Saturday, 04 July 2015
Craig writes: For the first time in ages I arrived too early for the Saturday ride. So I went on an early morning ride around the centre of Cambridge. How very pleasant that turned out in the warm summer sunshine. This is clearly the best time to go shopping.
When I finally arrived back I found Phil and Gina (still sporting some battle scars from her tumble at Rutland the previous weekend). We were soon joined by Edgar, John and Angela and a new rider for the first time Ceri. At 10am sharp we set off south along the Trumpington Road.
Ickleton is on the very limit of a Saturday ride so to deviate from an almost straight there-and-back route is difficult. However, I decided to try a figure of eight loop. We then had our first and thankfully only puncture of the day for Phil. Edgar was on hand to help and we were soon on our way again.
At Trumpington we turned towards Granchester and Byrons Pool before venturing into the maze of unsigned paths that criss-cross the new wildlife space behind Waitrose. The paths are new and in good condition. We finally came out on the A10 near Hauxton before turning towards the Shelfords.
We continued to Whittlesford where we turned east onto the new cycleway to Sawston. There we turned south again and into a breeze along the A1301 NCN 11 cyclepath to Hinxton and Ickleton.
NCN 11 near Whittlesford
The Riverside Cafe was surprisingly quiet this morning and sitting under a tree in the shade we enjoyed our refreshments.
Ickleton
All too soon it was time to return to Cambridge. So we went out and across to Coploe Hill before descending into Duxford and crossing the A505 at Whittlesford. We again crossed into Sawston using the footpath by the Paper Mill. Then it was along NCN 11 back to the DNA path and the busway. People split up here so I formally finished the ride having completed just under
25 miles. With four railway crossings and four off-road sections it turned out to be an enjoyable ride.
Craig Hirons
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GPS track (GPX).