Search4 Jan: Saturday Social ride to Oakington
Saturday 4 January 2020
Ian writes: Today's Saturday Social, the first of this new decade, saw eleven riders leave Brookside, heading across Parker's Piece towards Riverside. Once across the Green Dragon bridge, with the towpath being rather puddly, the tarmac of the busway cycleway beckoned, which we followed north all the way to Longstanton Park and Ride.
Although we had a steady headwind much of the way, prolonged sunny spells made for an overall pleasant experience.
On our way we passed under the A14 bridge prior to the cycleway's closure on Monday 6th January for a month. We also skirted the Harlaxton Engineering works between Histon and Westwick/Oakington that will start again next week.
The developments at Northstowe are moving ahead apace, with a central plaza now completed - or seemingly so as we passed by to its right.
From there we looped back via Longstanton on our way to a well earned coffee break at Oakington Garden Centre. Christmas decorations were still on display and for sale, and the sunny cafe offered a good selection of food (fruit scones highly recommended). Ed had beaten us to it arriving a few minutes earlier, his coffee already ordered, which brought our numbers back to eleven again as Michael B had parted company along the busway.
After a relaxing break it was back to the crossroads and the direct route back towards Cambridge via Girton for most of us, with Tom H and Lorraine diverting towards Histon.
Once at Huntingdon Road, Matthew and Julia needed to make haste and headed directly into town, the rest of us crossing to pick up the Coton footpath in due course beyond Eddington.
The opposition to a Busway along Adams Road was very apparent in the form of a large banner and other material that we noticed as we passed by on our way to join Grange Road. We followed the latter to its junction with Barton Road to complete our circuit for the day.
The sun was still shining, and with 20 or so miles added in good company, what better way to spent the first Saturday of the New Year? Ian W