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Oxford to Cambridge cycle ride

Mon, 08/08/2011 - 10:12pm — Irisha

To hell with X5 - cycling is the way forward! Takes just twice as long, but is infinitely more enjoyable. And I am actually being serious - it was one of the best cycle rides we've had. The weather was perfect (for cycling, that it!), the route was mainly flat, the scenery was beautiful and there was almost no traffic. On top of all this we had an absolutely fantastic time in The Other Place itself - punting, walking aroung colleges, learning about local myths (and bumping into Stephen Hawking as an extra bonus)... Was very hard to go back to reality on Monday morning! Thanks so-o-o-o-o much to Olya & Misha for their company and wonderful hospitality! 

(Actually we did take X5 back - apparently they take bikes now. And they have upgraded their buses, so the journey was way more pleasant than it used to be. Still extremely boring, but at least with no funny smells!)

 

(more pictures here)



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Mon, 15/08/2011 - 11:28am — Mama

СМОГЛИ! Душа "поет и квакает"

СМОГЛИ! Душа "поет и квакает" + великолепные краевиды + гостеприимство принимающей стороны .
Tue, 09/08/2011 - 8:29am — Masha (not verified)

Well done!!! It was always

Well done!!! It was always one of my unrealised ambitions to do that - but we reckoned we'd need more than 8 hours. Please write more about it if you have the chance! *black envy* Oh well, I'll do it once I am done with procreating. :))
Tue, 09/08/2011 - 3:32pm — Irisha

Thank you :) Actually if

Thank you :) Actually if there is one person who should not be envious, it's you - after all, you are the one(s) who made it to Stonehedge *and back*! But seriously, I definitely recommend it, whether with the kids or without. It actually was pretty easy - the middle third was a bit hilly (with a 90m rise around Brickhill), but the rest was completely flat and really enjoyable. Also most of the route was along quiet roads and avoided all the large towns. The last few miles were along an A-road, which we were initially a bit worried about as it was already getting dark, but turned out there was a separate cycle road there, so even this was excellent. Frankly I would've gladly cycled back the next day, but we wanted to spend some time in Cambridge and had to be back at work on Monday, which is why we opted for the bus. I am happy to provide more details if you are ever up for it :) [and if you know any other nice routes, let us know too!]
Tue, 09/08/2011 - 9:53pm — klausmaria

We should definitely do it

We should definitely do it when I am no longer pregnant - I hope some nice gradmother will come over next summer and give us a bit of freedom. Last summer, we cycled quite a lot, but unfortunately not together as one of us had to do the babysitting. We've explored the area around Oxford pretty thoroughly using the atlas of Oxfordshire and trying to avoid major roads. In fact, one of our favourite routes of all time starts in Cumnor Hill and then goes through Appleton, along a nice quiet road parallel to A420 and then to the Downs and the Uffington White Horse. It is gorgeous! And there are plenty more, but basically we just looked at the map and tried to make a route without ever using the big roads.