It’s been nearly five years since the last crash landing at Cardington airfield near Bedford, but Simon achieved another whilst taking a good look at the huge hangars as we cycled past and veering into the grass verge at the same time, dismounting in style but, thankfully, none the worse for wear other than his chain coming off. To be fair it was all the fault of Martin and Brian who were ahead and who slowed down to also admire the view, and one wheel just happened to clip another……….
The previous crash was far more serious. After earlier failures and a crash landing in August 2016, Airlander 10, an airship as long as a football pitch, got loose on its moorings in November 2017 and deflated spectacularly. Sadly, that was the the end of the £100m project.
This was the only ‘event’ on an otherwise fabulous ride organised by Brian, a 30 mile circuit of Bedfordshire from The Cock in Broom, just off the A1 near Biggleswade. It was good to be back there knowing that there were some good beers to sample at lunchtime.
With 13 participants in all, Brian led the way with Rod, Howard, Charles, Simon and Martin in Group 1 followed a few minutes later by Jeremy, Keith, Ken, Chris, Alan, Roger and Deborah in Group 2. After four miles the plan was to cycle through Old Warden Aerodrome, home of the Shuttleworth Collection, but it seems an air show was planned over the weekend and we were not allowed through unless we paid £15 each. So a U-turn was necessary, back through the delightful grounds of Shuttleworth Estate which enabled both groups to meet up for a photo in front of Shuttleworth House.
So now we were off in earnest to explore Bedfordshire’s varied mix of pretty villages, not-so pretty villages, fine architecture and churches, disused railway lines and gravel pits, quiet bike paths alongside the Great Ouse, large fields of potatoes and even a hill up to a greensand ridge. This is where we went, anticlockwise from Broom:
The paths around the Great Ouse were well surfaced, nicely laid out and popular with walkers as well as cyclists, ending up in the pretty village of Willington with its National Trust Dovecote and splendid church of St Lawrence.
It was soon time for coffee at The Barn in Cardington, a good find which served excellent coffee and cakes.
It was soon after leaving The Barn that Simon had his prang but he was soon back in action again once his chain was back on and no blood could be seen:
Then we saw a side of Bedfordshire, or any county for that matter, which was simply shocking – a huge pile of refrigerators and freezers just dumped on the side of the road complete with rotting bags of food. What a contrast with other countries such as France when after a huge mountain bike event recently not a single piece of litter could be seen. We need a Government that can tackle this issue (and others of course) urgently.
Brian, being Irish, threatened to take us to Ireland once again on this ride and indeed he did but only to a tiny Bedfordshire village which bears its name, without a Blarney Stone or Shamrock in sight yet alone any Guiness on offer. They really should cash in on this opportunity for those whose satnavs take them there by mistake:
Back at The Cock we received a warm welcome and were seated in our own room which hadn’t changed for centuries by the look of it. The excellent beer was kept at cellar temperature down some steps and the food was good too. What more could Windmillers wish for?
Thanks to Brian for organising the ride and to the many photographs provided by him, Simon, Charles and Deborah. Our thoughts are also with Maurice as he prepares for another hip operation.
Martin
The Windmill Cycle Club 