Thursday, 29 August 2013
Edward writes: Another great day for cycling and, what a surprise, only seven people turned up for our ride out to Depden Green. Those who didn't make it certainly missed out on a splendid day in the Suffolk countryside. Today's head boy was Tony H and he was fresh back from the over sixties' tour of the Pennines; also from that tour was Rupert. Today we also welcomed Sue who was joining the Thursday ride for the first time, having previously gone along to a Saturday morning ride.
We left Hauxton and went along to Whittlesford where we were joined by Mike B and then followed the cycleway to Sawston and Babraham where we went on the farm track, over the footbridge and then into Great Abington. This brought us to the unpleasant A1307 which we crossed and this took us to Hildersham and Linton and of course back to the A1307. From here the land rises as we made our way through Bartlow and Shudy Camps.
Linton
Sue decided to return home from Haverhill; also going home from there would be Mike B and Joanna, so Sue would have had company back to Cambridge. The route Tony chose, going through Nosterfield End, is very rural and really a cyclist's dream and this soon brought us to Haverhill and the Drabbet Smock for our coffee break. Already enjoying a coffee there were Joseph and Geoff.
Haverhill
After coffee we said goodbye to the three returning to Cambridge and the rest of us threaded our way out of Haverhill and joined the road to Kedington and on to Hundon where Tony was stung by a wasp. We were now really out in the country, and with the breeze on our backs we made rapid progress as we headed for Wickhambrook.
Hundon
Hundon
Now that we are at the end of August we can see how much the countryside has changed with the last of the wheat being harvested and already the ground being prepared for next year's crop. This brought us within sight of our lunch stop at Depden Green Farm shop which is just off the road that leads to Hargrave.
Depden Green
This is the first time we have used this as a lunch stop and it was a pleasant surprise. The menu is limited but the food on offer was first class, for example the salads were beautiful served, an apple was also included and they did not include limp lettuce leaves, coleslaw and mayonnaise which are so often served up as a salad. This should be a definite for future rides.
After an enjoyable hour we left the farm shop at 2.15pm. We retraced our route back to Wickhambrook and then turned left to head briefly towards Clare, but after half or mile or so we turned onto a very narrow country lane which took us through many twists and turns to Cowlinge.
Cowlinge
Next up was Great Bradley and then Brinkley, where we said goodbye to Geoff, and the long downhill that took us into Six Mile Bottom where Joseph turned off to head for home. Of course this lead to the two miles up to Great Wilbraham which cars seem to treat as a race track. Next followed Fulbourn, over the Gogs and into Great Shelford where the tour ended.
This was a textbook ride in perfect weather and very much enjoyed by those who took part. Finally, our thanks to Tony for an extremely well-thought-out route giving us
64 miles to put in the miles bank.
Edward Elmer
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