Ride Around Oxfordshire
August 16, 1998

Distance: 83 miles
Elevation: 3,330 feet
Difficulty: 4/10
Scenery: 5/10;
Route: Oxford-Farmoor-South Leigh-Witney-New Yatt-Ramsden-Leafield-
Chadlington-Chipping Norton-Great Rollright-Hook Norton-Sibford Gower-
Shenington-Alkerton-Broughton-Wigginton-Swerford-Great Tew-Ledwell-
Sandford St. Martin-Glympton-Wootton-Woodstock-Yarnton-Oxford

The dull, sleepy overcast was replaced by a cheery, bright sunshine by the time the 8:03 train completed its hour journey from Paddington to Oxford. I had to dismount and shed my windbreaker 100 yards from the station as it became apparent that, at the moment at least, cold would not be my problem.

My planned route would take me, in a clockwise direction, from the Thames valley to the northern extreme of Oxfordshire. The route is an 80-mile loop in the shape of a narrow elongated oval from Oxford to the south to near Banbury to the north.

What struck me about Oxford is its impressive network of cycle lanes. Though many of the lanes are too narrow and slow for use of cycling enthusiasts, they must be useful for the students, the professors, and for anyone else who need to get around the city without worrying about using up fossil fuel or finding parking spaces. This aspect of the city reminded me of Palo Alto, another college town in California with an enlightened view towards alternative transportation. Sadly, not all college towns are bike friendly. Berkeley, a few miles north of Palo Alto, for all its liberal noisemaking, is appalingly behind the times when it comes to supporting cycling. But I digress…

(Above: A beautiful--and unfortunately dead-end--road in west Oxford)

Since Oxford is a big city, it took me a while to get to the outskirts of town. I went back and forth a couple of times on the main road before finally reaching, past bewildering arrays of roundabouts, the B4044 towards Farmoor. This area immediately west of Oxford is very flat. And windy. The cycling adage "it’s always a headwind" was true here as I encountered strong wind resistance from seemingly every direction. Also notable was the shortest and smallest tollbridge I’ve come across. Going over Thames just a mile past Farmoor, finding a toll bridge here was totally unexpected. But what amused me the most was the 5p charge (that’s 8 US cents) to cross it (why bother?). The toll collector waved me through.

(Above: A quiet lane just outside of South Leigh)
(Below: Witney--"Blanket Town")

I reached the town of Witney ("Blanket Town," according to my map), a medium-sized town with an attractive park adjacent to the church. I continued on in a northward direction towards the quiet lanes between New Yatt and Ramsden and my first climb of the day, Wychwood Forest. First, I followed the gently climbing road to Leafield. Just outside of Leafield, I followed a steep descending road towards the densely wooded Wychwood Forest. Wychwood Forest is where Winston Churchill’s ancestors at Woodstock used to go to hunt. I was tempted to get off my bike and explore the place on foot. It was indeed lovely, dark and deep, but like Robert Frost, I have (literally) miles to go before I sleep, so I decided to go on. The road hugged the perimeter of the Wychwood Forest on its northwest side. The short, moderate climb to the top was quite enjoyable, and the wide-open view of empty farmlands in varying shades of brown was quite pretty to look at. From the summit, the road continued in a pretty much similar undulating fashion, punctuated by a couple of ¼-mile long climbs, all the way to Chipping Norton. I looked around Chipping Norton, but it was nothing to write home about, so I went on.

(Below: Approaching Wychwood Forest from Leafield)

(Above and Below: At Wychwood Forest)