A Tough Ride - RRtY 7 @ 77

Storm Henk brought rain, rain and more rain for the first weeks of January. On holiday in Penzance I did not realise the extent of flooding in the Thames valley. I was to find out on my first ride of January.

The first part of my planned route would take me to Twyford and then over the Thames at Sonning for a circuit of Reading and Tilehurst. All familiar roads and a route chosen to give me the greatest possible chance of completing the series of 12 rides I needed to achieve RRtY 7 just before my 77th birthday later in January.

It was to be a tough ride.

Windsor - First Signs

Riding from Datchet to Windsor, I was a little surprised to see the car park on the left largely under water and the Home Park playing fields totally flooded. At this stage I should have realised that I’d be seeing more flooding. However, nothing could have prepared me for the day ahead.

Behind the trees in the distance the chapel of Eton College is normally visible. Giles Coren in The Times for Saturday 13 January comments that his son Sam can’t go to Eton after all, due to another story that revealed: “Eton delays term after storm hits the most crucial of facilities.”

That means the sewers.

Twyford - So Far, So Good

The route to Twyford was easy with few signs of flooding. I glanced along Halls Lane (leading to Waltham St Lawrence), knowing that this can become flooded but it seemed clear of standing water.

I rode through Twyford but as I crossed the A4 roundabout into Charvil Lane I was confronted with the first “Road Closed” sign. As we Audaxers normally find a way through road closures, I rode on.

Over the Bridge at Sonning

I rode past another “Road Closed” sign at the junction with Pearson Road, just before the road descends to a right turn for the bridge. I rode over the bridge and passed two cyclists who had been riding off-road alongside the Thames. A hundred metres further on, I realised that I was not going to complete this ride as planned.

The two other cyclists and I agreed that there was no way we could ride through that flood as we watched a 4x4 truck pass with a huge wake.

Diversion Coming up

It was really important to me to finish this ride. I don’t give up easily and I wasn’t going to abandon this ride as it was the last in the series to get me to my target of RRtY 7 - seven Randonneur Round the Year awards since I started in 2020. Audax rules for diversions on mandatory routes require that the rider provides evidence of the need for a diversion at the start of the blocked route and the end. I took the photo above with the stranded BMW as evidence of the start of the blocked route. The end would be at the roundabout with the A4155, only a few hundred metres away across the flood but much further via a diversion.

I knew from a previous ride that if I returned to Pearson Road I could get to the A4 and ride into the centre of Reading and from there ride north along the A4155 to the roundabout. I rode back to Pearson Road and turned into Sonning Lane to reach the A4. This was not a route I would choose under any normal circumstances: it’s a mix of cycleways on pavements and stretches of dual carriageway. Eventually I reached the outskirts of Reading and took a right turn to reach the canal. I then got slightly lost before finding the station and making my way to the Playhatch/ Sonning roundabout on the A4155 where I took another photo to show the end of the road closure.

A4155 Roundabout - roads to Sonning and Henley closed — A4155 - roads to Henley and Sonning closed

I was now about 48 km into my planned ride but had ridden 60 km. My planned route now took me back to Reading to Christchurch Meadows where I would cross the Thames. As I rode along Gosbrook Road towards the shared footpath and cycleway across the meadows, I spotted a young man gingerly attempting to persuade a swan to leave the road and return to the Thames several hundred metres to the south. Sandbags at the junction of the road and the path/ cycleway presaged problems. No way to the bridge! A woman with a pram told me that the path the other side of the bridge was under way and said that I could ride alongside the flooded area north of the meadows; she had donned her wellies. I thanked her and said I would find a road route.

Christchurch Meadows under water. There’s a shared footpath and cycleway under that water.

I took Caversham Bridge and the cycleway alongside Richfield Avenue to rejoin my planned route at Cardiff Road; from here I did my planned circuit of Reading, returning to the station and then riding back to the Playhatch/ Sonning roundabout to tackle the planned route to Nuffield Church. By this stage I had ridden just over 80 km instead of the planned 69 km; with the prospect of having to repeat the diversion along the A4, it was shaping up to be a long day.

Nuffield and Stoke Row

I rode past the Stoke Row Store and Kitchen, which looked suspiciously closed, to reach Nuffield Church. A sign outside beckoned visitors: “Church Open, Tea and Cakes”. I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome from a local parishioner but thought there might be a vacuum flask and some flapjacks as at Pishill Parish Church. The door was firmly locked. On the plus side, there is a tap marked “Drinking Water” just inside the gate but inaccessible in wet weather to cyclists wearing shoes with cleats; I had cleat covers but was not in urgent need of water, so rode on.

The Stoke Row Store and Kitchen was open. I asked for a hot chocolate drink, a cheese and salad bagette and a piece of cake. The (generously large) slice of cake came almost immediately; it and the warmth of indoors were very welcome. The baguette arrived shortly but I could eat only half of it and the cake, so decided to take these with me to eat later. As the drink had not arrived and time was pressing, I asked for a refund; the shopkeeper apologised for completely forgetting it and offered me water and a bag for the food (as well as processing the refund). He asked where I was going and understood that with London as my destination, I did not want to linger too long.

Warmed, I rode back to the A4155 Reading to Henley Road, turned right towards Reading and took Reading Bridge to join the A329 dual carriageway leading eventually to the A4 and Sonning Lane. When I reached Pearson Road in Sonning (with the “Road Closed” sign), I had ridden 124 km; my planned route to this point was just under 105 km. Although the difference was only about 20 km, the diversion used a lot of time.

Finishing

I’d made a late start - 8.12 am.

The email from Andy Yates confirming my entry gave the time limit as 14 hours and 12 minutes, meaning that I would have to finish before 10.30 pm. As I set off, I thought that even with quite generous breaks, I could not possibly take so long.

In the event, I did not finish until 21.58.

Was the Ride Validated?

Yes!

I sent Andy Yates, the DIY Organiser for SE Englan, a detailed account of the reasons for my diversions with photos. His response: “That looked like a tough day out and thanks for all the additional info – spot on!”