Buckinghamshire - A cross bike adventure in the Chilterns

As I pumped up my tyres in the light drizzle it was clear the last day of summer was going to be more like the first day of autumn. Buckinghamshire was a late substitute for my planned ride round Berkshire. The weekend had dealt me one of the most tragic events of my life. My goddaughter Jasmine passing away at the tender age of twenty from a cardiac arrest at Reading festival had left me numb and with Reading being the planned start/finish town of my Berkshire route I just couldn’t face the trip down there. Having thought long and hard about whether to ride at all I decided that Jazzy with her tireless energy, sense of fun and enthusiasm for life would not have wanted me to cancel my ride and as such I rode with her smiling face never far from my thoughts, the simple, basic thrill I still get from riding a bike would be a welcome tonic for me.

The journey down to Buckingham was a straightforward trip down the M40 so I was on my way out of Buckingham pretty early as planned. With the route having been planned on Komoot using the “gravel riding” sport option I knew I had a number of off-road sections which would slow my progress so a prompt start was essential to ensure I was back before dusk.

Buckingham was significantly smaller and quieter than I had somehow expected and I was out of the town without having really taken in anything around me.

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I soon ticked the oldest bridge in Buckinghamshire box as the 14th Century Thornborough bridge was less than a10km ride from Buckingham. Today the bridge is only open to pedestrians and is accessed from a nearby layby however the adjacent picnic spot is poorly maintained and I was covered in nettle rash accessing the view of the bridge from the footpath so it appears this is not a particularly popular spot for the folk of Buckinghamshire to visit and is probably not worth getting stung for!

My planned route for the day was hampered early on by construction works for the East West Railway which is being built to connect Oxford and Cambridge. Having passed through the village of Padbury my turning towards East Claydon was signposted “Road ahead closed” my natural optimism kicked in and instead of checking for an alternative route I kicked on confident as is often the case, a cyclist can sneak around roadworks and as I was riding my cross bike a bit of rough stuff wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately as I reached the construction site a kilometre down the road it looked somewhat less promising. The security guard definitely struggled to suppress a chuckle as he answered my question ” is there a way I can sneak through?” with “no effin chance there’s no road there anymore mate!” So I turned tail and headed back much to the amusement of numerous truck drivers passing in the opposite direction laden with their construction materials.

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I had chosen my cross bike for the off-road sections in the Chiltern Hills but they were proving a good choice on Buckinghamshire’s rural roads which were no better than neighbouring Northamptonshire’s pot hole infested country lanes.

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Market Square in Aylesbury got a place on my route as the access point to the Earthly Messenger sculpture of David Bowie. I’m not a particularly big fan of David Bowie but the sculpture is a fitting tribute to a performer who’s first track on the Ziggy Stardust album Five Years references the market square in Aylesbury “Pushing through Market Square – so many mothers sighing”

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The first off-road section of the route brought me to the base of the Chiltern Hills and disappointingly due to an oversight in my route planning my ascent of Whiteleaf which is number 23 in Simon Warrens 100 greatest climbs didn’t register in Strava as I tackled the first third of the climb off-road. The climb was an integral feature of the sadly long gone Archer Grand Prix road race and its 1-7 slopes would have been key to success in the race! Not a brutal climb by any stretch but the worsening road surface as you bank right and the road steepens requires a bit of grunt to overcome.

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Long rides like this involving many kilometers of tarmac as well as multiple stretches of varying off-road terrain are always going to test out your tyre selection overall I think my choice of Hutchison Override tubeless gravel tyres was about right although I wasn’t quite so sure of this whilst picking myself up and clearing the mud out of my break hoods following a slide-out in the woods near to Great Hampden! Shortly after the woods I was back singing the praises of my tyres as a big hiss and release of white tyre sealant gunk on my front tyre was greeted three wheel revolutions later with silence and a still inflated tyre. A quick check revealed a shard of metal embedded in the tyre which I nervously removed expecting to be covered in sticky white goop but no, the seal was good and with three strokes of my pump and I was back to 80 psi. a quick stop at Malt Brewery shop and my mini barrel of Socal West coast Pale Ale will be with me later in the week to try. The next section of bridle path was overgrown with brambles and a short painful stop was required to extricate thorns from my left index finger!

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Next stop was the Royal Standard of England pub very well hidden close to Beaconsfield. This pub claims to not only be the oldest in Buckinghamshire but the oldest in England. The barman told me they have recently changed this to the oldest freehouse as part of an ongoing dispute with other pubs in the country. The pub is well worth a visit and to back up the fact the weather wasn’t entertaining the idea that it was still summer I was greeted with a fabulous roaring fire. With its proximity to London it is popular with tourists and unfortunately the prices tend to show this a little but my welsh rarebit didn’t disappoint and the friendly service and the history of the pub made for a good stop.

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The route strung together long sections of trails and bridle paths through woods and fields as I headed northwards towards Great Missenden. With the Chiltern Hills being an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) it was a great place to ride and surprisingly as the ride was taking place within the school summer holiday period I had the trails to myself. The route did not follow many of Chiltern Cycleway signs I saw but the 173 mile circuit of the Chilterns which is mainly on road is sure to be a worthy challenge in this scenic area.

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The Roald Dahl museum in Great Missenden was disappointingly unwelcoming with the cafe closed and little sign of life around the entrance so I passed by with just a fleeting stop for a photo outside. In no time I was in Wendover Woods, with its Go Ape high ropes course and a number of marked MTB trails there was an increased number of visitors but it was by no means busy and the wide open compact gravel trails were excellent for cyclocross training. The trails are possibly a bit tame for MTB’ers but were great fun on a cross bike. I was grateful that the trails were such fun as I got lost in the woods and ended up doing two circuits of Wendover rather than the planned traverse through the woods!

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The mixture of trail surfaces made for really pleasant cycling and fully justified the decision to tackle Buckinghamshire as a big day out on the cross bike. The variety of terrain covered had left me completely unaware of the time I had spent riding and upon realising it was now 4pm I was suddenly concerned that I wasn’t going to be back to the van before dark. I had fitted my new Cycliq front and rear video lights but these had both given up the ghost after 4-5 hours, I had no working lights so it was time to get a move on!

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My progress was slowed on a trail constructed from reclaimed tyre rubber chips – good practice for the next time I’m cycling through soft sand on a cross course. With Haddington Hill the highest point of the ride crested there was still a further 70km to go and my nerves were building at the thought of being without lights in dark country lanes not to mention pitch black woods!

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Pitstone with its’ windmill and support roller memorial to the cement industry which provided employment in the area signalled my exit from the Chiltern Hills and a return to mainly riding on tarmac roads with some great sweeping descents somewhat relieving my tension about running out of light.

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The All Saints church in Wing was largely built in the 8th century making this Anglo-Saxon church one of the oldest in the country.

The remainder of the route saw the end of the good road surfaces and a return to the pot holes and broken tarmac around North Buckinghamshire, thankfully any fears of running out of daylight were misplaced and I had time for an amble through Buckingham to the van. Buckingham was a little more tired and weary looking than I anticipated, there was little that struck me to plan a return but nonetheless my day out in Buckinghamshire and especially the off-road sections had been exactly what I needed. The ride hadn’t managed to clear my head of the tragic events of the weekend and I still cannot quite process what has happened. It is clearer than ever to me that life is short and you never know what is around the corner so the desire to get out there and do the things I love is stronger than ever.

The ride in numbers

182.2km Distance – approximately 45km off-road

1779m Elevation gain

8hrs 46 min moving time (20.8 km/h)

5 Torq Rhubarb and Custard gels

1 Welsh Rarebit

1 coffee stop

5 bottles of water

0 beer – But a small barrel on the way!

1 puncture – successfully re-sealed

6 categorised climbs – 5 of them off-road

20+ Red Kite Sightings

Very few fellow cyclists and none waved or nodded to say hello! 🙁

Finally if you got a spare quid in your pocket my justgiving page to raise vital funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance is now live Keith Jones is fundraising for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (justgiving.com)