After a pre-ride bike check and briefing we made our way up the first of the day’s climbs from Watlington car park up Hill Road onto a Bridleway and towards the M40. The pace was steady with everybody taking the first section at their own speed careful not to overdo it. A steady and shaded climb parallel to the M40 took us up through Aston Rowant Wood. This was the longest and biggest climb of the day so the group seemed happy to have the majority of the height-gain covered in one go. A very short road section took us onto a long, winding and narrow descent down to Wellgrove Farm where we followed the bridleway alongside Commonhill Wood towards Northend. Our recent dry winter meant that the perennial puddle (which was hub-deep this Feb!) had completely dried up allowing us to continue at a good pace down the valley watching the Red Kites acrobatic display.

A short(er than it felt) climb slowed the group’s pace and took us out of the valley and into Northend. Thankfully (?) a visit from the puncture fairy allowed us to all have a rest at the top of the climb giving our legs a quick rest and have a bit of a natter. Another short road section took us towards Christmas Common and onto another nice flowing bridleway that begins by flowing down the side of a field with large, loose, flints then drops into woodland following a narrow path all the way down to Whitepond Farm - this particular descent had a total vertical drop of approx 115 metres from the road at Christmas Common and gave the group a great buzz as we flew through the forest!

Another short road section took us to Pishill Church where we stopped for a tea and cake stop. Now unfortunately for us it seemed that a lot of other people had the very same idea and the church was out of milk, had 5 mugs, and only had 3 pieces of flapjack left! Not ideal. Well the weather was great and there was no rush so we shared our snacks and had a much deserved break.

Rested and refreshed we set off down through another short section towards the climb. This penultimate climb saw almost everybody off and walking and I really wish I’d done the same as I sit here typing this! The trail took us through another fun section of singletrack and over a fallen tree trunk, or into a nearby bush depending on your route choice. Another short section on tarmac took us onto the fastest off road descent of the day with a vertical drop of 90m meters in half a minute. Sticking gears and another visit from the puncture fairy saw us have an unexpected break whilst we got the bikes back up and running and let our brakes cool down. A steady ride up the last climb took us through woods completely carpeted in bluebells to Chears Farm where half of the group had a quick ride to Cookley Green to get in another long fast descent down Devil’s Hill – which sadly meant repeating the last climb – and the other half of our group caught some sun.

One last slog on the bridleway took us back to Hill Road and back to The Carriers Arms for a drink in the sunshine with a lovely view.

Best Wishes
Michael | BucksMTB

Photos:

A photo gallery of some shots from this Group Ride can be found in our online gallery here, or you can view them on our Facebook page here

The Route:

Here are the downloadable maps and downloadable GPS route data (in TCX, GPX and KML formats) for this group ride route...

BMTB April 2011 Watlington Group Ride Superb 24 mile Chiltern Hills epic loop with 2200ft of climbing! *Right click and 'save target as' to download

The main aim of the BucksMTB club is to have fun and to enjoy and promote our sport. We have a range of regular rides suitable for reasonably fit novices through to serious racers. We also hold Club Trips throughout the UK. The best way to find out about the club is to join us on one of our regular Group Rides. You don't need to pay up and join straight away, we welcome you to ride with us up to three times at our regular Group Rides and see if you like us first. Of course, an existing member can recommend you to BucksMTB membership at any time.