The GPX starts on the south-western edge of the London area, around Leatherhead and Cobham, and gets out of the city straight away. There is no Thames set piece here: the first part is Surrey lanes, hedges, short rises and village edges through Cobham, Ripley and the Woking area. Further west the route opens out through Fleet, Hook and the country north of Basingstoke, then crosses into Berkshire. After Chieveley and East Ilsley, the road moves onto chalk downland. The climbs are not Alpine, but they arrive late enough to matter. Around Lambourn and near White Horse Hill the country becomes wider and more exposed. The final approach follows the edge of the Ridgeway country towards Swindon. A long first day: rural roads, steady work, almost no empty kilometres.
