AndyDenizen

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

Ah, OK. Yes, that's changed a lot. Photo I took 6yrsa...

If anyone's on the hunt for a bike cleaning brush the Dishmatic "Big Job" seems pretty good. Nice big brush head, with decent bristle stiffness - enough but not too much... Short harder bristles on the back. Picked this one up from Tesco, for £3-4 recently. #bikes #cycling

Looking towards the Chilterns, with flooded fields - nr North Moreton.

Clifton Hampden

River thames by side of road to Long Wittenham

Thames at Wallingford bridge

Thames and tributaries very full at the moment... Water almost across the road on the way to Long Wittenham. Culham bridge road still dry though... #RiverThames #oxfordshire #flooding

Where's that wide rubble track, don't recognise it...

After my last ride I rinsed my bike, but forgot to dry and lube the chain, so today I had 'fun' sorting out a stiff-link fest & corrosion spots, before the ride...

No way. This is such an unusual sight around here.

A flag actually on a flag pole, rather than shoved half way up street light columns, at some roundabout.🙄

#Fix TheSystem, use actual flag poles, & stop littering the environment with flags for misguided political purposes. #Oxfordshire #Flagging

Yep, was aware, also of the good churchyard benches, for a quick stop... Around 10km away in Sutton Courtenay is the resting place of another author, of one of the most iconic and influential books in modern history, Eric Blair (George Orwell). Nice 360 view from the summit of Cholsey mountain...

Agatha Christie's grave stone, large light coloured. Grass around, bike against the brick wall behind.

Apparently only the Bible and Shakespeare have sold more book copies than Agatha Christie (Mallowan) who lies here in Cholsey. Cafe was closed in Wallingford, so spent my coffee money on some Brighton blue cheese from Abingdon market square... 😁 #Oxfordshire #AgathaChristie

That's right at the bend. Swerved to avoid vehicle turning / going too fast?

I use the same Kryptonite cable with padlock as a 'cafe lock'... 🙂

I wonder what the secret to getting a reliable seal on a presta valve, to accurately measure the tyre pressure is.... So far an effective method for using this new SKS Air checker 2 is evading me. Less check - more deflate, in my hands at least... 🤔🫤

Flooded Hinksey Meadow

Gas works foot and cycle bridge over the Thames

Grandpont foot/cycle bridge

Did some of the Thames path through Oxford. All dry, no flooded sections. Nice ride. Hinksey meadow flood plain well under water though... #Oxfordshire #Oxford #cycling

Yep, no rain, but a fair bit of surface water about.

Exclusive: £10m of Government funding for Oxford was sent back A £10m grant for infrastructure in north Oxford was returned to Government unspent – just as a safe cycleway on Woodstock Road, to be funded by the very same Government body, was cancelled due to a £1...

🚨 CLARION EXCLUSIVE 🚨

£10m of Government funding for Oxford was sent back. Could it have paid for the cancelled Dutch-style cycleway on Woodstock Road?

In a deep dive, we ask why a Government grant was returned, and if it could have been spent elsewhere in Oxford.

oxfordclarion.uk/exclusive-10...

New headset cartridge bearings time; replacing 10+yro original set. There was some headset play, which couldn't be preloaded away, without the bar movement feeling grainy. Probably should have just installed new ones, when building the bike up 1.5yrs ago.

Gmaps location of the by-way route down to Blewbury, over the disused Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway line, from Churn Road.
maps.app.goo.gl/e1S5UE4myk5W...

Another potholey section after the railway bridge (see top right), heading to Blewbury, just before decent tarmac over Churn Hill on Boham's rd.

This is the route I took over East Ilsley/Compton downs. I rode it with someone who was on 28mm, the other week. Just need to pick your line. Churn rd actually quite smooth gravel (avoiding potholes), and then concrete slabs. Byway down to disused railwy brdg, is old gnarlyish tarmac mostly...

Not on this occasion. They did pass slowly, rather than stop for me - so not ideal, but I stayed put on road rather than wallow in the mud, and they decided to 'sorry not sorry' rant on...

Fairly cold out, but I got the base layer etc right, so was fine, despite not taking a wind proof.

Quite a few flaggers doing their thing around here too...