The evidence surrounding last week’s fall guys and a gal was limited to tales of woe after the event. Andrew therefore decided to fall again, this time on purpose, at the same spot that the mighty had fallen but got a wet bum in the process. Imagine black ice and running water at the same place – that’s how it was. But this week, Windmillers were all upright citizens and well behaved for a change.
The CAC route was therefore a repeat of last week’s and the conditions were somewhat better – very mild but also very wet following more rain earlier in the week which led to high river levels and ditches full to overflowing, plus another postponement by a day to a Friday for the second week running. What a cold and wet January it has generally been but the snowdrops and aconites are out, the daffodils are poking through, the birds are singing and all is well, except for the f…ing virus of course.
E-bikers Maurice and Rod were seen in Chrishall doing a C ride as Martin set off and it wasn’t long before C Roger and AC Martin met in Nuthampsted by the war memorial and were busy chatting when Andrew appeared, doing an AC ride. This prompted a socially distanced photo, or are they about to engage in some kind of virus rage? Make up your own mind:
Approaching Great Hormead, Graham and Julia were coming the other way, which provided yet another war memorial photo:
Graham and Julia had been helping Charles mend a puncture just down the road but by the time Andrew and Martin got there Charles was busy mending puncture no. 2 as the first repair had not worked. So puncture specialist Andrew quickly got to work whilst Martin didn’t have much to do except drink coffee and record the occasion for posterity, whilst avoiding being soaked by large lorries ploughing through a nearby puddle the size of a small lake. Howard also stopped to lend moral support.
Rod and Maurice were seen once again near Little Hormead, having had a good ride, and meanwhile Charles sped on ahead to catch up on lost time, no doubt thinking about which hi-tech e-bike he might procure. It might have a bell and a whistle.
The offensive stretch of road near Furneux Pelham was awash with water, which just goes to show how easy it is for this to ice over once the temperature drops. A warning sign or two would be good to see at this site.
The same pony and trap that was featured last week was seen once again in Furneux Pelham accompanied by another – a nice sight and a pleasant reminder of Spring being around the corner.
Windmillers spot all kinds of things on their travels around the lanes – some have a keen eye / ear for birds of the feathered kind, some for the non-feathered kind, some like Sandra can spot a herd of deer a mile away, some are always on the look out for interesting landscapes, some are petrol heads but Simon is always looking out for rusty old bits of junk lying in farmyards and hedgerows. This is the gem he spotted between Wicken Bonhunt and Arkesden:
The stream was gushing through Arkesden like it was in a real hurry to get to the Wash. Reports of deep water through the ford at Newland End were coming in and so Martin accompanied Julia up past the church as she was finishing her ride and then took a left to Newland End, bypassing the ford. Andrew carried on, negotiated the ford successfully – his bum was already wet and so he wouldn’t have minded falling in – and then bumped into Martin again near Anne Curry’s house, the lady sculptor, at Newland End – well worth visiting on a fine day when she is holding an exhibition.
Charles kindly hosted the charity box once again but this time with a camera installed nearby to deter burglars and also check up on Windmillers depositing their fivers. But, somewhat akin to how wild animals adjust to cameras eavesdropping in their natural environment, Windmillers acted in a similar way when discovering it. Brian took a photo of it, Howard peered at it and Simon even picked it up, tossed it around and repositioned it. Clearly, we’re all animals beneath the surface, some wilder than others.
Others taking part in the ride were Brian and Jeremy, who did the northern section, Geoff (whose bruise from last week is hopefully better), Mike (who was seen heading off for a few more km with Graham), and Ken (who did a later ride). Thanks go to Maurice and Andrew for organising the ride and bringing better weather this week.
Martin
The Windmill Cycle Club 