It all started well, the temperature outside was -1 so a delayed start allowed the temperature to rise significantly to +3 degrees, getting my heated jacket on this morning…

We were meeting at the Starbucks attached to the Esso station in Bicester, I arrived quite early after an lovely ride from home near Thame, through Long Crendon and along the B4011, a very popular biking road, but not this morning, I was definitely “billy no mates”. This was a popular meet with over 14 people wanting to come along, however only 7 actually made it.. wonder if it was mention of mud and HS2 blockages?

A great route ensured, around 2 hours duration and a variety of surfaces, from fast A & B roads to trail riding (sorry chaps) and along most of the Fosse Way, an amazing Roman road, which was traffic free for us to enjoy. All too soon we reached the outskirts of Hinckley and suddenly were confronted by lots of cars and HGV’s, a very different road to the one we had enjoyed only moments ago.

The company was excellent as always, the banter keeping us amused as we munched lunch, a special thank you to Steve Moxey for “volunteering” to be tail end charlie, a excellent job too… and a warm welcome to Sean Logan who joined us for the first time and hopefully enjoyed his “off road” experience.

We managed to raise £22 for our TVAA and green biking charities, an excellent effort, well done chaps!