Boxing Day Ride - To Basingstoke and back via Rotherwick & Newnham. 23.3 miles

A beautiful sunny morning but extremely cold and frosty. By my reckoning that might have been the coldest night of the winter so far. It got warmer during the day.....thank goodness!

Dipley Mill -  River Whitewater half frozen

River Whitewater - Dipley

Newnham - Looking North

A Christmassy looking St Mary's - Old Basing

I used to be a pub....until very recently - The Crown in Old Basing

The Route 

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Christmas Eve Ride - Hartley Wintney, Fleet, Elvetham, Winchfield, West Green, Phoenix Green - 19.13 Miles

Needed to get a good ride in today to stand a chance of making my weekly target number of miles, as tomorrow, of course there will be no cycling just couch and calories!
Boxing day will deliver the remaining miles for the week, weather allowing.

No ice to speak of today, even on the quiet country lanes, so a bit faster.

Road ahead - near Elvetham

Forest clearing - Elvetham

Forest path - Elvetham

Still Frozen - Basingstoke Canal at Winchfield

The Route

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Route in full

Winter Solstice Ride - 21st December. Phoenix Green, Rotherwick, Greywell and Odiham. 14.8 miles

Still very cold but the roads have cleared a bit. A slow thaw towards Christmas day is possible but only gradually as day to day temperatures remain stubbornly low.

Rotherwick Church

Rotherwick - The Street

The Green - Newnham

Newnham Church

The neglected final section of the Basingstoke Canal - Looking East

....and looking West

River Whitewater - Greywell

The Route

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With the shortest day out of the way it's a time to look forward to the days of longer (and warmer) rides......bring it on!

Ride to frozen Frensham. 34.5 miles

The freeze is back but this time it's cold and clear without that awful fog we had a couple of weeks ago. After a slight peppering of snow yesterday, the temperature has plummeted and everything seems locked under a frozen crust again. Very cold on the feet today. Quite a bit of black ice to be avoided on the roads!
As I had no work or other agenda, I took the opportunity to do a ride I had been planning for some months. The route was one I had done before to the edge of Alice Holt Forest but with a 3 mile extension to Frensham in Surrey with it's popular beauty spot, Frensham Pond. 
Riding out to Crondall via Dogmersfield and Crookham Village I dropped south  up over the higher ground towards Well. From there I continued down hill into Bentley.

Sun far beyond Bentley - it eventually came my way!

Winter Landscape - Bentley

Pagoda Bridge -  Bentley

 

Yew-lined entrance - St Mary's, Bentley

On to Blacknest. Our Friday Riders group have stopped at the Jolly Farmer here on summer evenings but I kept going down to the A325 crossing and riding on to Dockenfield and then Frensham. 

Parish Church - Frensham

Half-frozen Frensham Pond

Snow and Sand

The return journey took me up through Rowledge and around the Alice Holt Forestry Research Station to Holt Pound.

Alice Holt Forest

Holt Pound

From Holt Pound I faced a climb back towards Crondall and a very chilly ride into the Northerly wind. Back to Winchfield via Dogmersfield with a half hour stop and a welcome chance to warm up at the Winchfield Inn.
A cold but picturesque round trip of 34.5 miles.

The Route

Ride to Crondall, Well & Odiham.............in freezing fog!

After a brief thaw on Sunday evening, we're back to sub zero winter again. Some snow remains on the road sides and there is plenty of black ice out there but today we have freezing fog added to the mix. Not ideal for cycling!
Had to take it easy and at about ten miles, even with thick socks and over shoes, my feet turned to blocks of ice.  Roll on Spring!

Frozen Crondall

Frosted Holly

Dark days!

Odiham High Street

I used to be a Pub - The Old Cricketer's Inn - Odiham

Basingstoke Canal - Odiham

Basingstoke Canal - freezing up

Winchfield Church