Group ride with Alec Gore.

Alec's ride on Saturday was a demanding Level 3 ride to Pat's Baps at Little Compton near
Chipping Norton. We made them busy and probably should have given them advance notice.

The weather was on our side too, with unexpected early summer sunshine; a cool start at
10C but up to 18C at the end.It's a great little venue for a stretch beyond our normal area of
destinations and took several of the group into an area of the country they'd never ridden before.

Brief route highlights from the journey up:

• Bourne Valley and A338 to Hungerford
• B4192 to Swindon
• A419 / A361 to Highworth
• B4019 to Farringdon
• B4020 / A361 to Burford
• A424 to Stow-on-the-Wold
• A436 to A44 Little Compton

BH weekend traffic and Oxfordshire's ridiculous 50 MPH limits slowed the pace a little, so sorry to those with sore bums by the time we arrived at
Pat's Baps in a bit over the planned two hours.

We returned via:

• Through the Wolfords to the A3400
• Down to the A44 at Enstone
• B4022 to Witney via Charlbury
• A415 to Southmoor and then the lovely backroad to Wantage
• B4494 and lanes through Farnborough, the Ilsleys and Compton
• B4009 to Hermitage and the A34 at Chieveley

After all that, we parted company and went our separate ways, warm in the sun, a little tired from the concentration required, but exhilarated
from a great day's ride that one participant described as, "the best Level 3 ride yet!" The unsolicited round of applause at the end was much
appreciated.

And thanks to Neil Escott for doing a great job as tail rider, particularly as the ride got a bit strung out towards the end and a few riders missed
a marker off a roundabout. Well recovered!