Peter B is leading this ride and writes:
Date: Sat 11th June
Start: Pear Tree Park & Ride, Oxford, OX2 8JF
Time: 8.30am at Oxford (see below to follow in car from Sixfields at 7.40am)
Distance: 46 Miles
Pace: Steady – Around 13mph Average
Café Stop: The Old Shed, Charlbury, at 26 miles
Estimated return: Around 17.15 pm at Northampton
This Saturday we plan to start the ride from Pear Tree Park & Ride, on the outskirts of Oxford, following a circular route around the pleasant countryside to the North of Oxford. We will be able to see the Womens’ Tour riders fly past us at lunch time in Charlbury, and get to Oxford in time to see the finish, possibly as early as 2.35pm.
We plan to meet at the Pear Tree Park & Ride at 8.30am. This will give us 15 minutes to sort a ticket and get the bikes ready to start at 8.45am.
I will leave Sixfields (TGI Friday’s, Sixfields, Northampton, NN5 4EG) at 7.40am, if anyone wants to follow and go in convoy. Please drop me an e-mail or add a comment to Sign-Up if you want to follow me.
The first five miles, up to Woodstock, are on good cycle lanes – not perfectly smooth, but as good as some of the roads later in the ride. Woodstock is not particularly cycle friendly though and is very busy, but once past, the roads become quiet and pleasant. A couple of points of note, however; the condition of some of the roads is surprisingly bad, and there are a couple of short, sharp hills, but because they are short, they don’t feel anywhere near as bad as my Garmin suggested they were.
We pass through Enstone at 19 miles. This is close to our cafe stop for any riders who want to take a short cut, but the route adds a worthwhile loop to get to our cafe stop, The Old Shed at Chalbury, at 26 miles. This is part of a farm with a caravan and camping complex, but don’t let that put you off, the cafe is a nice place to rest, with a good selection of food.
The Tour route also passes through Enstone and actually follows the fast straight road passing near to the Cafe. But we should have time to get to Charlbury for a better position to spectate, a couple of miles from the cafe, and where they will have to negotiate some corners.
Obviously, being Oxford, the roads will start to get busy again as we get closer, although once we get into the outskirts, there are good cycle lanes. We plan to get into Oxford centre at least 30 minutes before the first possible rider can pass the finish line at 2.35pm, but I expect it will be busy.
Don’t forget to bring a bike lock.
The route back to the car park is very good – there is an excellent path along the canal, almost back to Pear Tree.
Planned timing as follows (best laid plans …..):
Leave Sixfields 7.40
Pear Tree Arrive 8.30 – Depart 8.45
Charlbury Café Arrive 10.45 – Depart 11.30
Charlebury Town Arrive 11.45 – Depart 12.30
Arrive Oxford 14.00
Probable Ride Finish 14.30 – Depart 15.30
PearTree Arrive 16.00 – Depart 16.30
Return NH 17.15
As usual it is very helpful for our planning to follow this link to book a place on Signup: Group rides
Link to route on Ridewithgps:
Oxford PearTree/CharlburyOxford/46mls
Link to Women’s Tour Information:
Women’s Tour Race – The Official Home of The Women’s Tour
Cheers Peter
CTC Northampton 