Saturday, 12 September 2020
John S writes: Today has been billed by Cycling UK as the day for the World's Biggest Bike Ride. Not wanting to be left out, CTC Cambridge played its part by holding a Saturday Social ride. Angela W, Dennis S, Ian W, John E, John S, Phil N and Terry S met at the War Memorial in Shelford. With the Covid-19 rules changing again on Monday, we may look back wistfully on the time when we were allowed to ride in groups of more than six. Leader John S checked that all riders were happy to do what he described as 'a bit' of off-road riding before setting off.We meandered through Stapleford before joining Rowley Lane at Stapleford Granary. This is a bridleway that links Stapleford and Babraham, and has recently had a lot of the worst potholes filled in, so it is a much better surface for cycling than before, although the short section along the edge of a field near the ford/bridge can still get muddy in wet weather. The route used to be marked as a footpath on the map, but is now clearly signed as a bridleway at both ends.
After a couple of miles, Phil N accused the ride leader of blatantly mis-selling the route as only having 'a bit' of off-road, but soon afterwards we were safely back on tarmac with no punctures or broken bike frames in evidence.
We proceeded through Pampisford and Sawston, and over the railway to Whittlesford where we were passed by Clive P, and then onwards to Duxford, where we went to the new Café 19, which is part of the new community hall on the recreation ground. Here we saw Richard and Caroline, who had just had a coffee, and then David T, who told us about his summer exploits and adventures in Sri Lanka.
Our group of more than six split into two and sat outside at separate/distanced tables, which had been previously agreed with the café. Having one set of numbers limits for cycling and another for stops is a bit odd, but it worked well enough (and will probably change on Monday).
Café 19 is a good stop, with a wide range of cakes and snacks. The outdoor seating gave a good view of aircraft practicing aerobatics over the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. The one slight drawback is the long pebbled drive along the edge of the playing field, which will probably bed down over time, but is a bit like riding along a shingle beach at the moment. You can ride along the edge of the playing field as well.
After leaving the café, we spotted some familiar faces as we were passing Provenance cafe on Hill Farm Road: Adrian, Averil, Edward, Gina and Mike S had stopped for coffee there. We then went on via Newton and Trumpington Meadows to join the busway, where we all parted to return homewards.
At the end of the ride, I was even able to log my ride on the Cycling UK website and create an exclusive World's Biggest Bike Ride personalised certificate to mark my proud achievement.
We're trying to offer a few more social rides on Saturdays in between Ian W's regular rides. It's pretty straightforward to lead a ride at the moment, even with the small bit of extra record keeping that's needed because of Covid-19. It would be good to have a few more rides in the calendar, but as Rupert has noted, that depends on having a few more people offering to lead different kinds of rides. John S
Download GPS track (GPX).