Thursday, 07 October 2021
Ray writes: I was leading the ride today to Saffron Walden. Last Thursday there were only 6 of us out for Yasmin's ride, but today we had a much better weather forecast and were back to our full complement of 12. This included new rider Summer on her second ride with the club and Dennis stepping up from the more leisurely Saturday rides, along with the familiar core of Thursday city riders.
Simon had volunteered to lead a second group and he set off with an advance party of 6. To give him a head start, I took my group on a scenic tour of Cambridge past King's College and through the market place to join the riverside cycle path near La Mimosa. We then enjoyed a quiet ride by the river all the way to Ditton Meadows, where we picked up the cycle path to Fen Ditton.
We went down High Ditch Road and the underpass to to Quy to pick up the cycle path alongside the A1303, then turned for the road past the Wilbrahams to Six Mile Bottom. This is not my favourite stretch of road as it's long and straight so the cars treat it like a race track, but the alternatives would have made the long leg to coffee even longer. The road from Six Mile Bottom to Brinkley was resurfaced a year or so ago and it's nice to ride on smooth tarmac for a change (a rare thing in Cambridgeshire).
We didn't go all the way to Brinkley, but turned right at the cross-roads for the road past the woodland burial ground to Weston Colville, then right again for West Wratting. After a long stretch of mostly uphill riding, we now enjoyed a long downhill through Bartlow all the way to Ashdon.
Rather than carrying straight on through Ashdon, we turned left towards Radwinter and a few miles later right onto New House Lane. I usually turn left at the end of this road for the long descent to Saffron Walden via Sewards End but that would have brought us into town against the one-way system. Instead we turned right onto Redgates Lane to join the Ashdon Road and a different downhill stretch that let the one-way system lead us to the café.
Simon's group had already arrived and placed their orders, and their food was just starting to be delivered when we turned up. We were given a warm welcome at the café (I had booked ahead so they were expecting us) and it wasn't long before I was sitting down with a coffee and all-day breakfast.
We decided to ride back as one group, with me in the lead as Simon's GPS had packed up (not that he should need it for the familiar route home!) As we climbed the hill towards the war memorial in Saffron Walden we met Yasmin coming the other way with two of her children; she gave a friendly ding on the bell and shouted a greeting as they whizzed past.
Our route home took us past Audley End House then up Chestnut Avenue to Catmere End and a final push over Coploe Hill to Ickleton. The sun was shining now and I was starting to wish I'd planned a longer route - if I'd been on my own, I'd have been tempted to add a loop through Littlebury Green and Elmdon, but as I was leading I thought I'd better stick to the advertised route.
Phil left us in Duxford while the rest of us made our way via Whittlesford and Shelford to the DNA path and home, congregating briefly at the railway station to say goodbye.