Day 4: Wantage - Oxford - Alma Mater

September 9, 2024

Day 4: Wantage - Oxford

Morning glide

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I had managed to dry my riding clothes and coat tolerably well, as well as the inside of the tent before I went off to get food. The rain came down again overnight, but I stayed nice and dry and slept pretty well. The only downside is my beloved old-school mp3 player gave up the ghost, presumably because of water ingress. Sigh, back to ebay for another.

My plan was to take it pretty easy for the gentle last leg into Oxford. I had until at least lunchtime to get there, so I was in no great hurry to get out and away. I took great advantage of the honesty shop and coffee machine, having a couple of tray bakes and several cups of coffee while I took stock. My main concern was the tube, which was definitely on its last legs.

I had to pump it up a few times the day before, and twice in the last hour when I was worried it wouldn't get me over the Ridgeway. It was totally flat again, and I was a bit worried it wouldn't even get me into town. On the other hand I was now very close, central Oxfordshire is the land of bike shops and it was now a working day - and I had an offer of a bail out should all fail - so one way or another I'd get there.

As I mentioned the other campers were especially friendly, and I had some nice chats about camping and the recent weather. Eventually I couldn't take any more caffeine and set off, with a pannier full of wet socks and tent. At least my feet kept dry as I put on one of the oddest items in my inventory, waterproof socks, as a seal against my soaking shoes.

My camp. Very happy to have a bench to sit on.

I wasn't too worried about the route - I was in familiar territory now and was going to play it by ear. First I took the advice of the camp warden and rode back across the fields to the main road near Steventon. I then road on the pavement on the main road, crossing under the big junction of the A34 keeping well away from the traffic.

Soon I was picking up cycle lanes and seeing bike signs pointing the way to Abingdon and Oxford. I left the main road and rode through the big science and technology park in Milton. I would commute to and work in these sorts of technology businesses for about 10 years around Oxford and Cambridge, so I always feel a little like I'm going to work when I pass through them - a feeling accentuated by it being Monday morning. After so much countryside and all the military around Salisbury plain it was strange to see so much high-tech industry.

Milton business park. Lab coats and pipettes inside, a familiar sight.

Outside the modern business parks, Oxfordshire villages are pretty and prosperous. This is Sutton Courtenay

From here I followed the signed off-road route to Abingdon. I worked in Abingdon for 3 years and lived nearby, so all this was familiar. On the path I couldn't get past a jogging guy who was deaf to the world with his headphones - he was extremely apologetic. It's fine man, I'm in no hurry!

Abingdon is an ancient place with quite an interesting historic core in a bend of the Thames. It has grown hugely in recent years, and I spent some time circumnavigating housing estates which weren't familiar to me even in my years of driving around it in my first car. Eventually I got on the orbital road which was my commuting route for the office there - and picked up a minor bridleway, crossing a housing tract under construction, and headed north to Oxford. Amazingly, it was a route I'd never used even when I cycled this area extensively 15 years ago - strange what you find when visiting.

Boat club on the Thames near Abingdon. I like the unlicensed use of the Google logo!

Coming into the old centre of Abingdon by the river.

Don't worry, I didn't go down there. One for Mark B - it is a public bridleway!

I had one climb before the city: Boar's hill, which is famous for the "dreaming spires" view of Oxford, and which I rode up and down repeatedly both when I lived at the bottom and when I lived near the top, in Appleton.

So I wasn't too worried about the climb, but I was worried about my tyre. I pumped it back up again before the climb, and I made it up and onto some of the bridleways that I knew would take me down into town.

Amazingly I managed to pick a route I'd never used before, and even asked a lady walking down if it lead to Botley. With the route confirmed, I rode through the huge scout camp complex and a rather sketchy route through the woods and down the hill.

On top of Boar's Hill. The view's not so great today, but you can see the city down there.

Sketchier than I remember it. I stopped again to coordinate with arrivals, and to pump the tyre one last time.

I got confirmation that people would start arriving at the station at 1pm, which was perfect as I'd be there in 20 minutes and we should basically all arrive at the same time.

I crossed under the A34 again in the dull suburb of Botley, and then rode through an impressively direct bike route I (again!) don't remember. There was lots of tree surgery activity, with branches and boughs being removed, but they let me through.

I passed through the industrial estate and suddenly I was in Oxford. My battered bike was, at a stroke, one of the best maintained on the road and there were people everywhere. The Botley road was a total nightmare, it was actually closed and buses were taking a circuitous route around it. I dismounted and followed the other stream of cyclists walking their bikes through a complicated series of pedestrian passages to get to the station.

I'd made it. My tyre was almost flat. I stopped to take a (bad) photo of the Shift amongst all the hundreds of student bikes parked at the station, and then wheeled in.

I'd beat them all - by about 5 minutes. Ben and Alex arrived, we shared my remaining chocolate, and then we wheeled to Broad Street and the college. My tube was flat again now and I had no intention of riding the bike or taking that tyre off until I returned home.

Trinity was looking good. It's between term time so the college is quiet, apart from work being done to maintain the buildings. We checked in with the porter at the lodge, while we had the disconcerting experience of seeing our old professor's names on the pigeon holes - and some of our contemporary students, who (more successful in academia than us) are now lecturers.

Front quad. That's the president's house. He's got a private garden as well.

Garden quad. Two of us lived here in second year (not me, I had a hobbit hole above the lodge. It overlooked Broad Street and double-decker tour buses would sometimes peer in my window, to observe me struggling to change my duvet etc). We had rooms here this week though.

The chalk markings indicate rowing victories, some going back decades. I was too lazy to row!

Our room. The mixture of institutional dowdiness with high-ceilinged, dark wooded grandure is ridiculous and immediately takes me back.

The Trinitarians on a visit to Blenheim palace the following day

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 413 km (256 miles)

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