Sunday, 31 October 2010
Ian writes:On my way to Brookside for the start, a heavy rain shower saw me stopping under a tree to put on Gore-Tex trousers and jacket. Here we go I thought, I'll be sitting at the start with water dripping off the end of my nose with no one for company, but hey, at least I get twelve portions of sandwiches and cake all to myself at tea.
How wrong I was! Seven other riders turned up and the rain stopped. Bravo.
The Green Man in Shepreth is only 8 miles from Cambridge, but as the clocks went back and we would be arriving in the dark, being close to Cambridge was welcome. This left almost too many choices for routes. As it's now well into autumn and the leaves will soon be gone from the trees, it was an obvious choice to head for the most tree-lined lanes with the greatest array of colours.
We headed along the DNA path to the Shelfords, through Whittlesford and onto Duxford. At Duxford we turned to follow the quiet lanes that run parallel to the A505. There is enough of a climb here to afford some nice views over the surrounding fields.
From here we crossed the A505 through Fowlmere on over to Shepreth. The tree lining was certainly giving us a fix of autumn browns and reds. Onwards to Barrington and left to Orwell.
Turning left again at Orwell we passed the golf club with some ominous dark grey clouds looming and the light fading fast. It was time to head for the tea. On the borders of Meldreth and Melbourn, the heavens did open, so we sheltered under the A10 bridge until the worst had passed. It was only a couple of miles to tea now and it was almost completely dark. George R and a couple of others were waiting at the Green Man and a few from the day ride soon turned up for a welcome tea on a damp and dark evening.
41 miles on the clock by the time I was home.
Ian Driver.