Wheatley sits on a hill just east of Oxford, where the A40 crosses the M40, and for most riders it is a quick pit stop: fuel, a sandwich, back on the road. The old village, though, deserves a minute. Its stone cottages climb a steep main street, and at the top stands a small octagonal stone lock-up, built in the nineteenth century to hold drunks and petty criminals overnight, a reminder of rougher days on the coaching road to London.
To the west, Shotover Hill rises between Wheatley and Oxford, a ridge of heath, woodland and sandy paths with views over the city's spires. It was once a royal forest, and highwaymen preyed on travellers on the old road across it. Today it is a country park, popular with walkers and dog owners.
The M40 heads east from here towards the Chilterns, and as it crosses the great chalk cutting at Stokenchurch, watch the sky. Red kites, reintroduced to the Chilterns in the 1990s after being wiped out in England, now wheel over the motorway in dozens, their forked tails twisting as they ride the wind. They are one of the great conservation successes in Britain, and they have become the emblem of the region.
The riding around Wheatley is a mix of fast A-roads and lanes through the Oxfordshire countryside. The lanes towards Thame and the Chilterns are narrow, winding and lined with hedges, with occasional steep climbs and blind bends. Watch for tractors, cyclists and horses.
Oxford, a few miles west, is a nightmare to ride into, with traffic restrictions, bus gates and one-way streets. Park on the edge of the city and walk if you want to see it. Back in Wheatley, the fuel station by the motorway junction is quick, and the village pubs serve decent food.