The Cotswold’s Trip

The Cotswold’s Trip

34 intrepid club members from all T groups enjoyed the clubs Cotswold’s Midsummer Trip. The goal was to test out an OCC Blueprint for Annual Trips (building on Gavin, Jo, Austen &Alan’s) whereby all 34 of us stayed in the same hotels, ate together in the same coffee, lunch and dinner spots while also being free to cycle in ways that ebbed & flowed across the days. The consensus is it paid off!

Imagine, we simply walked into rooms with our bikes with no check in, food arrived at our tables with no queueing and best of all, all 34 of us were together each night to celebrate the OCC spirit of friendship and camaraderie.

Now to the cycling!

60 miles from Oxford to Cheltenham via a northerly route through iconic villages of Whitney, Churchill and Winchcombe, and returned via Jeremy’s Bastardly 17% straight up 800m hill out of Cheltenham to the stunning Vale of Oxford plateau and descend through beautiful villages and awe-inspiring rolling corn fields for 60 miles to finish at Oxford.

Add to this, those who rode up on Friday from Oxted and Reading, those who rode back on Sunday & Monday, to those who broke their own records, new ventures on the new tandem and the invaluable bag & bike carrying van.

I haven’t mentioned any names, because what makes these T1-T4 trips so special is we ‘cycle as one,’ making new friendships and new stories to share.