Seven riders left the Square for a reasonably direct route to Northleach, and picked up another rider in Brockworth, before attacking Ham Hill. A breakaway on the descent to Syreford was fooled by the unusual routing, as they turned left for the more usual route via Brockhampton. However, we soon regrouped, and continued on the published route past the crocodile at Compton Abdale and on to coffee. A hare was spotted running across a field on the way.
After coffee, we headed over to the beautiful Coln valley, which we joined at Coln St Dennis, and followed all the way to Quenington. A flock of ducklings and some swans were spotted in the valley bottom. Leaving the valley for farmland, we continued to the Cotswold Water Park, South Cerney and Kemble. A second stop for quick refreshments at the Daneway Inn returned us all home without incident.
A great ride with superb scenery and good company in excellent weather. 73 miles, 4,600’ ascent @ 15.5mph.
One member chose a different route, shown below. His results for distance, ascent, and speed were all quite a bit lower, but the scenery was just as good.
