Six of us met at Bird Hills despite the early morning drizzle - Brett, Rob H, Rob O’Keefe, Peter, Guy and Andrew. Andrew was on a cycling curfew, due to an injured rib, so left us at the start to meet up with the Clock Tower group.

It soon stopped raining and we were led by Brett for almost the entirety of the ride. We made our way to Henley via Twyford and Playhatch, then up Stonor towards Christmas Common.

We then turned right at the Nettlebed junction and through Nuffield and Stoke Row before going through Harpsden and back into Henley.

As Rob O’Keefe led us through the junction in Henley town centre, he had a lucky escape after his bike slipped on some diesel on the road. Unfortunately, Brett wasn’t quite as lucky behind him and went down fairly hard as we turned right.

We briefly stopped to make sure there wasn’t any serious damage to either Brett or his bike. Luckily, some grazes and a dirty kit was about as bad as it got. Hope you’re not too sore tomorrow, Brett.

Back on our bikes, we went up Kenton’s Lane and stopped off at Velolife for a much-needed coffee and cake - where Rob O’Keefe and Brett ate all the calories they had just burned with a large slice of Oreo Cake.

As we were leaving, the Clock Tower group arrived for their slice of cake and after a quick catch up, we cruised back down Bottle Lane before we each peeled off home.

Overall, we did about 60 miles including to and from Bird Hills, an elevation of around 2,300ft with an average speed of 18mph.

Thanks to Rob H for writing this contribution