Ride Controls and Refuelling
The controls for any ride - calendar or DIY - include the start and finish. Many of my intermediate controls on DIYs are places where I can buy water or food to refuel. Any cycling website will tell you that drinking and eating are essential if you want to avoid the dreaded “cyclist’s bonk” where you can hardly turn a pedal.
I simply modify my controls text file (that I need to submit with my route for an Audax DIY) to make a new file called fuel.txt. In this I list - purely for myself - all the places I can stop for drink and food. To qualify, they have to have some sort of secure bike storage unless I am riding with a friend, in which case we can look after each other’s bikes.
It doesn’t get much better than this
The gold standard - Stoke Row Store
The Stoke Row Store (on a minor road between Reading and Wallingford) represents, for me, the gold standard. The Sheffield stands have been covered in pipe wrap to prevent damage to paint work. I’d have no hesitation in securing my bike to this stand and going in to order my drink and food - both excellent, by the way. There’s a marquee sheltering the entrance to the shop, providing somewhere to sit with the bike in full view. A word of caution - I’ve added opening hours to my fuel.txt file since I was disappointed to find the Stoke Row Store closed on Sundays.
Incidentally, this is not my bike but it has the Garmin RTL515 rear light / radar which is probably my number one “have to have” device.
Other Stops that Qualify
Ewelme Village Store
Most garages with shops have somewhere to tether a bike. The Coop/ Texaco at the A4 roundabout just outside Twyford qualifies as a safe stop beause you can secure your bike to the railings just outside the door without inconveniencing other users. The Shell station on Clarence Road in Windsor is OK too.
The Community Store at West Hanney has railings to which I have attached my bike - with some difficulty. Hardly a crime hotspot but one cannot be too careful!
Anothe community venture, Ewelme Village Store, between Watlington and Wallingford, is one of my favourite stops. While it does not have a cycle stand, I feel confident leaving my bike directly outside the door only just over a metre away for the very short time it takes to order food and drink, which are then brought outside by the community volunteers who run this store.
Leaving Reading via Pincents Lane you will soon reach Theale, which is quite a picturesque village. It’s got places to buy food and two sets of bike stands, one conveniently outside the Co-op. The new Coop in Hermitage also has a Sheffield bike stand directly outside the front door, making it safe to lock up a bike for the short time it takes to replenish stocks. As an added bonus, it’s open 7 am to 10 pm every day.
Further afield, the Uffington Store and Post Office has a small seating area; I’ve tethered my bike to the railings there while buying basic supplies. It’s open 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, 8 to 2 on Sundays.
And finally …
My recommendation is that you make your own list for each ride if you are riding on your own. Google Street View and shop websites provide a good starting guide.
