srw
It's a bit more complicated than that...
Leave Amersham railway station just after 9am, intercept the Tour of Britain as they hit the B4027 near Islip, the roll down to Oxford for the Pie-cnic or just do your own thing. No-one left behind. Here's a route. And here's the Tour of Britain info. If I know that someone is coming from London on the train I'll wait for the 0902 arrival, which leaves London Marylebone at 0827 - I've never had a problem getting a bike on it. Use an Oyster card, or a contactless card - the fair is £4.10 off-peak.
I recced the route late this morning, and it took a shade over 2.5 hours to the intercept point, with a reasonably filthy headwind. I'm allowing just over 3 (estimated rider time is between 12:17 and 12:38) for luck. The intercept point is a 90-degree bend with wide verges, so some sort of view of the riders shooting round the corner is guaranteed. From there to Oxford city centre is about 20 minutes, although there's a nice little market in Headington on a Saturday at which I might stop.
Here's the profile. You'll notice that I'm allergic to hills.
This is a ride of three parts and a coda. The first part gets us out of the Chilterns by just about the flattest route possible that isn't a main road. There are two downhills, and I'll warn now (and again, at least twice), that the first has a nasty bit of failing road about half way down. The second draggy uphill, up to Chequers, has just been repaired top-dressed, but that should have settled down within a few weeks. The trees are just showing signs of beginning to turn, so there might well be some decent autumn colour. There will also be red kites. This part of the ride finishes with an unavoidable, very short, steep (15%) hill.
The second part of the ride is flat, and fast. First along the B4009 then turning onto the Phoenix Trail to Thame. There are about 3 miles of very good quality hard-packed sand/small gravel over a good-quality foundation. It's a better surface than most of the roads along here, and I had absolutely no issues with 25mm road tyres.
The third part of the ride is rural middle-England at its best - little traffic, mostly decent lanes through mixed agriculture with the occasional pretty village. It finishes with a climb (sorry) up to Stanton St John and a second to the Oxford Ring Road. I'll be grovelling in my lowest gear wishing I'd lost some weight.
Under the Ring Road roundabout it's a very straightforward bit of urban main road to the City Centre, but because Oxford City Council do a very good job of discouraging traffic it's quiet, apart from the buses.
Expected arrival time 1-ish. As ever, dependent on health and weather. I'm hoping for a typical early-September bit of warmth. To get out of Oxford, take a bus to London or a train almost anywhere or retrace your steps.
I recced the route late this morning, and it took a shade over 2.5 hours to the intercept point, with a reasonably filthy headwind. I'm allowing just over 3 (estimated rider time is between 12:17 and 12:38) for luck. The intercept point is a 90-degree bend with wide verges, so some sort of view of the riders shooting round the corner is guaranteed. From there to Oxford city centre is about 20 minutes, although there's a nice little market in Headington on a Saturday at which I might stop.
Here's the profile. You'll notice that I'm allergic to hills.
This is a ride of three parts and a coda. The first part gets us out of the Chilterns by just about the flattest route possible that isn't a main road. There are two downhills, and I'll warn now (and again, at least twice), that the first has a nasty bit of failing road about half way down. The second draggy uphill, up to Chequers, has just been repaired top-dressed, but that should have settled down within a few weeks. The trees are just showing signs of beginning to turn, so there might well be some decent autumn colour. There will also be red kites. This part of the ride finishes with an unavoidable, very short, steep (15%) hill.
The second part of the ride is flat, and fast. First along the B4009 then turning onto the Phoenix Trail to Thame. There are about 3 miles of very good quality hard-packed sand/small gravel over a good-quality foundation. It's a better surface than most of the roads along here, and I had absolutely no issues with 25mm road tyres.
The third part of the ride is rural middle-England at its best - little traffic, mostly decent lanes through mixed agriculture with the occasional pretty village. It finishes with a climb (sorry) up to Stanton St John and a second to the Oxford Ring Road. I'll be grovelling in my lowest gear wishing I'd lost some weight.
Under the Ring Road roundabout it's a very straightforward bit of urban main road to the City Centre, but because Oxford City Council do a very good job of discouraging traffic it's quiet, apart from the buses.
Expected arrival time 1-ish. As ever, dependent on health and weather. I'm hoping for a typical early-September bit of warmth. To get out of Oxford, take a bus to London or a train almost anywhere or retrace your steps.
