Wednesday, 15 July 2020
John J writes: Birds flying high, you know how I feel; Sun in the sky, you know how I feel; Breeze driftin' on by; you know how I feel. It's a new dawn. It's a new day!So sang Nina Simone as I left home to meet a select group of riders for our second 'post-lockdown' Club ride and our first ride starting from this part of the County (of Huntingdonshire)!!
Not much sunshine; the rain clouds loomed over the old bridge in St Ives as I made my way to the start!
We were meeting in Swavesey, on the Busway and after a short briefing on the additional 'rules' of the ride, we headed off through the village and southwards to the suspension bridge over the new A14 – an exciting experience for Anne, who hadn't crossed it before!
Climbing to Boxworth the first shower hit us; the temperature dropped so rain jackets on! But not for too long as a couple of short climbs soon meant that we were overheating with the clouds having passed. Michael S was without a jacket but didn't really need it anyway.
The fields were full of cereals as we rode at a leisurely pace, partly dictated by Mike CC whose e-assisted bike seemed to have developed an intermittent fault. As we weaved through the Gransdens we passed England's oldest post mill, dating back to 1612.
Arriving at LJ's shortly after 11am we received a warm welcome and good fare. Business seems to be picking up, which is good. They have worked hard on the courtyard with plenty of flowers and the addition of a fireplace, although Anne's bike provided the only flash of blue!
And, as Mike CC will attest, they still provide excellent bacon rolls!
Rain jackets on as we departed (again for only a short period of time), we benefitted from the light tail wind as we headed north from Croxton where one of the worst features of modern times greeted us: fly-tipped asbestos! After reporting to the district council, we pressed on!
The roads remained quiet although the conversations continued aplenty. Mike's electrical issues came and went but didn't affect our enjoyment of the countryside. As we approached Hilton, we decided to visit the turf maze (dating from 1660) and one of only eight in the country; plus a dose of local history from the display board!
Our final leg was towards Fenstanton, which the display board had told us was the burial place of Lord of the Manor, Capability Brown. Crossing a more conventional bridge over the A14, we went our separate ways, hopefully without the need to report any symptoms of covid-19 to the welfare officer due to the excellent distancing behaviour of the riders!
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this route (GPX).