4 February. Gazelle spotted in South Cambs. 24 miles.

Not the one above, which is capable of a 60 mph sprint and a 30 mph sustained speed, but this one:

Yes, Charles has finally joined the e-bike brigade and here he is proudly showing off his new Dutch Gazelle to fellow e-bike enthusiast Geoff who promptly offered to loan his speed gadget to encourage Charles to get closer to a real gazelle’s cruising speed of 30 mph (but not a chance of reaching 60 mph).

Charles’s conversion brings the number of e-Windmillers up to five, and it probably won’t be long before a few more sign up……………. They are a brilliant means of getting around our lanes, but heaving them on / off or into a car requires either a decent carrier or muscles like Maurice.

The focus of this CAC ride was Fowlmere where Lawrence kindly hosted our charity box, into which the grand sum of £115 including a handful of 50p pieces was deposited. This was the result of 16 Windmillers taking part, the others being Andrew, Alan, Roger, Graham, Julia, Ken, Howard, Brian, Jeremy, Tom, Rod and Martin. This is where we went:

Thanks to Brian’s recommendation of the Moringa Tree café in Haslingfield this proved to be a popular stop for a coffee, so popular that much social distancing was necessary whilst excellent coffee was consumed. No doubt, Brian was looking forward to munching on another sausage roll.

Geoff, Simon, Jeremy, Ken and Lawrence outside The Moringa Tree in Haslingfield

A Moringa Tree in the wild. It’s a tropical tree that can survive droughts. Moringa is often called the drumstick tree because of its skinny, foot-long pods. It also goes by mother’s best friend, the miracle tree, the never die tree, and the ben oil tree. You can eat almost all of the moringa, including the seeds, flower, and leaves. There are different types. *Moringa oleifera* — the most studied one — comes from south Asia and has been eaten there for centuries. Moringa is also common in Africa. It’s been used to treat everything from tumors to toothaches. So there you are, ask for a cup of Moringa Tree tea the next time you’re in Haslingfield and all your current and future ills will be cured.

En route to Haslingfield, Windmillers hailed each other regularly as they passed, sometimes in the sun but more often in fog / mist which blanketed parts of the countryside and made other Windmillers quite difficult to spot at times. There were also noticeably more cyclists on the roads, probably due to the proximity of Cambridge.

Ken and Martin exiting Duxford. At least Martin knew the route at that stage – in Shepreth he was determined to lead the way back to the A10 until Ken pointed out the error of his ways.

The Imperial War Museum basking in sunshine

Simon and Lawrence. Watch out for those South Cambs speed bumps – they work.

Roger chose his hi-viz outfit due to thick fog in Furneux Pelham when he set off.

All in all, this was a very easy and pleasant ride with an excellent turnout. Thanks go to Maurice and Andrew for organising it and to Graham for some of the photos.

Martin

One reply on “4 February. Gazelle spotted in South Cambs. 24 miles.”

The speed cheat could be coming off! We’ll see.

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