This mornings ride proved to be rather more hardwork than it should have been for a quick round of the test valley via Stockbridge. Was not feeling that great which was the main factor, felt rather sluggish all the way round. It was a shame as it was a beautiful morning with the Sun poking god's rays through the mist. So 27.8 kilometres in an hour and half.
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So a very pleasant trip up to the guys at Mango Bikes, who are situation on a small industrial estate at South Cerney which is nestled in amongst the lakes of the Cotswolds Water parks area. We where interested in the Point AR frameset, which as thier market blurb states 'Whether you’re looking for speed on the open road, traction on a gravel track or jumping up and down curbs on your commute, the AR (All-Round) has it covered!'
I was glad i'd had the opportunity to go up to their Showroom to get up close to their products as I was able to try out their frame's for size. Initially tried out the medium frame which proved a tad too small, and moved up to the large which was a much better fit. The frame is offered in four colour ways - Artic White, Flame Orange, Nuclear Green and Gunmetal. I had been interested in going with the frameset in Gunmetal, as it looked rather good on their website, but in real life the colour had a lot more blue in it so in the end decided on 'Flame Orange' A short loop of 18 kilometres out to Kentboro and back in just over an hour. The weather is starting to turn and it wasn't as crisp or sunny as previous rides this morning. Grey and cold was the theme of the ride.
41 kilometres in just over two hours, another pleasant morning ride out to Collingbourne Wood and back via the Chutes Causeway, which affords the benefit of the long run down to Clanville.
Another crisp autumnal morning, so off to WoodHenge and Stonehenge near Larkhill. A total 76.4 kilometres in four hours and twenty two minutes. 562 metres of climbing included. So out west via Grately and Cholderton, an under pass took us under the A303 at Scotland's Farm, A byway then ran towards Shipton Bellinger. We didn't get that far as we took an interesting track up though Pearl Wood, after some climbing the track broke out onto the top of Hill Copse which gives a great view across Salisbury plain. Dropped down onto a cinder fire road and through Bulford Camp and Durrington to Woodhenge. From Woodhenge skirted Larkhill and took the byway which runs past Stonehenge, first cross the 'The Cursus'.
It's a strange situation with the National Trust managing the land around Stonehenge and the actual site being managed by English Heritage. So we got a good look around the area and had a very good view of the site from outside the fence which rings Stonehenge. When I arrived the site was empty apart from some security staff there to ensure no unauthorised access to the site. The site opens to the public at 09:30 They did A cycle down the disused B road which used to pass the site, but now leads to the visitor's centre. By this time the wind was really getting up, so on the return leg, we suffered either a gusting headwind or crosswind which took some of the shine off the adventure. So back via Larkhill, Durrington, Bulford Camp and we crossed over the long saddle at the 'Bulford road' byway which popped us out in Shipton Bellinger. Under the A303 via Parkhorse Corner and home via Grateley, Monxton, etc. Another crisp morning ride out, 38 kilometres in just over two hours. Found another nice stretch of byway between Three hat Corner and Newton Tony which connected with the Roman Road (Portway). So out of Andover via Anna Valley and Abbots Anne, up to Weyhill and then through Fyfield and again skirted the Thruxton race course via Snoddington lane. Then via Quarley and Quarley Down and onto a couple of sections of byway which connected with the aforementioned Roman Road (Portway) and then back to Andover via Grateley and Monxton.
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January 2023
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