It was a murky Essex day as 6 Windmillers gathered at the Fleur de Lys for a ride to Finchingfield and back, not even bearing to think about Maurice soaking up the sunshine and drinking gin and tonics on his friend’s large yacht in the Mediterranean. So Andrew led the way, followed dutifully by Sandra, Chris, Lawrence, Roger and Martin via Henham, Thaxted, Great Bardfield, Sydney (only joking) and Waltham’s Cross (no joking). Here is the route taken:
The first stop on what was quite a brisk ride was Henham where large fish were seen swimming in the village pond, which never seems to dry up. Sadly they were not seen on camera:
Thaxted came and went in a blur and on we sped towards Great Bardfield with thoughts of coffee beginning to become uppermost in one’s mind. But then came the hypothetical Sydney, a field full of mini wallabies munching happily away but almost as invisible as the fish in Henham:
Coffee was had at the delightful café in Finchingfield where we have stopped many times before, Bosworth’s Tearooms. Several scones were consumed, some with clotted cream (on top of the jam of course) and there were thoughts of why Keith was not with us. That soon became clear when the murk turned to heavy rain and we had to sit it out until it cleared, so Keith had clearly read an accurate forecast.
But the rain soon stopped and other than a spot or two on the way back (badly judged by Martin who stopped unnecessarily to don a waterproof only to remove it again shortly afterwards) we returned in the murk via Thaxted and were soon taking the off road route behind Debden to reach Widdington in time for a splendid lunch at the Fleur de Lys. Chris was celebrating the arrival of his second grandchild, Ethan, and so we had great pleasure wetting the babe’s head courtesy of Chris. Thanks Chris!
Thanks to Andrew for organising a great ride.
Martin
The Windmill Cycle Club 