I took in #Snelsmore Common #BBOWT for the 1st time, via bridleway from Donnington castle -> Hermitage, on Winchester ride. Interesting place, ancient boggy heathland, & as I discovered it was a tad wet, but path was firm & OK... Unexpected cafe was open too! ☕ #cycling
bsky.app/profile/andy...
Disused Didcot Newbury & Southampton line track south of Hampstead Norreys
Berkshire downs late afternoon, from the Ridgeway
North of Freefold, hampshire
Just south of Watership down
A few more Winchester - Oxfordshire ride pics...
#Cycling #Photography
Countryside north of Micheldever
Sunset nr Suttton Courtenay
Donnington Castle
Just south of Greenham common (Newbury)
Cycled back from Winchester to Oxford area, having taken the train down there. Superb 95km ride. Thought about the Test river valley, but opted for more directly north, via Stoke Charity, Watership Down, Donnington (Newbury). Saw more brown hares than I've ever seen. #Cycling #Photography
Cross-country voyager train with bike from Oxford. At least it's not a cubicle. Brought my own bit of old inner tube to protect the rim when hanging... Bike spaces right behind driver cockpit.
sewage in brook.
Abingdon Green Party candidate Aidan Reilly has called on Thames Water to clean up a sewage filled watercourse just south of the town. Thames Water data shows it has been dumping raw sewage into Oday Hill Ditch alongside Peep-O-Day Lane for hundreds of hours in February alone.
I used the Cow Lane bridleway from Harwell village down to A4130 (Didcot), then along into Milton (Science) Park. The b'way has been opened up, so not so narrow, but still uneven & muddy in places at lower end. Building left and right; incl'g new school apparently.
bsky.app/profile/andy...
Muddy bit on this Ridgeway ride was at the top of Rectory lane; just caused by farm vehicle access left and right. Before the A34 underpass, they're repairing a deep rutted section of 700 metres apparently (just in West Berkshire). Chunky aggregrate, but not too bad. #Ridgeway #Oxfordshire
First spring ride of 2026. Went up onto the Ridgeway via Rectory Lane, Streatley (West Berkshire), and under the A34. 65km (70% on road), reducing pressure in 35mm tyres for the tracks. 🙂 Really nice up there. One or two muddy bits still, but not bad at all... #cycling #Oxfordshire
I'm thinking of train to Winchester & cycle back to Oxford area via Watership down, sometime... When there's a decent tail wind all the way... 😁
Nice selfie... 😅
I see you've met the giant Sunningwell hedge caterpillar... 😁
Can't beat a good slice of coffee & walnut... 🙂
Well done on the ride every day!
Found a couple of handy shaped bike cleaning brushes at Lidl for ~£2, to add to the kit & Dishmatic brush... 😁 The double flat brush very good for getting grime out of spokes at the hub, stiffer and longer bristles than a tooth brush...
Speedy & nice road surface.👍 I kind of want to give tubeless a go, but at the same time don't... 😅
P*ncture freq will be interesting to see. For me with butyl it = approx 1 punct/2000km recently. Will try 'optimal condition' (at home) patching of TPU & see if the repair holds well. If not, will weigh benefits of lighter TPU vs butyl. Cost <£8 for my TPU so not too bad, some brands £££.
Apparently, the Pros* are: (wrt to butyl) wgt savings (lower rotating mass), pack down tiny, & lower rolling resistance. Cons* - 'heat issues' with rim brakes, TPU (or butyl) not so great paired with 'tubeless specific' tyres, TPU puncture repair effectiveness(?); patches = adhesive stickers...
These are the 2x TPU patches you get, on the instruction sheet. Plus, a 'valve sticker' - apparently for any vibration issues, but I've not had this; one could put it over the valve bed inside the rim for some 'reinforcement' if needed, I guess.
TPU thoughts so far...
Plastic valve stem - maybe fine longterm?
Inflate '5psi' when fitting
Rim brake heat poss issue - if relevant
atm 2x TPU, 1x butyl spare in bag, plus repair patches.
No TPU p*ncture yet
rotating mass saving prob worth it. 'almost frictionless' too.
Bought Aliexpress ~£7 each
Finally gone full TPU inner tube in my 35mm tyres. Using the 45g weight tubes, so a total saving of 230g rotating wheel mass. 😇 I'll probably still carry a butyl inner tube, as well as a spare #TPU, just in case. 😉 May try the threaded valve stem TPU version, at some point.
#Cycling
Nice. Might train to Wokingham area and cycle back, at some point, to see if I can strategically extend my veloviewer tileage... 🙂
Bike in shopping mode, getting the most life out of some ancient Tika (NZ) panniers... Full mudguards may go back on, as unlikely to fit bobbly tyres.
'95 Saracen bike in electric purple. After it's initial overhaul, following purchase in 2018.
Now passed 1500km total on the Saracen PowerTrax (1995) which I bought for £80 8yrs ago... Av trip distance is 6km, so mostly my town/ utility/ lock & leave bike. It has been on a few off road excursions into the Berkshire downs, but much harder work to get out there, & also... cantis + mud.
£100 off atm, bargain... 😅
*really
Cheesy nachos with salsa, jalapenos & guac
Cotswolds between Chadlington and Charlbury
Evenlode river in flood with bike on a bridge
75km ride from Banbury rail stn back to Oxford area, Bit of a tailwind, some weak winter sun, and nice scenery. Had a bit of lunch at Hook Norton brewery visitor's cafe - rally good. Yes, I had a coffee... 😁 River Evenlode quite high atm.
#cycling #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds
*too 🙂
That's after attempting to feather a door edge planing, with a runaway beast of a gouging electric planer. 😁 Managed to rectify as had started with thinner depth setting than required...
Some say that DIY is therapeutic...
Fitting your first new door from scratch isn't...😐 Well learning curve, yes. I made the mistake of two much float (from door frame) on the hinge knuckle, so the had to fill drilled screw holes with woodglue coated bamboo skewers and adjust hinge recess. #DIY
Probably another data centre, and not a health centre... The thing that bugs me about the infra prov'n, approaching that stretch of path nr B4493 (with mobile mast to the left) from the other side ie from Harwell/UTC area is this... maps.app.goo.gl/T9gwiXgMuDNF...
😅
At last, a bit of sun ☀️ forecast for tomorrow...🚵🚴♀️ but now with an ice warning too. ❄️😐 May have to go out later on...
#Cycling #JustRide #Oxfordshire
