Watlington camping weekend 2nd - 4th September

[orienteer]

Orienteer , you will be welcome to join us for a potter 🙂. The  more the merrier 😀

Thanks! Is Saturday the best day for a ride, about what time?

[cycleman]

On passed experience Saturdays and 10.am\10.30am is fairly normal. All depends on the cat herding 

[Wowbagger]

I thought that if you came from Romford you had to be called Tracey.

[orienteer]

Presumably our happy campers are on their way

I've prepared and loaded the tandem into the car, see you tomorrow tennish.

[Butterfly]

Unfortunately We're not going to make it  :'( Clarion isn't well enough and N is coughing very persistently.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Beaming healthy thoughts to West Yorkshire and campy ones to the Chilterns.

[PaulR]

I have a happy memory of a lightweight camping stay at the White Mark several years back with some folk from here.  I had a front wheel puncture after hitting a rock on a descent towards Henley.  Seems strange now to be living just along the road from there.  I'll be on Titus's London to Oxford ride and will therefore not be in a fit state to join a ride this time, but hope it's a good weekend.

[Kim]

Happy camper checking in. Cycleman and Apollo are happy glampers, which is novel.  Shame you couldn't make it Butterfly.

[orienteer]

Regretfully decided not to attend today, after a total lack of sleep last night

Wishing you all an enjoyable weekend.

[Polar Bear]

Happy camper checking in. Cycleman and Apollo are happy glampers, which is novel.  Shame you couldn't make it Butterfly.

Foties should be interesting.

Have a great time folks.

[andrewc]

Hope you all have a lovely time and that no one gets swooped on & carried off by the Kites.   

[Thing2]

Darn it, I missed that this was happening. It would have been nice to strap the camping gear to the tandem for a journey over the Chilterns. Hope everyone has a lovely time.

[Kim]

The kites have been keeping a low profile at Watlington this year (though no shortage in the wider area). Possibly related to the decline in the number of wabbits, which is presumably due to the prolonged dry weather.  That said, I just counted about a dozen of them nibbling on the rally field at bladder o'clock, which is a lot more than last month.

Cycleman lead a lovely ride to the chocolate cafe at Henley yesterday, though rainlegs were warranted.

[Kim]

I left at audax o'clock this morning in an attempt to get home before the torrential rain set in.  This was mostly successful.  Something (which I suspect to be the bottom bracket) has developed an annoying ticking noise.

I present cycleman in his new tent:




An impromptu tricycle rally:




Bridge for CrinklyLion at Henley:




The church from The Vicar of Dibley:



Ob-cat (friendly, but camera-shy):




Ob-gibbon:

[cycleman]

Thanks for coming kim 🙂 . Me apollo and John notp rode to Thame on Sunday using a nice route involving good bridleways and quiet lanes. Found a good cafe that I haven't used before. Good tea and food. Cafe is called black goo  .
Yesterday John notp rode down to the spoke and spire pub at Watlington and can report good coffee and cake. I  also noticed a good range of real ale and cider  .

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y258cyCWasDSaVtz9

The bikes at the pub are interesting, particularly the Phillips roadster which has westward rim's and rod bar brake linkages to drum brakes. If anyone has any information on them I am very interested

[Cudzoziemiec]

I present cycleman in his new tent:

Gosh! Quite palatial. I'd noticed those yurts (or are they tipis?) last time I was there (a non-yacf event), didn't think to see Cycleman living in one!

[Cudzoziemiec]

The bikes at the pub are interesting, particularly the Phillips roadster which has westward rim's and rod bar brake linkages to drum brakes. If anyone has any information on them I am very interested

I had a Philips roadster from an elderly neighbour when I was about 15. Mine had rod brakes, the sort that ineffectually press two little blocks of rubber on the inside of the chrome steel Westwood rim. Coupled with the steep hills locally, this should have made an ace and fearless descender, but did not. So the one with drum brakes must have been the luxury model! Except that it's actually a Raleigh judging by the head badge – but as Philips were, I'm pretty sure, just a badge of Raleigh, all out of the same factory, it doesn't really make any difference.