Plan was to cycle a 113 miles, Chippenham > Sutton Benger > Abingdon > Benson > Wallingford > Didcot > Wantage > Ashbury > Wroughton > Wootten Basset (Planned trip here...)
I set of in the fog at 9:15 and got very cold very quickly! after 3 miles I climbed up Bremhill and emerged from the fog into bright sunshine ;-) When I descended back towards Tytherton the fog did not seem quite as dense and I was lovely and warm from the climb and sunshine.
I started to get worried when I reached the Cotswold Water park as my expected mileage and actual mileage was a about 3 miles out (I was expecting a roundabout at 30 miles I actually came to the roundabout at 33 miles!) , I was having issues finding some of the roads I was supposed to be following and ended up going the long way round!.
When I got to Abingdon I was at 65 miles, and knowing the road's in the area quite well I realised that going on to Benson and Wallingford would push the days distance into 120-130 miles so I opted for cutting straight across to Didcot
Following the road from Abingdon to Didcot I came across a cycleway signed to Didcot to I chanced going down it ;-)
Now Didcot has some very fond memories for us and I was pleasantly surprised to find a network of cycleways criss-crossing the town.
Something about the Didcot cooling towers always appeals to me, for many years it was a sign that we were close to home.
On leaving Didcot I headed back on the planned route to Wantage and Ashbury.
The weather was perfect and the scenery was awesome ;-)
On the homeward stretch at 90 miles the Laws of Murphy reared there ugly head, I noticed that the left hand crank had worked loose and the dust cab was all but hanging off, I spoke a few pleasant words and stopped, Not really being sure of the mechanical fit of the crank I simply did the dust cover up (I only carry a meagre tool kit) and set on my merry way...
At 93 miles after obviously taking another duff turn I ended up at a rather busy roundabout and I decided to call it an end as the risk of the crank falling off was extreme and I didn't fancy bouncing along the road. (I dont bounce well!)
So wifey was called and she did an emergency pick up.
I have now accessed the crank and have tightened it up with an oversize screwdriver ;-) Tomorrow I will rummage around my tool kits and find a suitable large Allen key to do the job properly ;-)
So today I ended up cycling 93.75 miles and was rescued by wifey (Actual route here.....) bit of a shame but close enough to the planned 100 for tomorrows ride.
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