A wet Thursday morning saw seven Windmillers – Sandra, Maurice, Ken, Ric, Nigel and two Brians – sheltering from the rain under a conveniently placed marquee in the middle of Thriplow. It was coming up to the famed Daffodil Weekend and the village was in full bloom. Ken somehow managed to park his car on top of some daffodils while the rest of us looked away, uncomfortably; we don’t know the guy – he’s not with us.
It was such a wet morning that we mooted calling the whole thing off – but Ric had cycled from Harston and we hadn’t the heart to send him back. So, shrugging off the rain, Maurice led the way out of the village and – as ever – we had a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
We headed out through Fowlmere, Melbourn, Meldreth, Orwell and Barrington before pulling in for coffee at The Moringa Tree in Haslingfield. It was our first visit to this cosy little café offering good coffee and an excellent selection of home-made cakes. The ladies gave us a warm welcome – which is more than can be said of their neighbour who stormed into the café upset because someone had parked a bike on The Green. What Green? we asked. That one, said the irate lady pointing to a one metre square patch of grass just outside. The culprit, Yorkie Brian, handled it very diplomatically and moved his bike a little closer to the café – and off the grass. Peace was restored.
Back on the bikes, we did a loop around Harlton and Barton, then back through Haslingfield and on to Harston and Newton, before returning to Thriplow for lunch at the Green Man.
We were delighted to be joined by Chris and Keith – neither of whom had fancied a wet ride (the big softies!). Keith, looking tanned, was just back from a 2 month sojourn in Lanzarote. He hopes to fit in a few rides with us before jetting off for the test match series in the Caribbean.
The Green Man served up an excellent lunch, most of us opting for an assortment of tapas dishes, all washed down with some very good beer.
Thanks, Maurice, for organising another great outing and selecting such a good lunch venue.
Brian
The Windmill Cycle Club 