Tuesday, 14 September 2021
Fiona writes: A small but determined group of four met at Brookside at 8am, and our leader Simon led us away on his beautifully planned route of 100 miles, aptly named Western Explorer. His stopping points were strategically planned so that the sections had decreasing distances- 32, 30, 20 and then a final home straight of 18 miles.We headed west through lovely villages including Litlington and Guilden Morden, and ventured into Bedfordshire as far as the Boundary Café in Potton. Simon also organised perfect weather with enough sun to keep us warm without overheating. Just to keep us on our toes we included several puncture stops, 3 in total. In fact Nick had one before arriving at Brookside and Eva had one before the first stop at Potton. Nick was a double scorer with a second one between Cottenham and Wicken.
The second section involved wonderful countryside and wooded areas taking us near Tetley, Abbotsley and Croxton with the added excitement of some hunter trials and accompanying horse boxes. From there east to Hilton, Fenstanton and then St Ives, where we joined the familiar guided bus route, with a short run to our picnic spot in Cottenham. 62 miles done by lunchtime, which felt like good progress.
Next up to Ely, the most northern point of the route, where we had wonderful views of cathedral tower, but avoided the cobbles. Under the dangerously low road bridge and onto the river path, with great views of the Ouse. Thankfully no punctures on the rough path and spurred on by the thought of delicious cakes, we were soon at Wicken village hall, where we joined the merry throng of cyclists. All the centenary rides converged happily for tea, where stories were exchanged. The huge effort and work which went into producing such a sumptuous tea were hugely appreciated.
The final 18 miles seemed very manageable after the restorative tea. First through Wicken Fen and several off road tracks and then we emerged in Burwell. From there via the Swaffhams, Bottisham and on to Quy. We said goodbye to Simon in Wicken Fen as he returned to Wicken to organise the hauliers for his boat move tomorrow. We each recorded the 100 miles at different points and went our separate ways home at the end.
A marvellous day. Many thanks to all responsible for the planning and organisation. A hugely enjoyable ride and a fantastic way to celebrate the club's centenary. Fiona Cornish
Simon adds: Punctures have always been an occasional part of cycling, but at least in our club groups, we don't leave anyone behind to fix their own mechanicals, and plenty of members are eager to help when invited. Besides, the weather was perfect, our event for today had no deadlines as such, and an easy average moving pace of 13.7 mph still allowed us to join in the teas celebrations with plenty of time to relax into the mood.
There were lots of bikes parked in the back garden at Wicken Jubilee Hall, and if you look carefully, you might just see the outline of the pop-up cycle rack, hastily fabricated on a last-minute whim, to accommodate the unusually large collection.
Many thanks to Fiona for taking the initiative and doing an excellent job of writing this report for our ride; yes I was compromised with house(boat) moving the following morning. Simon