Monday, 08 November 2021
Peter writes: I had a good feeling as I rode over to Brookside for the start this morning as the sun was out and it looked like a nicer day than forecast. I was joined by Liz, Rachel, Mark, Lalli, Phil N, Ray and Nigel.
It was indeed a lovely day out with five riders heading back from the Ambiance Cafe at St Neots and three of us going on via Thurleigh and the path along the Great Ouse to Danish Camp, then home along the cycleway to Sandy and through Wimpole Estate.
I organised us into two groups of four as far as St Neots, catering for different preferred riding speeds, and everyone seemed happy with this.
We had a strong headwind all the way out to St Neots and until we turned south at Thurleigh outside Bedford – gosh what a relief that was! We did enjoy the scenery as we went. Here we are at Lily Hill between Waresley and Abbotsley.
This tree on the road to Thurleigh caught my eye – you can see the wind blowing it.
Veggie breakfast at the Ambiance was very good, with nice coffee all served outside. Lunch at Danish Camp was a little disappointing as we learned that we'd have to wait 45 minutes for any cooked food, so Nigel and I had scone, jam and clotted cream. It was nice, but I had wanted a halloumi wrap. At least we got to sit at a table with a lovely river view. Another time I would go elsewhere or bring a sandwich as one of our group did, as there are some benches along the river nearby.
The afternoon ride back to Cambridge was beautiful, with the soft autumn afternoon sun playing over the fields and lighting up the yellow and gold leaves of the trees. We stopped for a quick snack on the path through the Wimpole estate and to admire the view.
I was very tired near the end, I think mainly due to the first half of the ride being into a strong headwind, so I opted to skip Chapel Hill and go into town via Foxton instead. We rode into a beautiful sunset as we came into Harston. I was pleased to see about 6 red kites during the ride too. One landed on a branch over the road as we rode past, and another was descending right above me just a few feet away before wheeling away and up. Peter Hutchison