I'm starting another series of "Rides to London" which I'm also flagging on Cycle Chat as being suitable for anyone wanting to build up endurance on the FNRttC London to John O'Grouts tour, as they'll go over similar terrain to be encountered on the first section.
For this first one, it's a 79 mile route, departing from Northampton railway station at 10:30 am. Once we escape from Northampton, then it's mainly minor roads running parallel to the A5, heading south east. Lunch will be at a pub in the village of Wing after about 35 miles.
The approximate route is shown
here although it will alter slightly as there's a couple of hills I need to get rid of, the main one being Ivinghoe Beacon. Once I've sorted that out, the gradients are generally no more than 5% with only 1 short incline just under 10%.
No-one will be left behind on these rides and we'll stop for regular re-groups.
For getting to Northampton, for any London residents, there are a couple of trains leaving either side of 9 am from Euston and tickets on London Midland are £6. Or you could pay a lot more on Virgin, to go a bit faster for some of the route if you want to top-up Richard Branson's dividends.