Goring Gap Cycling

🚘 🚴‍♀️ 🚚 Would you let your kids cycle along this road?

I did, but that was 30 years ago. I won’t let the grandkids. I’ve not met anyone recently who would let their children ride along the B4009 from Goring to Wallingford. I know a few very experienced, competent cyclists who choose to take the longer hilly route via Ipsden because of the traffic. Good for the exercise, not so great if you want to do the shopping.

👥👥👥The population of Oxfordshire grew by 10.9% between 2011 and 2021 and is forecast to grow a further 11% by 2031, so it’s no surprise traffic is getting worse.

🍂What if there was a green alternative, parallel to the main road but shorter, flatter and without the traffic? There could be. It just needs people to come together and make it happen.

Find out more

📅 Wednesday 27 March at 7:30 pm

🏠 Belleme Room, Goring Village Hall

#Active Travel
#goringandstreatley
#Oxfordshire

🏺🕳️
The road from Cleeve Cross Roads in Goring up through the woods to Woodcote, variously known as Elvendon Road, Battle Road or Elvendon Lane is much used by cyclists as an alternative to the busy B4526 with its steep hill and tight bends. Not so much used by private cars just now, because of the risk of damage. Delivery vans are still bouncing along it, following their satnavs and making it even worse.

As the photos show, it’s not even fit to be called a road at the moment. “Fixing the potholes” only goes so far. What’s needed here is also to get rid of the piles of mud and gravel and to sort out the drainage.

#Active Travel
#Potholes
#Oxfordshire

Friendly people, lovely coffee at @thebikerbeancoffeehouse. What more is there to say?

First day of spring, so ideal time to spring BJ out of winter hibernation. Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus i baby.

#goringgapcycling

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to cycle on a flat traffic-free route from Goring to Wallingford

To get to work

To do the shopping

To visit the Crowmarsh pool or the Corn Exchange?

Wouldn’t it be great to cycle for just 6 miles on the flat to get from Wallingford to a mainline railway station that has lifts?

The route is on Oxfordshire County Council’s Strategic Active Travel network, but when will it happen?

Come along to the public meeting and find out about this an other ways to make our communities happier, healthier and greener.

📅 Wednesday 25 March at 7:30 pm
🏠 Belleme Room, Goring Village Hall

#Active Travel
#Goring-on-Thames
#Oxfordshire

🌼 After another week of rubbish weather, it’s encouraging to see some signs of spring among the mud and potholes. No newborn lambs outside the lovely @king.williamivipsden yet, but they will come. Meanwhile there’s tea and toast.

#gromils
#Chilterns
#Oxfordshire

🚫🌧️ No rain at last! Ideal for enjoying one of our favourite bits of bridleway – smooth tarmac, no traffic – through the Nettlebed Estate near Bix, en route to one of our favourite stops @Viv’s_cafes_ in Henley.

🚴‍♂️Henley cyclists (or us if it’s raining) can enjoy @Viv’s_cafes_ in Goring. Both have the wonderfully scrumptious pecan pie.🥮

#gromils
#goringgapcycling
#Chilterns

Good to get out into the Berkshire countryside and stretch our legs, even on a dreary day in February. Great coffee stop @bucklebury.farm and an obligatory photo stop at the ford afterwards
#gromils
#goringgapcycling
#Westberkshire

1
This notorious stretch of road between Ipsden and Ewelme was reported on Fix My Street (and not for the first time) in early November.

2
In an email to local councillor Ben Higgins, Oxfordshire CC wrote:
During an inspection on 21 November, several 28-day defects were identified and raised by the Inspector. These defects are scheduled for completion around 17 December. Additionally, a few 24-hour defects were also noted and updated in the report by my colleague.

Here is the latest update from the report:

“Thank you for your report. Following a recent site inspection, we have arranged for the repairs to those potholes identified at intervention level to be completed within either 24 hours or 28 days, depending on their size and other factors. Unfortunately, due to heavy rainfall, we have identified areas of the carriageway with surface water present. The level of the carriageway in relation to the adjacent verges has resulted in issues with surface water runoff.”

3
It didn’t happen, in either 24 hours or 28 days, and now the report has been closed. The same stretch of road was reported again by someone on 15 January.

In fact the 250 m of lane south of Blenheim Farmhouse has been reported 40 times, but it’s still as bad as ever.

Fix My Street (FMS) currently says “This issue has been passed onto the relevant team for investigation.” We’ve seen that before – like 40 times

4
OK, a lot of the time since 21 November parts of the lane have been under water, making it hard to find the potholes, never mind fix them. But it has not been raining every day, as the rain graph shows.

5
Filling in potholes once the lane has dried out only for them to grow again may be good for the profits of the County Council’s contractor, but it is not good for the road users or the taxpayers.

This is not rocket science
1 Fix the drainage
2 Resurface the road properly

#goringgapcycling
#roadmaintenance
#Oxfordshire