The Kennet & Avon canal east of Bath is superb, especially with all the vibrant fresh green spring colours. The canal aqueducts Dundas & Avoncliff are quite something. Path is very good & bone dry atm. 35mm tyres @ 40psi ish were great. #Cycling #Photography #Canals bsky.app/profile/andy...

Must be a good year for wild garlic! Large swathes of it, alongside the Two Tunnels greenway (Bath) & Kennet & Avon canal in places... #Cycling #Flowers #Photography bsky.app/profile/andy...

Did some great canal side cycling, 50km along the Kennet & Avon, from #Bath, inclg the Combe Down cycle tunnel, & down to Riders Rest cafe in Wellow. Superb. St L's amazing late-Saxon church and Canals Trust cafe in Bradford on Avon. GWR train down worked pretty well too. #Cycling #Photography

People may remember what the Fencott rd, SE from Murcott, around Otmoor (NE of Oxford) used to be like - a failed road surface. It's been resurfaced, with a full new hot rolled tarmac mat, including the hill up to the Brill rd T-jnctn. So, now probably the smoothest road in #Oxfordshire...

Pleased to see overwhelming opinion IN FAVOUR of the NCN5 cycle and walking improvements to our town centre, including contraflow lane In Abingdon we don't mess around or sit on the fence www.facebook.com/share/p/18EX...

Ride was back via Sandford Lock, South of Oxford. Unfortunately, the Proof Social Bakehouse, on Sandford lane proved a little too popular, for me to want to join the queue... 🙂

'Of course my tank needs to be parked on the cycle path, I mean otherwise it would take up space on the road...' 😑 #Oxford

Cycled through North Oxford, via Godstow/ Wolvercote, en route to Otmoor, including the superb Marston Ferry Rd cycleway. Also Squitchey lane, probably my favourite Oxford street name... 😁 Port meadow looking good in the sun. #Cycling #Oxfordshire #Photography

Hydraulic brakes have been used for 2yrs, so overdue a service. Although, very good, I had some new RS785 (postmount) calipers on the shelf, so the basic MT200 calipers are coming off. Messed up (see alt) new olive & barb fitting, so repeated - waiting for more to arrive for front caliper.

New mudflap (TTCycle) installed. I was going on a potentially wet ride with others, so put the MGs back on... fortunately, easy to do. Despite the good forecast ☀️, expect the unexpected, as the MGs may come off again... 😁

Worth a look... Petition Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... #EndSewagePollution #StopTheSewage #StateOfOurRivers #ProtectOurRivers #CleanWater

Worth a look... Petition Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... #EndSewagePollution #StopTheSewage #StateOfOurRivers #ProtectOurRivers #CleanWater

So Pt 1 of test complete. The new Pirelli patches seem to properly bond to the TPU inner using the Camplast cement. The RideNow patches just didn't 'cut it'. I think the previous patch detached simply due to the flexing of the tyre at lower pressures. Road test next... bsky.app/profile/andy...

Evening over Blewburton hillfort. There is am upcoming "UK Hillforts" episode if you wish to know more about this site.

On the face of it, this TPU inner tube patch kit seems good value for ~£6. The patches are nicely flexible, unlike the relatively stiff RideNow self adhesive patches. 'Camplast' TPU fusing cement is encouraging too. I have a TPU tube waiting for repair, so efficacy test incoming... #Cycling

The mysterious west Oxfordshire portal to a different... side of the A420 nr Fyfield, has signage now. 👍 #Oxfordshire #Cycling

I suggest that, given the puncture-fest on Paris Roubaix 26 in particular, pro cycling teams maybe better using off-the-shelf consumer versions of tyres, with 'heavier', more rubber' construction. Having to chase back on, following deflations, probably cost some riders the race. #ParisRoubaix

It was good to be greeted by a 'corridor of #insects' up on the Ridgeway. One can see (in hi-res 1440p) brief insect shapes appearing. The potential detrimental #Biodiversity impacts of projects like TW White Horse megaReservoir shouldn't be underestimated. #Oxfordshire bsky.app/profile/andy...

Testing out Conti GP5000 AS TR 700x35c (36mm on my DT-S rims) tyres atm, & comparing to usual Panaracer Pasela PT 35c. I tend to run them at ~45-50psi on road, & 35+psi on tracks. So far, I'm impressed with the Contis, but they do cost x2+ the Paselas. Contis are lighter, & seem to roll really well.

I discovered that Goosey Lane from Northmead ln - CharneyB end, to Park ln junction has fresh chipseal loose gravel... 😐 Fortunately, the 35mm tyres cruised over it with no issues 👍 Of course 20mph signs don't seem to stop overtaking drivers doing 40mph+ 😑

Cycling a short section of the #Ridgeway, Blowingstone hill to Wayland's Smithy burial structure (~5500 years old). The movie. 🙃 Any appearance to pro peloton-like average speeds, is coincidental; the video is set to x3 actual speed. 😉 [~4.5km, avg 15km/h] #Cycling youtu.be/RKsmmubAF6I

🧡 Wish someone else orange were jobless #Caturday 🔶️🧡

A new developer has been appointed to deliver the long-awaited GP surgery in Didcot's Great Western Park. MP Olly Glover welcomed the announcement "Residents have waited far too long. My constituents deserve primary care that keeps up with housing growth, and I will continue to press for this”.

TPU patch lifting caused overnight puncture. I had my doubts about the self-adhesive patches, which also seem to be more rigid than the TPU tube itself. Have ordered a Pirelli SmarTUBE repair kit (£6) with TPU glue, to try. Will keep with RideNow tubes for the mo, as less pricey @ ~£7 ea...

‘It’s not AI, it’s real’: shock as RSPCA releases images of 250 dogs found at property

Some moar pics from White horse ride (75km). Superb weather - probably 23C its. Nice coffee in Ashbury at the Baking Bee. Longcot to Uffington road is a good vantage point to make out the whole white horse. #Oxfordshire #Cycling #Photography #ValeoftheWhiteHorse bsky.app/profile/andy...

Not bad up at Whitehorse Hill on the Ridgeway today. 🙂👍 Stop at Waylands Smithy burial mound. On road to the top of Blowingstone hill, then track to rejoin road at top of Ashbury hill. #Oxfordshire #cycling

Now I've only gone and done it... 🌧️💦😉

Dangerous / illegal e-motorbikes yesterday on the #Thames path between #Oxford Folly bridge & Iffley lock area. Bank hol Monday & the path was busy; full on reckless behaviour of these bikers. My garmin varia (beeping in video) had this rider in clip at ~37mph / 59km/h. #Oxfordshire

A safe cycle route from East Challow to Grove, avoiding the busy A417, will be built this summer. An all-weather gravel surface will be laid on the towpath of the Wilts & Berks Canal. The canal was closed in 1914 and is currently under restoration by a volunteer group.

Got out for a spin to Cumnor / Boar's hill, & the wind was really starting to pick up. Good view of #Oxford from Berkeley Road (BsH), & actually contruction cranes in this view for once. Trying some new Conti GP5000 AS 35mm tyres I picked up in a spring sale - seem great. #Oxfordshire

"A state banquet? While he's bombing the hell out of Iran and people are dying all over the Middle East...?" David Dimbleby, journalist and presenter, argues against King Charles' planned state visit to the US in April. #Newsnight

Strikes me as an absurd threat, either we need the 4000 new training places or we don’t

#Hares are great. These seen from Old Street byway in Peasemore area. They were oblivous until that second pedal unclip. Apparently they can reach max ~70km/h, 45mph. #cycling #photography

Off tarmac, but on the beaten track. Green Hams Lane, sounds Dr Seuss-esque, but 'ham' apparently means water meadow/land, & this is part of an old drovers road network, to the former East ilsley (West Berks) area sheep market hub. Blackthorn flower is impressive atm. bsky.app/profile/andy...

Well this was a new one... An elderly bloke, in a village I cycled through today, was telling me, roaring along at a solid 'touring' pace, to slow down... 😅 🤷‍♂️ #Cycling #Oxfordshire [Sound on. ]

75km ride excursion into West Berkshire, incorporating Green Hams lane (from East Ilsley) & Old Street byways (from Oare nr M4) Superb tracks, mostly quite smooth going, & no mud. Being spring - not overgrown. Recommend the Chilli sausage roll at Hampstead Norreys community cafe. 🙂 #cycling

OK. My career just peaked.

In the woods today, I harvested my 2nd cubic meter of other people's trash so far this season. I'm proud of this, honestly: I pulled a full gallon jug of antifreeze out of a marsh, sealed, before it could leak

Gardeners beware! 🪴🌷❄️ If you've already put tender plants outdoors, you may want to cover them or bring them inside. A widespread frost is expected tonight with ice possible on surfaces left damp after evening showers 🌡️

Thames Water treatment site in Oxfordshire is the most offending sewage work in England. 2021 - 2025: 287 illegal sewage dumps. Marine life and biodiversity destroyed. Danger to human health. Execs rewarded, dividends paid, investment neglected, customers fleeced, no exec fined/prosecuted.

With the Arctic seasonal melt well under way, there was a new record low sea-ice maximum this year. This year's maximum beat the previous record low maximum, set just last year, by about 26,000 square kilometers.

Last night found a 'large' 8-legged creature lurking in the toilet bowl! 😐 A Steatoda nobilis / false widow, apparently the most venomous #spider in UK, albeit just with a painful bite / bad swelling. Said arachnid was posted out the window using a glass... 👍

Plans to bypass the South Oxfordshire village of Cuxham have been dropped. Homes England was proposing a bypass as part of its plan to build 3,400 homes at nearby Chalgrove Airfield. It now says traffic calming and a cycle path to the north of the village will suffice.

Plans for 3,000 homes on Chalgrove Airfield were included in a Local Plan devised by the then Conservative administration at SODC. The current Lib Dem council are seeking to remove the site from the new Local Plan, which requires government approval.

Yesterday, took in the great spring weather atm. 50km ride around via Sandford Lock, Cuddesdon, Little Milton, Dorchester - with stop at the Snug cafe. Then bridleway over the Thames to Little Wittenham... #Cycling #Oxfordshire

Not bad on the bike in the Chilterns today... 😁 Legs came out, coffee in Henley, then over Hambledon Thames weir. Up to Turville, then Christmas common and back down via Swyncombe. Watery Lane before Fingest... lived up to it's name, the whole path was a stream...😀 #Cycling #Oxfordshire

Does anyone know if the road closures / works in Harpsden / Harpsden Bottom, nr Henley on Thames, are accessible to bicycles / pedestrians? They normally are, but just wondering, as you never know... #Oxfordshire

First TPU inner tube puncture. 35mm 700C tyre. Initially I couldn't find a leak, so had to carefully inflate to higher pressure. Eventually found a leak by squeezing tube in water. Used IPA to clean, but patch still initially lifted on one side, so I used a spring clamp for 1hr ish. Seems OK.

The great British countryside...being dumped on. #flytipping 😡😑🤷‍♂️ These examples seen on recent rides. One of them was on The Ridgeway long distance path, in West Berkshire downs AONB... reported. The other, in field entrance, had been noted. So annoying.