England : Oxfordshire The Oxford pie-cnic. Saturday 9th September

[Pale Rider]

Clearly beating Geraint Thomas uphill on a Brommie might be problematic...

It would, although it would be interesting to see at what point we'd be opening your will.

 

[Grant Fondo]

A pie-cnic is an informal social gathering involving pies - pork, game, chicken, gala or anything else. The notional excuse is a nod to the late forum member @vernon, but it's really an opportunity for forummers to get together, lie in a park of a sunny afternoon, drink gin, gossip and eat themselves stupid. Followed by going to a pub to drink themselves stupid.

Stupidity and drink feature high on the agenda.

There will be a pie-cnic in Oxford on Saturday 9th September, probably in the University Parks. There might be a feeder ride or two (see next post for one possibility), with the intention of arriving in the city at about 12:30 for a pre-pie-cnic sharpener. Oxford has a covered market which sells almost all the essentials, and there are supermarkets too.

I suspect that at some stage during the day or evening we might find ourselves at one or more of the KA, the Turf or (for the literate) the Bird and Baby. It will be sunny (it always is in Oxford, and always is in early September), but just in case there are plenty of other pubs, or for the cultivated several rather good, and free, museums.

Oxford is very easy to get to by train - it has connections to Worcester, to Birmingham, to Bristol and the West via Reading and to London via High Wycombe or Didcot. For the full undergraduate experience, several colleges offer B&B accommodation, or there are assorted hotels to suit any budget. To avoid the other component of the undergraduate experience, bring a very sturdy bike lock if you ride!

I'll start making proper plans in a conversation later in the summer, but in the meantime, get it in your diaries, and express an interest here. So far the other thread has registered as possibles @User, @Salty seadog, @User14044 and the Prof, @robjh, @Fab Foodie, @Hill Wimp, @mjr, @StuAff, @Nigel182, @The Velvet Curtain, @Lullabelle, @Markymark, @User, @hopless500, @Drago, @CarlP. And possibly others - I apologise for any laxity.

A note to members of the Fridays! Yes - I know that this is the first day of Le Sightseer, for which @mmmmartin is providing a route of very short days. But the previous weekend is the major London to Felpham which, holiday permitting, I'd like to do, and if I wait until Le Sightseer has returned the weather is getting riskier and @rvw and I have unbreakable Sunday commitments. Martin has pointed out that it would be possible to get a train from Oxford to Portsmouth (change at Basinstoke or Reading and Guildford) in time for the overnight ferry to Caen and a lunchtime intercept.

Very nice. May i bring along a Wigan Pie?

 

[theclaud]

Nonsense, I bet he doesn't even own one.

A level of confidence befitting a man who has passed David Millar in a Brompton race.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I don't like to go on about that.

David Millar still can't let it lie.....

 

[steverob]

Hmmm. Maybe a slightly different plan is in order, involving a ride out to somewhere to the West of Aylesbury. I'll study the map and have a think.

As that's my neck of the woods, if you want any advice on good routes around there, just give me a shout - there's lots of good options for both with and without hills in that area.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Well we are now sorted for the duration of this festival of comestibles.

We shall be camped at Redbridge Campsite next to Go Outdoors and the Redbridge Park and Ride and also a Travel Lodge or Premier Inn.

Gin may be served in the awning along with crisps and peanuts if you are good.

 

[User19783]

Well we are now sorted for the duration of this festival of comestibles.

View attachment 354817
We shall be camped at Redbridge Campsite next to Go Outdoors and the Redbridge Park and Ride and also a Travel Lodge or Premier Inn.

Gin may be served in the awning along with crisps and peanuts if you are good.

A good place to set up camp, I wish I could join you guys, but work gets in the way again.

Enjoy

 

[Fab Foodie]

Gin may be served in the awning along with crisps and peanuts if you are good.

That's Sunday breakfast sorted then....

 

[wanda2010]

I can confirm the date is now in my diary. What else do I need to do/bring?

 

[srw]

I can confirm the date is now in my diary. What else do I need to do/bring?

At this stage, I haven't the foggiest.

For the benefit of anyone else wondering - just put the date in your diaries for the moment. At some stage over the summer I'll get my arse in gear and work out what time I'll be riding from Amersham, either to intercept the Tour of Britain or just to ride straight to Oxford. From that will follow my arrival time, and that of anyone else who makes a ride of it. I will also go and recce pie shops.

My best guess is that we're looking at something similar to Cambridge - a lunchtime half of shandy followed by a picnic in the sun with lashings of ginger beer followed by an evening in a pub.

 

[Salty seadog]

Bugger, I'm at work.it's always my week on when it comes to forum rides. I will try and organise some cover so I can make it.

I now have the day off...... Looking forward to a good day.

Hard boiled eggs and tomatoes?

Going by your post in Cafe today, hard boiled is your speciallity. By happenstance rather than design.........The tomatoes, well, I'll have them fresh please.

 

[Salty seadog]

Thanks for that, just as I was starting to get over it.

It'll make you stronger in the long term.

 

[srw]

On the upside, the Tour of Britain route is now published (http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/stages/stage-seven/) and there's a logical place for an intercept which is only a couple of hundred yards from my preferred route out of Thame towards Oxford. What's more, the timings roughly work too - the lead cars of the Tour are due to pass kilometre 72.6 (T-junction right B4027 Dir Islip) at 12:12, which (faffage interdit) is a pretty sensible time for a 9-ish departure from Amersham and a quick coffee stop in Thame.

On the downside, I'm now working until the end of September and I've had a monster piece of work on for the last couple of weeks since getting back from holiday, so organisation time has been non-existent. And those buggers in TfL are promising to close the Met line as far as Wembley (but Chiltern is still running from Marylebone).

Assuming I'm still standing after attempting the RideLondon thingy I'll do a recce out to Oxford in a couple of weeks to see what the route looks like, and what shopping opportunities exist on a Saturday afternoon in Oxford for pie, beer and gin.

 

[srw]

Now that the monster piece of work has finished (anyone who knows where I work and can operate google will be able to work out what it was) I can start looking forward again.

So - expressions of interest, please. Is this going to be an enormous gathering I need to plan to the 29th degree, a small bunch of amiable people for whom I just need to find a pie shop, or simply a couple of us going for a few pints and a pie in the KA?

I'll do the taggy thing later in the weekend, but for the moment I'll simply leave the thread open.

As a reminder - afternoon-ish to evening-ish in Oxford, with optional ride from Amersham and anywhere else you want to ride from. All very informal - stay overnight, escape as late or as early as you like, get pissed or stay sober as you choose, picnic in the parks if it's fine, improvise if wet. Introverts welcomed.

 

[Salty seadog]

I'll be there Stu. Possibly joining on the ride in.