A beautiful winter scene greeted the group of five cyclists outside The Pheasant on this Thursday morning, a merry band comprising Maurice, Andrew, Will (Andrew’s son), John B and Sandra, all set to burn off some of the festive excesses. Some of us needing to work a little harder than others, me being one and thus had the bright idea of cycling to and from the start, just an extra 4 miles each way. Well I certainly warmed up on the hills to the start but didn’t take long to cool off while waiting for John B to arrive, who had been driving the treacherous cross country roads to assess road conditions, needless to say I think the route for the day was changed 3/4 times before we set off.
The sun shone brightly through a clear blue sky and the frost was clear to see on the fields and untreated roads, it was almost as if there had been a covering of snow. We set off from Great Chishill to Duddenhoe End, Arkesden and then on to Rickling Green for a well deserved coffee and warm up at the Cricketers Arms, senior moment alert as Andrew managed to zip two totally different colour jackets together for a very interesting look!!
Leaving Rickling Green we headed back towards Rickling where we had an encounter with a Black Swan deciding to show us his full glory, not quite sure what he was hoping to prove or even for who this was intended.
Onwards to Berden, Stocking Pelham and Brent Pelham, this was where Maurice took off and left the rest of us trailing in his wake, we discovered that this could have been when the extra Christmas cake kicked in, we caught him up and headed back via Anstey, Nuthampstead, Barkway, Barley and The Windmill back to The Pheasant where Lynn B joined us for yet more fantastic food, thanks to Simon and Ollie.
27.5 miles on some very icy roads. Thanks to Maurice for organising another interesting route.
Even though I’ve only been with the group since mid August, I would like to thank Maurice for organising the routes over the year and to Andrew for keeping everyone informed and under control. I’d also like to thank everyone else who have come along for the rides or participated in any of the activities. I for one have certainly enjoyed every moment and look forward to all that 2017 has to offer.
Sandra
The Windmill Cycle Club 