Three Cafes and Autumn Colours - 56 km Circular Ride from Reading

I always enjoy my longer rides but I really, really enjoyed this shorter ride on an autumn Saturday. Not having ridden my bike for a few days, I decided to do a shorter ride before completing the last 200 km for my Ultra RRtY the following day. Leaving Reading Station by the north exit I followed the Thames Path for a short distance before picking up the cycleway to take me out of Reading via Sulham to climb (gently) along Tidmarsh Lane. Only a short distance from the busy urban area of Reading I was soon into beautiful countryside with great views and three cafes.

Autumn Colours

At 14 km into the ride, with Gardeners Lane directly ahead, I turned left on to the road from Pangbourne and stopped to take my first photo of trees in their autumn colours.

View from the road from Pangbourne, after passing Gardeners Lane

The Iconic Four Points Inn

Another 7 km of quiet roads with autumnal views brought me to the Four Points Inn, a familiar landmark on Audax rides in the area. It was being rethatched but still open for business.

A left turn here, after the group of faster cyclists, took me south along Haw Lane (B4009) towards my first cafe stop. First I just had to make a stop by the side of the road to take a photo of trees on a ridge; I never tire of this sort of view.

Hampstead Norreys Community Shop - First Cafe

A left turn off the road in Hampstead Norreys leads to a courtyard area with housing and the Hampstead Norreys Community Shop. There are no bike stands for locking a bike but it’s an extremely low crime area and I felt confident leaving my bike outside - but in view - while I ordered a hot chocolate and cake. “Look, a road bike,” exclaimed one of the boys with the mountain bikes in the photo.

I had a quick chat with a man on “grandparent duties” who reflected that the pleasure of being with his very young granddaughter was enhanced by knowing that at the end of the day he could give her back!

On to The Pantry at Yattendon - Second Cafe

Leaving the Community Shop I retraced my route a short distance to fork right and ride south towards Yattendon. At the T junction with Everington Lane where the route turns left to Yattendon, I could see a lane on the right signposted to Frilsham. I stopped to look at the map on my phone for more details; this is the lane that leads south to the ford just off the Bucklebury to Hermitage Road. I’ve often been tempted to include this lane in one of my routes but have never ridden it. As I was not on an Audax ride with a mandatory route, I could have gone “off piste” to explore it but decided against that option because I would have missed out on the next two cafes. Another time!

By the way, the OS map shows “Shallow Ford”. I wouldn’t drive a normal car through it and I certainly wouldn’t try to cycle through it; there’s a footbridge to the side for walkers and cyclists.

Again, no bike stands but it’s a very low crime area and I feel reasonably confident leaving my bike against the cafe wall where I can see it from inside and very confident when it’s warm enough to sit in the garden. Good coffee and a great selection of cakes. They also prepare meals which looked very tempting.

Renegade Brewery - Third Food Stop

It’s only a short ride from Yattendon to the Renegade Brewery. It has an enormous car park and Sheffield bike stands near the entrance. Bikes are not allowed in the garden area. I haven’t actually eaten here but local people I met told me that it has very good beer - and food.

Renegade Brewery, just south of Yattendon

I had only a light “cafe lock” and decided to ride on. The next 2 km are quite challenging, with a poor surface along a narrow road with short sharp gradients, rewarded by great views before a left turn towards Stanford Dingley. For a real pub, there’s the Pot Kiln just after a short sharp descent from the brewery.

Back to Reading

On the Saturday afternoon of my ride Union Road was quiet as was Common Hill - steep towards the top but short - before a fast ride downhill to cross the A340 and ride through Theale. As cyclists, we all have our favourite stopping places; one of mine is the bench outside Theale Library. The route continues through Theale to cross the M4 on a footbridge before the ascent of Pincents Lane. This reaches 13% at max for just a short distance. I may look for an alternative route back into Reading, having met young teenagers on motorised dirt bikes coming down the lane with little or no control.

Valuable Exercise?

My ageing Garmin 1030 Plus showed 8 climbs on this fairly short route. WHOOP recorded a strain of 20.6 for the day, which is almost as high as the strain it records for a much longer ride. 21 is the theoretical maximum for WHOOP, with the scale being logarithmic which means that a lot more effort results in only a small addition. The following day’s 200 km ride gave a strain score of 20.8.

I felt quite tired after this cafe ride. I’ve been determined to achieve Randonneur Round the Year, riding at least 200 km in a day every month of the year. I’ve become accustomed to riding those distances but for some time I’ve realised that shorter rides are just as beneficial - and enjoyable.

The Route

Route map for Reading Yattendon Reading