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Busway closure between Orchard Park and Histon

The cycleway alongside the guided busway (and the busway itself) will be closed between Orchard Park and Histon for just over two weeks, from Saturday 22nd June until early on Monday 8th July. This is because of road works on the A14 bridge.

For more information see this close-up photo of the notice.

We think this is being handled very badly. This is a very busy cycling and walking route which carries hundreds of people every day - for work, school or leisure.

However there has been very little publicity of such a significant closure (just this one small poster) and virtually no notice (less than a week). In addition there seems to be no attempt to create and sign an acceptable safe diversion route for walkers and cyclists.

Highways England, with the tacit approval of Cambridgeshire County Council, have failed to mitigate the impact of this closure for cyclists and walkers. The many hundreds of people who rely on this safe, traffic-free route deserve better than this. There's still time to put up some better notices and signpost a diversion, but this must not happen again. If you share our view, please contact your councillors (and Highways England) and ask them some hard questions.

Channel to the Mediterranean

Seb M has just returned from cycling the length of France, a 1400 km (870 mile) ride from Caen on the English Channel to Nice on the the Mediterranean, climbing to the summit of Mont Ventoux (and not by the easiest route) along the way. Read Seb's travelogue here.

Join our email group!

All members, especially those who take part in our rides, are warmly invited to join our email group. This is a mailing list to which any member can send messages, but it's mainly used to announce updates or extra information about our rides. If you don't join the email group you may miss out on these announcements (though we will always ensure that our website is kept updated with any last-minute changes or cancellations). So why not sign up? Find out more or go directly to the sign-up page.

Trois Hommes à Vélo

Peter, Mike CC and JR have just returned from a week in an area of central-western France known as le Pays de Gâtine, with what sounds like a very enjoyable mix of fine cycling, fine countryside and fine dining. Read Peter's entertaining report here.

A new start in Shelford

We're introducing a change to some of our rides on Thursdays, with a new starting point in Great Shelford. Starting on 4th April we will meet in the car park behind the Square and Compasses pub in the High Street, instead of Shelford recreation ground which is a bit congested. (Map)

We'd like to give a big thank you to the landlord for giving us permission to use his car park.

This is a trial, and only affects those rides that start in Great Shelford. Our Haslingfield and Brookside starts are unchanged.

Please assemble in the car park, not in front of the pub. Cars may be parked here but please park at the far end, away from the pub.

There's a full index of news items in the News archive

Our next rides

Wednesday 19th Jun: Evening ride (moderate plus, 30-35 miles) Meet at 6.30pm at Brookside. Pub stop is at 8.30pm at Shepreth, The Plough. Ride cancelled because leader is unwell. Leader: Nigel Deakin (07747 105576).

Thursday 20th Jun: Thursday ride - city start (moderate, 65-75 miles) Meet at 9.15am at Brookside. Coffee is at Potton, The Boundary Cafe. Lunch is at Thurleigh, Scald End Farm. Leader: John Evans (07802 397875).

Thursday 20th Jun: Thursday ride - village start (moderate, 65-75 miles) Meet at 9.30am at Haslingfield Green. Coffee is at Potton, The Boundary Cafe. Lunch is at Thurleigh, Scald End Farm. Leader: Sharon Jackson (07969 412967).

Sunday 23rd Jun: Sunday light day ride (moderate, 60-70 miles) Meet at 9.00am at Brookside. Coffee is at Hare Street, The Sunflower Tea Room. Lunch is at Thaxted, Parrishes Restaurant. Leader: Leader Needed (what does this mean?).

Sunday 23rd Jun: Sunday afternoon ride (moderate, 35-45 miles) Meet at 2.00pm at Brookside. Tea is at 4.00pm at Ickleton, Riverside Café. Leader: Ray Miller (07910 591846).

Wednesday 26th Jun: Evening ride (moderate plus, 30-35 miles) Meet at 6.30pm at Brookside. Pub stop is at 8.30pm at Barrington, The Royal Oak. Sunset is at 9.24pm tonight. This is as late as it gets here! Leader: Leader Needed (what does this mean?).

For rides after 26 Jun see our rides list.

Latest ride reports

16 Jun: Sunday afternoon ride to West Wratting
John F writes: The prospect of tea at the Chestnut Tree at West Wratting and the first rain-free day for a week encouraged 14 riders to set off at 2pm. The strong southerly breeze marred an otherwise perfect day for cycling... (full report)

18-31 May: Channel to the Mediterranean (Part 1)
Sebastian Macmillan recently completed a cycling trip across France from the English Channel to the Mediterranean. Twenty-six riders took part in the ride which was organised by the tour company Peak Tours... (full report)

30 May: Thursday ride to Newport and Great Bardfield
Edward writes: A nice warm day greeted the twelve riders who assembled in Great Shelford for today's ride out to Newport for coffee and Great Bardfield for lunch. This was a late change to the lunch venue... (full report)

Trois Hommes à Vélo: a cycling holiday in France
Peter writes: The plan was to spend a week in Central France (27 April - 4 May 2019) doing some fairly modest rides while sampling le cuisine et du vin Francais. The trip started well enough on Saturday with an enormous cooked breakfast chez Mike CC... (full report)

19 May: Sunday afternoon ride to Wicken
David writes: Seven of us set of from Brookside at 2pm, heading for Wicken at 4pm. (Ian W, John E, Neil S, James B, John F, Mike S and David S as leader. It was an uneventful ride:No rain.No punctures... (full report)

We have many more ride reports in the Ride reports index