Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Nigel writes: During the dark days of winter these evening rides were something of a specialised taste, but now that spring is here and the evenings are both warm and light the number of riders is growing. At Brookside this evening I found seven other riders: Tony, Paul, Conrad, Rob, Matthew, Neil and Daniel. Before we set off we had the usual route negotiation. I said that the obvious route to Barrington was a loop south via Ickleton, Coploe Hill and Fowlmere. However this was a route we had done many times on evening rides, so for a change I suggested we head west instead. The others accepted my suggestion and off we went.
We set off west out of Cambridge along the Coton path. When we reached Coton we turned north to Madingley, taking the road which runs along the edge of the American Cemetery.
It was a warm sunny evening but with quite a strong westerly wind which slowed us down slightly as our route took us west and south-west as we looped through Dry Drayton, Hardwick, Highfields and Caldecote. There we turned onto some slightly busier roads: the B1046 to Longstowe followed by the A1198 south for a short distance until the turn to Old Wimpole which allowed us to enjoy quieter roads once more.
After Old Wimpole we crossed the A603 to Orwell and a short distance later arrived at Barrington where we stopped for a drink at The Royal Oak. We ordered plates of chips and burgers and sat outside with our drinks as darkness fell and the temperature dropped.
Afterwards we all returned back to Cambridge. The return route took us over Chapel Hill to Haslingfield and then via the Barton Road cycleway back to Cambridge. With the wind behind us we made rapid progress, and I arrived back home at 0945, having cycled just over
30 miles.
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