| Riders | John, Andrew & Tom |
| Distance | 49.30 mi |
| Time | 3h49m37s |
| Average Speed | 12.88 mph |
| Ascent | 465 m |
| Run.GPS Training Profile | |
This was the first ride when all three of the LEJOG 2009 participants cycled together. We were meeting at Tom’s in Wootton for 7am so I decided to cycle the short distance (about 7 miles) there from home and left around 6.30am. Of course it was completely dark then. I arrived on time to find Andrew waiting outside, no sign of Tom yet! After a short delay we set off around 8.50am northwards towards Cumnor.
The roads were icy in places so we avoided the minor road down Tumbledown Hill and took the main route to join the Farmoor road and over Swinford Bridge. At Eynsham we crossed the A40 and headed towards Freeland. The hill down from East End was very dodgy, the trees were dripping on to the road where it was freezing into sheets. We took it steady and had a break on Ashford Bridge over the Evenlode at the bottom.
We cycled to Finstock and through Hailey into Witney. This was a wider B-road so we strung out a bit. After Witney we took the very minor Cogges Road towards Stanton Harcourt. Rather than going back towards Oxford I suggested we head south to Standlake and approach Abingdon from the west using routes I had cycled before. To save a long loop and time we used the A415 over Newbridge to get to the Fyfield road. Using the secret tunnel under the A420 and through Tubney, Gozzard’s Ford and Shippon to Abingdon. I then headed south back home, whilst the others headed back to Wootton.
A good ride, the air temperature was pretty decent after recent rides, the ground temperature was clearly a different story judging by some of the white roads we cycled along.
