Sunday, 15 February 2009
There were seven of us at Brookside in Cambridge at 9.30am this morning: myself, Simon, Ian, Julia, Mick, Joseph. John L was wearing the leader's jersey. John anounced that the announced coffee stop had been changed to Barkway Golf Club and that Lunch was now at the Crown, Puckeridge.
We set off towards Trumpington and the Shelfords and from there continued to Newton and Fowlmere. The weather was milder than on recent mornings but it was also rather dull. It remained dry apart from the occasional spot of drizzle as we continued south across the A505 to Chrishall Grange. Then a gentle climb to Heydon and on to Great Chishill, which as I always tell people when we ride that way is the highest village in Cambridgeshire at an altitude of 146 m/480 ft. Then we sped down the hill and turned left to Nuthampstead. Although all the roads so far had been clear of snow and ice the little lane through Nuthampstead had a line of muddy snow down the middle so we had to take slightly more care. We arrived at Barkway Golf Club for coffee shortly afterwards, where we met Adrian, Vic, Mike S and perhaps one or two others who had obviously been given word of the change in coffee stop.
My big discovery of the day is that Barkway Golf Club serve an excellent plate of bread pudding for 50p. Perfect for passing cyclists. Washed down with an entirely satisfactory cappucino at £1 this makes £1.50 which is better value than even Wetherspoons - and in rather more pleasant surroundings.
After coffee John and some others pressed on to Lunch in Puckeridge but most of the group decided to head home in small groups. I stuck with Simon on a route via Barkway (village of shoescrapers), Great Chishill and Heydon (again), Elmdon, Ickleton and the usual way home via the Shelfords and the DNA path. On the way back it started to rain, with light drizzle increasing to heavy drizzle, so it was nice to arrive home in time for a late lunch at about 1.30pm. Distance:
43 miles.
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