FNRttC pre-ride: London/Bristol to Cardiff, May 20th 2011

[frank9755]

In ridewithgps. there is a "draw lines" option.

That's the one!
Sent you PM

 

[Aperitif]

Marlow would indeed provide a fillip... "Bringing sustainable dining to the heart of your community"

 

[frank9755]

Looking at the bottom right hand corner I, thought you might be thinking of making a bid for Freedom there, 'Teef - but they don't serve until 11...

 

[Flying Dodo]

OK - revised route is here.

Sorry, the route has a couple of weird detours on it which need to be ignored.

That explains why the mileage seems to have gone up a lot! I can sort it out anyway, once it's on my GPS, so well done for planning it all. I've gone up Christmas Common from Watlington umpteen times, but never down it before, so looking forward to this.

Assuming it's not torrential rain/Force 10 headwind, I'll be at Harefield for 9.

 

[Aperitif]

Looking at the bottom right hand corner I, thought you might be thinking of making a bid for Freedom there, 'Teef - but they don't serve until 11...

Your route is so wavy, I thought you might have been 'liberated' yourself at 05:00 this morning, or whatever time it was!

 

[frank9755]

That explains why the mileage seems to have gone up a lot! I can sort it out anyway, once it's on my GPS, so well done for planning it all. I've gone up Christmas Common from Watlington umpteen times, but never down it before, so looking forward to this.

Assuming it's not torrential rain/Force 10 headwind, I'll be at Harefield for 9.

Excellent!

Christmas Common down to Watlington is fun!

The total climbing has gone down a bit though - as I straightened out a few of the kinks. Part of the reason the distance is longer is that I've routed it down to finish at the Bay, as per Claudine's advice on where to find somewhere to eat.

As I said earlier, I've gone for a flattish route as on a long ride people will be getting tired. There are more scenic ways through the Cotswolds and we could have done lanes on the Welsh side (but the A48 is a very pleasant rolling ride). However there are still a couple of highlights, in particular:
- Welders Lane after Chalfont St Peter
- View across the Thames from above Marlow and the zig-zag descent into the town which follows.
- Descent from Christmas Common
- Another zig-zag descent from the Cotswolds into Chipping Sodbury with fast road following - so 20mph for quite a while
- Descent from the top of the Severn bridge into Wales

 

[frank9755]

Your route is so wavy, I thought you might have been 'liberated' yourself at 05:00 this morning, or whatever time it was!

The Bourne End / Cookham / Marlow section is indeed a gratuitous wave - we could go along the flat A road on the other side of the river, but the view is worth it, and if we are going to be stopping at a cafe afterwards I thought it was a good point for a little climb!

The other fun way into Marlow that I did consider is from the north via the A404 from the M40 roundabout.

It's a dual carriageway but it's a very fast downhill section. It's used as the start of time trials and I've hit 40mph going down there, while some people go quite a bit faster. But not everyone likes that sort of thing...

 

[Aperitif]

Frank - only teasing... it looks a nice one. Bike, bimble and a beer - as prescribed. Although if I taek the blue bike I could just about mangle 'Veneto, vistas and vins.'


Or, with Adam, maybe 'Planets, panoramas and pi... ' oh perhaps not.

 

[mistral]

My preference, if it's OK with everyone, is still to meet you at Wallingford?

Marlow is a bit of a detour for me (and you, surely?), it will also add some extra miles, I need to look after my young legs as they take a little time to warm up. We can discuss details further - on the way to Brighton tomorrow.

And thanks Frank for the route planning, looks great.

 

[Davywalnuts]

Ive requested friday off work, which should be fine.

Am not sure yet about who is doing the half way'ish and back part yet or where am meeting the frank peleton, but I guess you lot will discuss it all shortly..

 

[Flying Dodo]

Or, with Adam, maybe 'Planets, panoramas and pi... ' oh perhaps not.

I may be on the Specialized Sequoia instead. So you'll have to think of another line of puns.

 

[Aperitif]

I may be on the Specialized Sequoia instead. So you'll have to think of another line of puns.

"Tree, three and tea" - at least until the part-timers fall in.

I presume this is your pub bike, Adam?

 

[Flying Dodo]

Certainly not. It's my spare.

 

[frank9755]

My preference, if it's OK with everyone, is still to meet you at Wallingford?

Marlow is a bit of a detour for me (and you, surely?), it will also add some extra miles, I need to look after my young legs as they take a little time to warm up. We can discuss details further - on the way to Brighton tomorrow.

And thanks Frank for the route planning, looks great.

OK - Sorry, I thought you said that you would be coming via Marlow. It's not a major detour for us - just means crossing the M40 a bit sooner but its a nicer ride.

But certainly we can meet at Wallingford and have cafe stop there (anyone know a good place to meet?)

Davy, Geoffrey (and Arnold Izap if still a possible) - what works best for you - Wallingford or Marlow?
Is there a sensible place for the Southern contingent to meet up beforehand?

 

[theclaud]

Is there a sensible place for the Southern contingent to meet up beforehand?

It's a bit late to bring "sensible" into this caper, isn't it?