But I cheered up with a fantastic womble home. I'd forgotten how beautiful a road the A272 is - I haven't ridden it for 20 years but despite cameras, pathetic speed limits, double white lines and slooooooooow drivers, it's still magic, especially if you can cut your way to the front of the queue
. Then up the A34 to Newbury before catching the B4000 Ermin Street northeast, then up to Lambourn. From there you can either broadly fork left or right (!). Either takes you up over the Ridgeway, and the view north as you pop over the escarpment is breathtaking - especially if you take the left fork. I went right, over Lambourn Downs, through Uffington, heading for Farringdon. They seem to have resurfaced quite a few of the roads here, so although they're narrow they're potentially fast. Somewhere in this lot there's a mile or so of dead straight where you can really wind it up, EXCEPT in the middle there's an almost invisible and unsigned humpbacked bridge - about 3' high, yee ha 
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Then Farringdon and up to the A361. Another choice, either fast on the 361 North through Burford and over the tops, or scenic (as fast as you dare) on a C road, again right over the tops of the Cotswolds past Burford, through the Barringtons, and pick up the 361 just after Little Rissington. Middle of Friday rush hour, and not a vehicle in sight!
Then fast up the Fosse and in. 2 1/2 hours, 115 miles, sun, warm, dry, countryside lookking its best, and hardly any traffic - loved it...
