CTC Cambridge

Tuesday 18 August 2020 

Dana came on her first ride. She first arrived at 10am for a 1.30pm ride: a slight mix up but I'm please to report that she was there for the start, armed with her impressively well-built Dutch single-speed shopper. Why worry about a bike weighing more than 20kg when you can also have panniers stocked up with marrows and cucumbers to add to the challenge? It was also the first ride back for Jacs after illness. Also at the start was Mike CC. Unfortunately the remaining two booked riders didn't turn up (Apparently they were unable to find the start point in Haslingfield) so we left some fifteen minutes late without them.

We headed via the Eversdens and Kingston Hill – where the true effort of a Dutch bike revealed itself. Dana was glad of the stop to recover when an impromptu physio session broke out with Jacs giving Mike some detailed guidance on some stretches. A photo of the shenaninigans seemed in order…

Just before the Gransdens we took a vote on whether to stay the course or take a short cut to Waresley given that the weather was looking threatening and we were behind schedule anyway.

So it was that we got to the Garden Centre at Waresley and ordered our coffees. Jacs gave Mike her spare banana whilst Dana went all out with a bacon and cheese panini because she had missed lunch.

The time for our picnic was somewhat rudely interrupted by the arrival of rain and we retreated indoors. The rain then got harder and harder – eventually becoming something of a tropical downpour. No one was keen to leave the shelter of the café but it was due to shut at 4pm and we left it as long as we could and luckily the rain had eased significantly by the time we saddled up and headed off.

Now it was Jacs who was bringing up the rear and after a bit of investigation it became clear that her back brakes were binding. Well, it is a short route to increased fitness to be fighting the brakes but not conducive to keeping the speed up. Greg effected a roadside repair and Jacs declared it felt like a new bike! We pressed on as Greg was concerned to get through the back gate at Wimpole before it was locked – which we duly managed. We cycled through the grounds which by this time were largely deserted.

After passing through Orwell we were largely on the home straight until the cry 'Puncture' went up. Jacs had a flat rear tyre which she attempted to repair using a squirty silicon repair bottle. This took two bottles to effect a partial repair with gunk oozing from the valve and over Mike's hands. I have never seen this in use before. Personally I recommend the old fashioned technique of spare tube and a pump – sometimes trad. is best!

We finally approached the last hill of the day but Dana was never likely to be able to get her bike up Chapel Hill easily. As it transpired she jumped off and gamely started running up the hill – a good effort, not seen before!

We finally got back to Haslingfield some time after 6pm. An interesting afternoon's adventure. Greg

Download GPS track (GPX).