Sunday, 13 December 2009
Today was the day of the club Christmas lunch at Bourn Golf Club, so there was just one ride today, which departed from Brookside at 10am with the aim of giving us a good appetite for lunch! As expected, a large group turned out for the ride so we split into two groups, a faster group led by Joseph and a slightly more gentle one led by Mike S. I rode with Joseph's group.
We all set off out of Cambridge along the cycle path to Barton, where we rejoined the road and turned left for Haslingfield. There we climbed Chapel Hill and dropped down as usual into Barrington before making a further turn for Orwell. On reaching Orwell we crossed the A603 and took the road that led towards Wimpole Hall. It was a dull morning, dry after earlier rain and with occasional periods of brightness.
As we passed the stable block at Wimpole Hall we spotted a display of vintage cycles on proud display and stopped to have a closer look. It was
March Veteran and Vintage Cycle Club, whose members had brought along a dozen vintage bicycles and were proudly standing by them dressed in Victorian or Edwardian costume.
We stopped to have a chat, and to compare our bikes with theirs (they were impressed by Mike's Mercian), and gave us a short demonstration of how to ride a "Penny Farthing".
After Wimpole we continued through Arrington and Croydon before climbing the short but steep Croydon Hill on the road towards the Hatleys. Just after passing through Hatley St George we turned right and cut north onto the road that took us back via Longstowe to Bourn.
At the Golf Club we met Mike's group (which had taken a slightly shorter route via Old Wimpole) and all the other club members come along for the Christmas lunch.
More photos
here.
After lunch we all headed home. The sun had come back out for the final hour or so of daylight so a group of took a roundabout route back, via Kingston, Haslingfield, Harston, the Shelfords and the DNA path. I was home by 4pm, having ridden
40 miles.
View this GPS track on a larger map
1 comments from old website
Wednesday 16th Dec 2009 at 1.10pm
As a fairly new member of the Group, I really enjoyed my 1st Xmas lunch - great company, venue and food! Thanks to Geoff and Joseph for organising. I opted for the more 'leisurely' paced route, which allowed for some sociable chatting and scenery admiring along the way. Mike S and I also cycled back over Chapel Hill on our way home, which may have burnt off a few crumbs of Xmas pud!
Tina