, back to familiar territory and back via Penton Grafton and Charlton.
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January 2023
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