Thursday 30 January 2025
Gong hei fat choi, writes Greg. Those who thought you had come to the wrong place, read on! It was Chinese New Year on Wednesday which is traditionally celebrated over three days so Thursday morning's ride fell slap bang in the midst of celebration for the year of the Snake. The traditional greeting, as stated above, is liberally passed to all you meet that day and so it seemed fitting to greet my fellow riders in this manner as we assembled at Haslingfield. Adrian's look of bemusement confirmed that this was just another one of Greg's wheezes that generated confusion and chaos. Such is life!
Still the chaos and confusion he generates went even further, for having paid close attention to the forecast he sent an email and had the website changed (thanks Nigel) to notify all that the ride would start at 10am to give the sun a chance to warm things. Richard arrived at 9.26am to find no-one else present. He beat a hasty retreat to the Meringa Tree and reappeared 30 minutes later trying to be calm, suave and sophisticated as if nothing untoward had occurred. His mistake was mentioning quietly to Avril what he'd done: Greg heard and promised his foolishness would go no further. Well not much further!
Nicks 1 and 2 were present also as were Ed, Mike and making a special guest appearance from the rural depths of Suffolk was Jim. We set off at 10am prompt (Richard included!) The first thing to do was to go up Chapel Hill which, for once, was well received. The reason being that it was cold, very cold. Despite the late start the temperature was still showing at 1.6°C so hauling ourselves up the hill was a great way to get warm.
We fair flew down t'other side of the hill into Barrington – passing the ever expanding 'Redrow Rash' of new homes in the old cement works. Outside Barrington Church we found Phil, patiently awaiting our arrival. Greg helpfully pointed out that Jim would be along soon – then he would be 'Over the hill'. A number of others agreed with the sentiment although on arrival Jim explained it was because his new brake blocks were binding. Mick took a look and the excuse was comprehensively debunked. Note to self: never make up a mechanical excuse if Mick is present; you will be found out!
We duly headed off west bound for Orwell. This is normally a pretty tedious stretch of road but today we were energised both by the bright blue sky and sunshine and also Phil's erudite commentary on the Government's Growth Agenda, more specifically its lack of any connection with reality or existing sewage systems and infrastucture. Who knew water treatment could be such an invigorating topic?
We regrouped after crossing the A603 as we proceeded towards the Wimpole Estate. Mick did fine service as gatekeeper as we entered the parklands.
Nick 1 managed to unseat a toddler who was on his balance bike. Nick came up behind and meekly said 'Excuse Me'. The child looked over his shoulder, saw Nick looming astern and promptly threw both his bike and himself onto the ground! No real damage done.....Greg helpfully handed out a CTC New Applicant form to resolve any potential upset to the young lad. Expect a new recruit in 40 odd years then...
We soon left Wimpole and picked up the ridgeway road through Arrington and on to Croydon. It was a crisp, clear day: visibility 'Good' (as they would say on the shipping forecast) which enabled us to look out across the valley. What was amazing was that the word had obviously got out to the motorists of South Cambridgeshire regarding Nick and his impact on other wheeled transport and we proceeded along with almost no traffic. Where were they all? Greg helpfully pointed out to Phil that there was no need to spend on infrastructure if no one was using it.
Everyone else might have been cold but I think I saw steam coming from Phil's ears.
This road emerges part way up Croydon Hill. Turn right and you get to do the remaining two thirds of the hill but only 6 odd miles to coffee. Turn left and you get to go downhill to start with and do a long loop via Guilden Morden, Cockayne Hatley and uphill to the heath, a loop of 14 miles. Jim stated that he categorically wasn't 'Over the hill – yet – but I soon will be!' He opted to turn right with Mick whilst the rest of us stayed on the planned route.
So it was that we dropped down and looped around into Guilden Morden. Google Maps and its traffic update, or whatever was causing it, ensured that the world knew that to avoid Nick (and the rest of us) they would have to stay clear of that road. Indeed they did. One over-excited teenager driving a smoke belching Vauxhall Corsa was the only traffic for the next five miles. Glorious cycling! Flat roads, no traffic and full sun: the only thing missing was some warmth!
We proceeded on the back road to Cockayne Hatley. This is a long drag of over 2 miles uphill but we all put our heads down and ground it out. The reward is that you get up to the level of Sandy Heath, its mighty transmitter aerial standing tall and proud not far away. This is another great road: rural, reasonably well-maintained considering (well we are in Bedfordshire at this point so better than South Cambridgeshire) and once again traffic-free. Once the heights have been achieved there is a glorious whizz downhill from the water tower to recuperate as we come into the edge of Potton.
We were soon back into the countryside as we proceeded to run parallel to the main road tracking up to Gamlingay and Waresley. We came onto the main drag some half a mile shy of the destination and so arrived at The Bean Theory. There to greet us were Jim and Mick who had been joined by John S. A very pleasant 40 minutes was spent in the sunshine.
We duly saddled back up shortly after 12.30pm.
Even though the sun was still shining our break had left us all pretty cool. The temperature remained stubbornly at circa 5°C max and restarting is always hard work as tired limbs crank back into motion.
Nick 1 left us at Waresley whilst the rest of us headed back on well trod (or ridden) roads through the Gransdens. The road was closed as we came into Bourn so we had to divert via the back way and cross the stream. Greg and Nick 2 were looking at the ford with some trepidation but the old hands along with us knew there was a bridged route if you turned off further back. We all gratefully took this option. We then emerged onto a new bit of tarmac: very new. Here the cold of the day was an advantage as it had set the road otherwise we would have been making ruts and getting stuck. It seemed like we were the first vehicles as they were in the process of opening things back up. Ah, flat tarmac! What life could be like... Phil was ecstatic at the sight of infrastructure renewal, the rest of us just gobsmacked that South Cambridgeshire District Council could lay tarmac!
The city escapees (Traitors?) left us soon after and the Faithful stayed together until Haslingfield. A cold but bright one-stopper – what a way to start the year! Greg