Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Nigel writes: My wheelmates on tonight's ride were Gareth, Ray, Dmitris, Neil, Sven and Camille. It was a bright, sunny evening and at the start of the ride the temperature was a warm and very agreeable 22C. Our ride today would be slightly shorter than normal as by special request we would be visiting the Queen's head in Newton, arriving half an hour earlier than usual to allow us to buy food from a visiting "food truck". However, since we had quite a fast group tonight we were still able to have a pretty full ride despite the reduced time available.
Brookside
We set off south from Brookside, following our usual route along the busway and DNA path to Great Shelford before continuing along roads to Little Shelford, Whittlesford and Duxford. Ray was proudly sporting a brand new bike that he had collected earlier today, and his pace today was noticeably brisker than before.
Coploe Hill
We reached the Ickleton by about 7.15pm; that was noticeably earlier than usual, and meant that we had sufficient time to continue to the top of Coploe Hill before turning right onto Royston Lane.
Royston Lane
Royston Lane was as pleasant and enjoyable as always. The road surface is rather bumpy in places, but I don't find that a problem on evening rides as it slows the pace down and allows us to enjoy the fine views on this scenic rollercoaster.
Royston Lane (Photo: Gareth Rees)
Royston Lane (Photo: Gareth Rees)
Royston Lane ends at Chrishall Grange, where the hills end. Some flatter lanes (and a crossing of the A505) brought us to Fowlmere after which a short run along the B1369 brought us to Newton.
We arrived in Newton at just after 8pm and stopped for drinks and food at The Queen's Head. Outside we found Yasmin was there with her son Oscar, who had cycled there directly. As expected there was a food truck parked nearby from
Scrimshaw's Guerrilla Kitchen, serving bao (steamed buns) with various fillings. Since everything was cooked to order and there was quite a long wait before my order was ready, but when it eventually arrived it was delicious. They were clearly a bit overwhelmed, however, and after a while stopped taking orders. This meant that Sven, Neil and Dimitris missed out on the "guerilla" food and had to order food from the pub itself.
Waiting for food at The Queens' Head, Newton
Rob, the landlord, came out to speak to us and I took the opportunity to applaud the new cycle parking they had installed earlier in the summer. Apparently this is a temporary loan from the County Council but and will be replaced by permanent Sheffield stands when they receive planning permission.
Excellent temporary cycle parking at The Queens' Head, Newton
After spending about an hour standing outside the pub we set off back to Cambridge via the Shelfords, the DNA path and the busway, with Ray setting a brisk pace at the front. After an enjoyable ride back I arrived home at 9.30pm, having cycled 48km (
30 miles).
Nigel Deakin
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