25 March. Record ride day. 32 miles.

20 Windmillers! Phew, that’s a lot out all at once, a club record, but all perfectly legit thanks to our CAC system. Take a bow Maurice, Andrew, Rod, Lawrence, Deborah, Simon, Victor, Tom, Brian, Chris, Alan, Ken, Jeremy, Roger, Colin, Charles, Graham, Mike, Geoff and Martin. It would have been nice to have a group photo in front of Wimpole Hall but this will have to wait for normal times to return.

The ride was a repeat of last week’s circuit to Wimpole Hall, which proved to be about half way for most people resulting in many meetings on the multi-use trail above the Hall. The conditions were drier than last week and the views from the ridge towards Elmdon in the east and Sandon in the West were clearer.

Thriplow was still looking splendid as Deborah, Ken and Martin met up to start a clockwise route, joining up with Simon in Fowlmere to deposit fivers in the charity box, hosted once again by Lawrence. Thanks Lawrence! And thanks to Ken’s good sense of direction we found our way to Melbourn and then through Meldreth, Bassingbourn and quiet lanes towards Croydon before entering the gates of the Wimpole estate at the Arrington End, where it was considerably less muddy than last week.

The climb from the Arrington end is shorter but steeper than at the Hall end and who should we meet as we puffed and panted our way up the final slope but Maurice with a broad smile on his face. There was no stopping, just a gasped ‘Morning Maurice’ as we passed by, except for Ken who happily chose to dismount and have a chat whilst walking up.

Simon then led the way across the parkland towards a building that we had thought last week might have been an ice house. But, on getting closer, doubts began to be expressed as the building had a corrugated roof, yet it did appear to be buried around the base and surrounded by a clump of trees. Subsequent research indicates that there was indeed an ice house in the same vicinity, situated on Mill Mound, but it no longer exists.

And then the meetings began, in quick succession:

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The return leg for the clockwise crew who by this time had Andrew too amongst them, socially distanced of course, took us via Orwell and Barrington when conversation turned again to coffee and sausage rolls which meant only one thing – a stop at The Moringa Tree in Haslingfield, where there was a large gathering of other cyclists outside. Once again the coffee was excellent and the sausage rolls were to die for.

Meanwhile, those gluttons for distance and coffee, Graham and Mike, were enjoying their coffee at the Hill View Farm Shop in Kneesworth and taking photos of local residents:

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The only other wild life spotted it seems were these ‘wild’ Angora goats seen in Fowlmere by Jeremy:

Here’s a reminder of the route we took:

And so ended a perfect ride. Thanks to all for making it a record turnout and special thanks of course to Maurice and Andrew for their organisation and to all the photographers.

Martin