Sunday, 24 April 2022
Peter H writes: Today was a lovely day for a ride. As I arrived at Brookside, riders were already gathering and by the time I led out the "moderate" ride to Potton there were close to twenty riders assembled, most of whom were joining the loiterers ride to Howe Wood. It was fantastic to see so many people, including some faces I had not seen for a while.
We had six on our ride and the wind was behind us on the way out to Potton. I led the group through the Wimpole Estate, down Croydon Hill and on to the B road to Tadlow before turning up through Sutton. We enjoyed the ford at Sutton and the little stone bridge alongside it (we didn't ride through the ford as it looked a bit slippery).
We arrived at the Boundary Cafe in Potton just before 11am, where we all enjoyed a good brunch, sitting out on the patio.
After coffee we divided into two groups, with the "onward" and "returning" groups riding together for a while before we went our separate ways. The "return" group went through the back lanes to Waresley and on from there, whilst Nigel and I continued on, enjoying the downhill from Everton towards the A1 crossing north of Sandy, and then the fresh green hedges and trees with blossom on the way through Great Barford, Salph End and to Scald End Farm near Thurleigh.
We had a good and leisurely lunch at Scald End: my baked potato was tasty and although they had stopped serving breakfast at 11.30 they agreed to add a fried egg to my lunch. Yum! There is plenty of outdoor seating, so although they were full indoors (note for future reference - it is busy at Sunday lunchtime), we had no problem finding somewhere to sit.
After lunch we turned into the wind, sort-of, for the return leg to Cambridge. In fact, we were only fully into the wind for part of the time and it was not too bad, so we could enjoy the lovely sunny weather. I found a nice piece of public art near the Willow Bridge at St Neots and stopped to take a photo. I arrived home shortly just after 5pm. A good day out! Peter H