So we had finished route 23 but now we had to get home. Graham promised me this
would be any easy trip home but it turned out to be our longest ride. We left early and joined cycle route 5 along the Riiver Thames. The early morning joggers and rowers were out in force and the sun was shining, but a brisk wind made us stop to add another layer of clothing. Crossing the Thames we headed north uphill out of Reading which was on the edge of the Chilterns , yes it was hilly for a few miles but it was a lovely cycle ride past some awesome houses. Coming down off the hills we stopped in Wallingford by the River Thames for elevenses.We did a slight detour to avoid Wittenham Clumps so we soon arrived in Didcot and found ourselves amongst the busy Saturday morning traffic,but once we found the cycle path we soon were on a cycle track that took us round the perimeter of the power station ,right next to the iconic towers that are soon to be demolished. The path took us to Sutton Courtney and we had to leave route 5 and follow the country lanes back home. We were now in home territory places we knew from local running races but we had never cycled there. We stopped for lunch at a lovely country pub, by now the sun was warm and the weather was the best we had had all week.
We soon got back to the places we had cycled through when we had started out 6 days ago, the weather was a lot better, we were a little wiser, a little fitter and our bottoms a bit sorer. Witney was a welcome sight.
So well done tandem( we must give it a name) no punctures, no breakages! Well done Graham for steering through along some very challenging paths. Nobody quite understood why we were cycling to the Isle of Wight for a holiday, it wasn't a holiday it was an experience. We learnt that in this busy crowded country there are miles of empty roads and paths waiting for idiots like us to explore.
Distance 56 miles

Total distance cycled 266.75 miles