Longer than the average ride ….

That was different for a Windmill Club ride ! 92 km (58 miles) from King’s Lynn to Cambridge, one way with no pub finale. The weather was set fair, dry and hot with a favourable wind. The course was almost perfectly flat – the main difficulties to progress being uneven or unpaved cycle tracks, steep bridges (especially for those on e bikes) and Cambridge traffic lights. Oh, and one busy road crossing, more of which later.

The first hurdle was to get the 9 starters to King’s Lynn station all at the same time from a mixture of starting points (variously Royston, Cambridge, Trumpington Park and Ride, and a hotel in Kings Lynn). Happily, thanks to the wonders of modern communications and a punctual train, all arrived safely for the grand depart.

King’s Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop’s Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in Norfolk. Lynn originated in the early 10th century on a constricted site south of where the River Great Ouse now discharges into the Wash (until the early 13th century, the Great Ouse emptied via the Wellstream at Wisbech). During the 14th century, Lynn ranked as England’s most important port when sea trade with Europe was dominated by the Hanseatic League of ports. Lynn retains the only surviving two former Hanseatic League warehouses: Hanse House and Marriott’s Warehouse, in use between the 15th and 17th centuries.

These days, the town is an interesting mix of old and new, with an extensive pedestrianised centre, a plethora of one way streets and some oddly positioned cycle ways. This made navigating the first part of our route particularly tricky – trying to avoid falling foul of traffic restrictions, busy main roads and industrial units.

Somehow, we negotiated the route through to the picturesque Tuesday Market square, Down Kings Street to Lynn Minster, then the the South Quay before finally picking up the excellent National route 1 cycle path south of the town. From here it was time for cameras away and to start covering some distance.

Away from the metropolitan bustle, the peloton maintained a healthy pace, initially on cycle paths and then on a series of quiet lanes heading for our first stop at Denver Sluice, where we were to meet Simon and “The Boss”, Maurice, who had been conducting “Business” in Downham Market that morning. So it was that 11 of us seeked out a shady table at Violet’s Tea room by the old windmill for an efficiently served refresher.

Despite being 25km up river from Lynn, such is the flatness of this part of Norfolk that Denver Sluice controls the water levels between the tidal and non-tidal stretches of the Great Ouse, The tidal mudbanks on one side of the sluice being clearly visible from the road. The original sluice was built in 1651 by the Dutch architect Cornelius Vermuyden as part of the ongoing project to drain the fens (at least Wiki says “built” – I doubt that he personally built it).

The temperature continued to climb as we rolled along the relentless and traffic free Ten Mile Bank, mostly below river level and thankfully still with the wind. It seemed like an age before we rounded Littleport and headed down to Queen Adelaide, Ely and traffic. The trip plan continued to hold together well and we were able to get into Peacocks cafe without having been able to pre book. The relaxed service allowed us to appreciate some of the features of this little gem of a venue – even to the point of garden tours for some ! It was at Ely that Simon and “the Boss” left the ride.

Possibly due to the elevated temperatures, post lunch lassitude or just not having to negotiate traffic most of the day it came as a wake up call when an oncoming car asserted their right of way by not letting a Windmiller cross the road in front of them – fortunately the only damage being dented ear drums from their car horn. Luckily for us, the ride then continued on a quiet cycle path for a few kilometres, progress being slightly impeded by the rippled and distorted surface.

Despite pleas to the contrary, the ride continued past the cafe at Wickham Fen across the unpaved Lode way heading for Anglessy Abbey where we finally stopped for the last refreshment break. From here we were once more engaging with the busyness and traffic lights that is Cambridge City. Eventually we made it to the station where the party started to fragment, with Rod heading home via train, others via cars parked at the park and ride, or directly home by bike for Ric, Brian, Jeremy, Alan and Graham.

An excellent, long and slightly unusual adventure for the Windmill club. Special thanks to Brian and Jeremy for instigating. Fears for ebike battery life turning out to be unfounded !

Deborah, Roger, Rod, Brian, Jeremy, Charles, Graham, Ric and Alan with guest appearances from Simon and Maurice.