Welcome to Isis Cyclists, an informal member group of Oxford Cycling UK. We have now restarted a limited programme of organised rides: see below for this month’s programme.
If you’re planning your own ride, remember that you can find some ideas on our page featuring a selection of routes. However, please abide by the Government’s current regulations. For guidance on safe cycling from Cycling UK, see the useful links below.
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Isis Cyclists and Oxford Cycling UK are part of Cycling UK.
Cycling for me has never been boring or neutral. A male cyclist is just a bloke on a bike, but a woman appears political, independent, a bluestocking, egregiously sporty, or suspiciously saucy. – Eliane Glaser, The Guardian, 27/03/21
We are finally returning to something resembling our pre-pandemic programme of rides. We will be offering a basic programme of three rides per month as follows:
1st Saturday: Short and Steady Ride (~10 miles at the pace of the slowest rider)
2nd Saturday: Medium Ride (15 to 20 miles at a steady pace)
3rd Saturday: Long Ride (20 – 30 miles at a steady pace)
In addition we will be offering other rides as and when we have ride leaders available. This month there will be an evening ride and a long midweek ride. The long midweek rides may be offered on any day midweek, which we hope will mean that part-time workers can also take part from time to time.
Saturday 3rd July: Two Short & Steady Rides:
Ride #1 – Weaving around West Oxford: This ride is flat and just under 12 miles long. Starting in Radcliffe Square at 10am, we will make our way along the towpath and up to North Hinksey, returning to the towpath near the station and riding up the river again to St Margaret’s Church, Binsey. After that, we will have refreshments at Medley Manor Farm café before making our way back along the towpath and into town. We should be back by 1pm. The leader is Jane Carlton Smith.
Ride #2 – Oxford circular route: Meet from 9.45 in Radcliffe Square for a 9-mile circular ride. We will head out through Jericho to pick up the newly resurfaced canal towpath to Wolvercote before riding through Cutteslowe, Sunnymead and into North Oxford. We will stop for refreshments from the Horsebox coffee kiosk on the lawn outside the University Museum of Natural History, where we can relax and watch the swifts screaming and flying in and out of their nests in the museum tower. The route is flat and mainly uses minor roads, tracks and towpaths. The leader is Sarah Twine.
Saturday 10th July: Medium Ride – Coasting down from Cumnor
Meet from 9.45 in Radcliffe Square, Oxford for a 10.00 departure on a ride exploring villages and lanes between Oxford and Abingdon. It is basically the route shown in the link below (minus extra loop), only we’ll be riding it backwards and the routes in and out of Oxford are slightly different and use the river towpath rather than the road.
We start by following the river and Willow Walk to North Hinksey from where we begin the ascent of Cumnor Hill. This is the only substantial hill on the route. From Cumnor it’s pretty much all downhill through Besselsleigh, Cothill, Sunningwell, Kennington and returning to Oxford along Sustrans Route #5 and the river towpath. We will take a refreshment break at Sunningwell where there is a produce sale (including home-made cakes!!!!) in the churchyard. I’m not sure if we will be able to get drinks, but we can always stop at the Flowing Well PH afterwards if we need liquid refreshments. The ride leader will be Ellen Lee.
Saturday 17th July: Long Ride: A Circular Ride Round Otmoor
Meet in Radcliffe Square for a 10:00 departure for this long circuit ride around Otmoor. We will head up to Elsfield and Beckley then follow the road up through Horton Cum Studley before joining the lanes round Otmoor to Islip, where we return to our starting place via Woodeaton. This is a hilly ride, with some good views. Please bring a flask and a snack as we shall stop at St Mary’s Churchyard for a break, where there is a bench and some nice grass! The ride is just under 24 miles. The ride leader is Karen Wolff and the sweeper is Ellen Lee.
Tuesday 20th July: Evening Ride to the Abingdon Arms, Beckley
Meet outside Costa Coffee in Summertown for a 6pm departure for food & drink at the Abingdon Arms in Beckley. We will leave Oxford via the track at the back of Barton Park and then climb up Bayswater Rd towards Beckley. Our return route will be via Elsfield.
Wednesday 21st July: Midweek Long Ride – Up and Down the Cherwell Valley
Meet from 9.45 in Radcliffe Square for a 10am departure on this 33-mile ride up the west side of the Cherwell Valley to North Aston, return down the eastern side. The route is given in the link below or can be found (along with detailed description) on the Selection of Isis Routes section of the Isis Cyclists website. The ride leader will be Jane Carlton Smith. Please let her know if you intend to come (either via her personal email address or via the Contact Us page on the Isis Cyclists website). She is hoping to be able to book a table at the Yurt at North Aston for lunch.
Now that the groups are no longer restricted to six, we are offering a single ride on the first and third Saturdays. However, we will still be dividing into smaller groups as and when practicable. We will be able to meet up for refreshments, and you can swap groups for the return trip.
Things to know about this month’s rides:
Biscuit stop on the Phoenix Trail
Short & Steady ride will be on the first Saturday of the month.
Medium ride will be on the 3rd Saturday of the month
Rides may now start from places other than Radcliffe Square.
We will need to collect your phone number in addition to an emergency contact. We will keep this information for 21 days after the ride, in case it is needed by track and trace service.
If you have a positive test for Covid within 14 days of attending a ride, you can give the NHS tracing service our general email address, info@isiscyclists.org.uk and we will provide them with the necessary contact details for ride participants.
Saturday 5th June: Short & Steady Ride – “Vaccination Circular” to Sandford and the Kassam Stadium
This short town and country ride from Radcliffe Square is a refreshing 10-mile circuit taking a lovely long towpath section southbound on the NCR 5, plus some road and cycle paths through Low Traffic Neighbourhood areas of East Oxford.
The route was planned when cycling to include the Covid-19 vaccination at Kassam stadium, which is half-way along the route.
Start: Radcliffe Square, Oxford. Meet from 9:45 for a 10:00 departure.
Saturday 19th June: Medium Ride to Annie’s Tearoom at Thrupp
We will ride out to Thrupp via Marston, Woodeaton (moderate hill), Islip and the top end of Kidlington. The return route goes through residential streets to Gosford and the track through Water Eaton to the Banbury Road, finishing on the far side of the bridge over the ring road at Cutteslowe. The total distance is 17 miles, and the leader is Liz Matthews.
Start: The Up in Arms PH, Marston Rd (corner of Ferry Rd), Oxford. Meet from 9:45 for a 10:00 departure.
Once again, we are running a reduced programme of rides on two weekends. For guidance on what to expect on the rides, and how to prepare for them, please visit Group Rides Under the Rule of Six.
For each ride, please meet from 9.45am for a prompt 10am departure in Radcliffe Square, Oxford (at the back of the University Church). Note: each ride comprises 6 cyclists maximum. However, if enough people from the ride leaders’ group turn up it may be possible to add a second group on some routes. The two groups will travel separately in order to comply with the regulations.
Update: For reasons of bad weather, the rides originally scheduled for 8th May have been postponed to 15th.
Saturday 15th May: Short Rides
Ellen Lee will lead a ride of 9.3 miles, ‘A short trip to Narnia (and back).’ There will be a short stop at the C.S. Lewis Reserve and, as bikes need to be left outside, you will need to bring a bike lock. We plan to stop for refreshments at The Up in Arms refreshment hatch (Marston Rd) on our return to Oxford.
TBC: Leonor Barroca will lead a 12-mile ride entitled ‘A bit of countryside from north Oxford.’ Note that this route is shown starting in Summertown, but we will be starting from Radcliffe Square.
Jane Carlton Smith will lead a ride to Worton Kitchen Garden via Kidlington. A table for 6 has been booked, as it is likely to be busy. The length of the route is 16 miles and is flat. It minimises use of the A40 and avoids a section of canal towpath that is currently being upgraded. If you want to read a more detailed description, the route is adapted from ‘A multi-purpose “loopy” route’ on the ‘selected routes’ page of the website.
Sarah Twine will take a group to Abbey Meadows in Abingdon. We will be able to visit St Ethelwold’s House, where there will be an art exhibition as part of ArtWeeks. Refreshments will be taken elsewhere in Abingdon. The length of the route is around 20 miles, a little longer than normal for a medium ride, but the route is almost entirely flat.
We are restarting official rides this month. Until we are allowed to ride in larger groups, we will be operating the same reduced programme as in the autumn; namely, short & steady rides on the first Saturday of the month and medium rides on the third Saturday. However, because Easter fell on the first weekend of this month, April’s rides are taking place on the second and fourth Saturdays.
Meet from 9.45am for a 10am departure in Radcliffe Square, Oxford (at the back of the University Church). Note: each ride comprise 6 cyclists maximum.
Sarah Twine will lead a scenic city parks ride which is a 7-mile route taking in some of Oxford’s many parks and green spaces. It will include a climb up to Headington, but on a quiet back road where riders can go at their own pace or walk if they wish. If you want to check the route out beforehand there is a link below:
Note that this route is shown starting at The Up in Arms pub, but we will be starting from Radcliffe Square; the total distance is from Radcliffe Square. In addition, rather than climbing the hill to Headington, this ride will make use of the path at the rear of Barton Park.
