Day one: Botley and back, 14 miles.

Botley Hill, Monday 14 April 2014 around 0945hrs.

Another wonderful day and, thanks to the Oscar Pistorious trial, I managed to squeeze in a ride to Botley and back without any protestations from other members of the household. With a bit of luck I'll be able to do this all week, link up with next weekend's rides and have – hopefully– eight consecutive rides under my belt. Let's see how it goes.

The weather was tremendous. Blue skies and sunshine greeted me as I headed out around 0840hrs. There was more traffic on the road than usual – because it was later in the day – but once past Knight's Garden Centre things thinned out and all was well with the world.

The blossoms are in full bloom now and there's a lovely floral aroma in the air, emanating from the manicured front gardens I passed en route to Botley Hill.

I reached home around 1015hrs.