The Chinnor Scenic 100

I enjoyed it!!

After 16 months since my last long distance ride I thought all my experience was lost.  But it soon came back: how I love the drive to the start, how I always forget one thing - a pen this time, how wonderful following a GPS track is but still couldn't do without the routesheet, how big the kites are, how I treasure the brevet card, how you end up using only 3 or 4 favourite gears, ...

It turned out the be the hottest November day since records began.  We just needed to get out of the fog first.

Fog at the lido

The start was at Ruislip Lido - not that you could see the lake.  The 100km route took us through High Wycombe, Chinnor, Marsh and back through Great Missenden and Chalfont.

100km route

There were some wonderful lanes along the way.  I particularly enjoyed the approach to Chinnor.

Climb near Chinnor

Once the fog was gone, it felt like summer.  Sunshine, cloudless skye, no wind, lovely lanes - what  a great day!  Coming back towards 'home' however, the fog appeared again and I was reminded how quickly you can cool down.  If I had been on the 200, I would have wished I had brought an extra layer.

A highlight was the lunchstop at the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway.  I expected the cafe to be busy, but we had the whole carriage to ourselves.  I had a hot chocolate and sausage bap.  The kitchen lady said that the cyclists had 'cleaned her out of sandwiches' and that she'd make some more.

Where shall I sit?

Menu

During lunch it was nice chatting with fellow riders, and observing the to-ing and fro-ing on the platform.

Busy on the platform

I had a wonderful day.  But the best thing was still to come.  I got home and told Sarah how it went. She then asked the dare-not-hope-for-question: "So when are you doing your next ride?".  

Many thanks to Tim Solesse for organising the ride.

A few more photos are here: Clicky