Author: Martin Woodhead

In the initial absence of Maurice, who had an appointment with his dentist, eight Windmillers set forth from the Fleur de Lys in Widdington at 9.30am on a slightly chilly morning for a tour of Essex lanes, including what was soon to become known as the Dunmow walnut. Under the guidance of Andrew, ably assisted by John B who brought an Ordnance Survey map with him, the others comprised Keith, Vernon, Ken, Lawrence, Alan and Martin. Here is the route taken:

Zooming down to Elsenham we soon came to a halt down a dead end but retraced our steps and carried on zig zagging our way around Stansted Airport before trying out new lanes taking in  Molehill Green, Brick End and Little Easton before embarking on a scenic circuit of Dunmow to create the now famous walnut as shown on the above painful looking map, but better than a grapefruit any day. Then we experienced Dunmow at its most draughty as most of us sat outside Flitch Coffee and shivered whilst John B sensibly sat inside the pub next door.

Having completed the walnut by continuing down the High Street, we left John still warming up and started our return journey back the way we came via Little Easton and then Tilty, under the Stansted flightpath and through Broxted to Henham, except that by the time we got there we had lost Lawrence and Vernon. A few phone calls established that they wanted to see Elsenham again but eventually we all met up and proceeded on a detour via Little Henham to clock up another mile or so (and another walnut). But we could only manage 29.5 miles in total and so the landlord of the Fleur de Lys was surprised to see us arrive back before 12.30pm. However we soon settled down at our round table whilst the fire was lit and were joined firstly by Glenis Ryan, then John B and finally Maurice who had cycled from his home to be with us. Having been to the dentist, we expected him to have a wonky smile but he looked his usual smiling and happy self:

We were soon tucking into an excellent lunch washed down with excellent ales, and tea.

Thanks, Andrew, for reminding us of the importance of walnuts.

Martin

Another lovely Spring evening saw six cowboys and a solitary cowgirl congregate at The Pheasant at 5.30pm.  We split into two groups – Maurice, Andrew, Keith and Martin (cowboys in every sense of the word) in the first and John B, JohnT and Bridget T in the second (the respectable cowhands). The first group clocked up 22 miles and the second group 16 miles, with all arriving back at the Pheasant to devour succulent cod goujons and chips (well, all except Andrew who is on a diet) where we were also joined by Lynn B.

This is the route taken by Maurice, Andrew, Keith and Martin:

The U turn after Rickling was caused partly by Keith and Martin not stopping for Maurice and Andrew at Rickling Church, who had different ideas for the way home. So having eventually met up we U-turned and proceeded back via Clavering, Upper Langley, Duddenhoe End, Chrishall and Heydon. The setting sun was spectacular and eventually a stop was made on the descent from Duddenhoe End for the statutory blog pics:

Thanks once again to Maurice and Andrew for organising the ride.

Martin

Taking advantage of the light evenings now upon us, four Windmillers – Maurice, Andrew, Sandra and Martin – set off from The Pheasant on yet another thirst creating cruise around the lanes, with cod goujons and chips also to look forward to at the end. The evening was fine and warm, almost knobbly knee weather all round. It was a nice surprise to have Maurice join us as he was expected to be boating in Cornwall instead. Here is the route we took:

Don’t believe the figures above – it was not dead flat the whole way!

En route we waved hello to John T and Andrew G in Nuthamsted but caught sight of neither, otherwise The Woodman might have beckoned. So on we cruised, stopping for a rest about half way in Brent Pelham where there is a very fine tree trunk carved to commemorate our Monarch’s Diamond Jubilee in the form of love seats which our Windmillers had to test out of course:

The return route via familiar roads to Langley Upper Green, Duddenhoe End, Chrishall, the sunset boulevard to Heydon and back to The Pheasant completed a very pleasant evening ride – may there be many more to come over the next 6 months. Thanks to Andrew for organising it.

Moley Martin

A fine spring day, but quite nippy to start with, saw ten Windmillers assemble at Newmarket Station to catch the 10.05 to Stowmarket, or so they thought. With such a large gathering, would the driver allow ten bikes on the train? So five members went to one end of the platform with their bikes, hoping the driver would not see them, whilst the others went to the other end and showed themselves. Would it be a one coach train and might we get turfed off anyway for not having tickets, the machine on the platform being out of order? Might we have to abandon the ride as planned? The stress levels built ever higher but there was much relief when an almost empty two coach train pulled in on time, the driver smiled and we all piled on board. It also had a conductor, Southern Region-style, and he was happy to dispense tickets to Maurice at a special group price, except that Brian had bought his online the day before at the same price and proudly showed his e-ticket to the conductor.

The journey through the Suffolk countryside was uneventful until we reached Elmswell, the last stop before Stowmarket, when the driver announced that the train was going no further due to a points failure further up the line. Smugly, the Windmillers said farewell to the other passengers, the driver and conductor, alighted the train with their bikes and set off on a revised route that Maurice had quickly devised to meet up with the planned route at Rattlesden.

As well as our leader Maurice and blogger Brian, the others were Andrew, Vernon, Ken, Keith, Sandra, Tom, Lawrence and Moley Martin. Once we had discovered which exit to take at the nearby A14 roundabout junction, we were soon in Rattlesden and then headed due West through delightful lanes and villages, passing imposing Suffolk churches and timbered buildings too numerous to photograph.

After crossing the busy A134 at Sicklesmere, Maurice went one way to the coffee stop in Hawkstead whilst the others went a different way, witnessing a near pile up en route when a large lorry tried to overtake us, forcing oncoming traffic to mount the kerb. Thankfully we all survived.

Maglia Rosso is an amazing bike shop /  cafe, seemingly in a very remote spot but only 2-3 miles outside Bury St Edmunds. A former pub, it has been transformed into a state of the art bike depot, serves very good coffee and retains a beer licence – what more could a cyclist wish for?

Time was getting on and with thoughts of missing lunch at The Packhorse in Moulton we sped on westwards assisted by a strong tailwind passing through yet more attractive villages such as Chevington and Dalham. Tom, however, had a puncture just outside Moulton but pre-ordered his favourite buffalo wings and proceeded to break the club record for mending a rear wheel puncture in a claimed 5 minutes, witnessed by Brian.

We skidded into The Packhorse car park just before 2.00pm, thirsty and hungry, only to be told that last orders was not until 2.30pm. Phew! So, relaxation took hold as we enjoyed an excellent lunch and sampled some excellent beers around a large table:

A short hill out of Moulton to the top of the gallops at Newmarket and a fast downhill cruise into the town centre ended an eventful but extremely enjoyable day out in Suffolk.

Thanks again to Maurice for planning and adjusting the ride as dictated by Abellio Greater Anglia, and to Andrew for getting us to the start line on time.

Moley Martin

With the weather looking set for rain all day, some of us resigned ourselves to NO cycling this day and headed for drier places, for me this would be the office and dreaded paperwork!

Well this was not the case, as early afternoon came and an email dropped in my inbox – potential of the weather improving at 16.00, let’s meet at The Pheasant, Gt Chishill at 16.00 and see what happens. Could this be true, as the rain teemed down outside (even Storm Sandra couldn’t produce this kind of weather)!! OK, I’ll pop along to see if anyone else turns up. Much to my astonishment, 15.45 got in the van and headed to Gt Chishill, it was as if someone had flicked a switch and turned the wind and rain off just at that point, the sky cleared to make way for the sun and almost clear blue skies. Someone must have contact with higher powers!!

Maurice, Andrew, Chris and Sandra prepared for the off, (others were due to join in but didn’t see the weather relenting, you don’t know what you missed!!!). Where shall we go then? Maybe because it was such short notice that the ride was on, nothing was planned! There was an element of make it up as we go along and could we trust the weather to hold. So we headed towards Barkway and on to Anstey (so far so good), Brent Pelham, Sheepcote Green, Arkesden, Duddenhoe End, Chrishall, Heydon and back to a warm welcome and toasty fire at The Pheasant, the clear skies given way for the chilly evening to come.

Thanks Maurice and Andrew for organising another great ride, glad we made the effort!!

22 miles anti clockwise.

A large gathering of 10 Windmillers assembled at the Fleur de Lys in Widdington on a fine Spring morning to tour the lanes of Essex. Those present were our leader Maurice, whose back was a lot better than it has been of late, Andrew (Dawg), John T (fully recovered from his wrist injury), Vernon and his grandson Fergus, Keith, Ken, Sandra, Rod and Moley Martin. Here is the route taken, clockwise via Sewards End, Ashdon, Hempstead, Thaxted and Henham:

There was a fair breeze but as usual Maurice had allowed for this resulting in a fast downwind start to the ride and a good choice of hedgerow bordered lanes to minimize the headwind on the way back. Substantial portions of cake, for some, during coffee in Thaxted no doubt also helped on the return leg.

Spring flowers were in evidence everywhere with a particularly attractive churchyard in Hempstead full of daffodils, and yellow and pink primroses:

There was rather a long wait for Maurice in Thaxted whilst he stopped to take phone calls (not wishing to get 6 points) which provided an opportunity to assemble in front of the magnificent Guildhall in Thaxted, built by the Guild of Cutlers in the 1390s:

Then our leader arrived which ensured that the Pillars of Society were all present:

Was it the cake, the need for a pee or the thought of lunch and a pint at the Fleur de Lys but a veritable race took place on the return leg, including a charge up the final hill to Widdington won by Keith, hotly pursued by Ken. The Pillars of Society then transformed into Knights and Knightesses of the Round Table as they squeezed around the table for lunch, where it was lovely to be joined by Glenys Ryan:

Finally, although this was a fine warm day, only one Windmiller had the courage to display his knobbly knees throughout the ride:

Thanks, Maurice and Andrew for organising a very enjoyable ride.

Moley Martin

With service restored to normal, Maurice and Andrew back in charge and Storm Sandra returned to her box. The weather was perfect for riding out, the wind had subsided and the sun was shining. Suitable for exposing the legs (maybe for some of us anyway).

Five of us (Maurice, Andrew, Keith, Tom and Sandra) set off from The Pheasant. Tom having already cycled up to The Pheasant, telling us of his exploits on the way up, when you see other cyclists going in the same direction as you, what should you do? Catch them and pass them or use them to draft you along or a bit of both? Well, a bit of both seemed to be the case this time and for both cyclists!!! When they did stop together, they both commented how neither of them had realised how competitive they were!!

This competitive thinking must have rubbed off on the rest of us, because we headed towards Elmdon, dropped downhill to get speed up to climb the next hill, Tom took off closely followed by Andrew and Keith, my momentum took over and I went sailing down the hill passing Keith and Andrew closing in on Tom, only to have Keith come dashing past me in hot persute of Tom. Keith a sure winner there.

Racing over and the serious distance riding to go, we headed on a mission to meet Andrew’s latest addition to the family, Hector McDonald the adorable fox red Labrador. Charlie Bear keeping a watchful eye on this little mite. Suitably refreshed we headed from Wendons Ambo to Newport then on to Wicken Bonhunt, Arkesden, Duddenhoe End, Chrishall back to The Pheasant and a great welcome from Ollie, Simon and crew, as well as a warming fire, the shorts for an evening ride might have been a bit ambitious!!

21 miles clockwise.

Having had a call from Maurice on Sunday, to ask if I would plan Mondays route, as he didn’t think he would be able to make it (back still giving him problems). I had a route in mind, so with the evening daylight slowly drawing out, we would meet at The Pheasant, Gt Chishill at 15.30. Chris and Sandra were joined by Maurice, albeit taking it easy so as not to aggravate his back and smeared with Andrew’s wonder cure too, he would see how it would pan out.

Route discussions ensued and then the route was reversed to take into account the wind direction, not sure what this issue is with wind, we battled on regardless last week and survived!!! The weather was fine but with the threat of showers, thankfully they didn’t materialise.

19.6 miles anti clockwise.

Maurice ducked out at Duddenhoe End, leaving Chris and myself to tackle the hill back up to Elmdon on our own, apparently this is a hill the Windmillers haven’t gone up before but let’s face it it’s great going the other way!! Not much conversation on the way up, shall we say!! Well done Chris for sticking with me on that one.

We met up with Maurice again outside The Pheasant but a little too early for opening, so missed out on the Goujons and chips sadly. Popcorn and a pint at the Tally Ho instead. Thanks Chris and Maurice for joining me.

Sandra promised to be gentle to those Windmillers who were brave enough to turn up at the Tally Ho in Barkway on a gusty and potentially very wet afternoon. So it was just Chris and Moley who set off with Sandra on a blustery circuit taking in Therfield, Kelshall, Sandon (where a decision was taken to do the ‘short’ route, the gentle route being around 23 miles into the teeth of a storm), Buntingford and Wyddial. But the short route of 15 miles was finally lengthened to 18.5 miles by taking in Nuthamsted too, which made a pint of fine Grubber ale in the Tally Ho  all the more justifiable on our return.

Luckily the rain held off most of the way, but other villages in the vicinity suffered a severe drenching. This enabled us to enjoy the plethora of snowdrops in gardens and woods en route, which appeared to be at their best. Here are some in the grounds of a farm in Wyddial:

 

Thanks, Sandra, for deputising in the absence of our leaders and for leading us astray around the lanes.

Is this really February?!

Unseasonably high temperature 13*c + would greet us (Maurice, Andrew, Chris and Sandra) outside The Pheasant, Gt Chishill for an interesting 18.75 mile circuit.

While in the car park and preparing our bikes, Andrew was telling us of a wonder cure that he’d found for his back trouble and suggested that Maurice (also suffering back issues) should give it a try. Well, initially Maurice declined saying that it was down to the cold rides we’ve partaken of late and a warm ride would see him right. With Andrew showing how subtle he is now after said wonder cure, befitting of any Yoga class! Maurice bowed down and agreed to a stimulating massage of the wonder cure, administered by Andrew with a wry smile on his face!

The route description with emphasis of ‘Down’ to Elmdon and ‘Down’ to Strethall in a bid to reassure Chris this would be an easy ride. Only trouble is, you have to come back up somewhere along the way. Didn’t like to tell Chris, that I’ve heard that Gt Chishill is the highest village in Cambridgeshire.

Well, we set off, Maurice as if his pants were on fire! Well, not quite but his back was on fire, the wonder cure had set to work!!

Through Elmdon, Strethall, Littlebury Green, some modest climbs but mostly downhill to Clanver End, where we stopped for a breather. The next stretch to Newlands End would be a dragging hill with a kick at the end, as well as into the wind. A stop at the top to consider a possible change of route, taking into account the wind, as well as an assessment of how the wonder cure is working (Maurice still on fire and now smelling like he’d been on a rugby physio’s bench for some time!!). We’ll carry on regardless to Duddenhoe End,  Langley Lower Green and Little Chishill, with the ever looming Three Hills back to Gt Chishill. The wind had eased a bit but would have enough puff left to help us up the hills back to The Pheasant.

Thanks Maurice and Andrew for organising another entertaining ride.

 

Yet another pleasant if breezy afternoon awaited the group of four, Maurice, Andrew, Chris and Sandra outside the Tally-Ho, for what would be a 20.6 mile excursion.

Great to have Chris back in the saddle after successful eye surgery. Discussions at the start of Andrew’s over exuberant decorating exploits over the weekend, thus sporting a back injury and of Chris breaking himself back in gradually and having chosen to try a few Monday rides before getting back into the Thursday rides, as Monday rides would be shorter and less exertive. Not sure where he got that information from! Baring this in mind Maurice quickly rejigged the route to be as he put it ‘A Flat Route’. Well, then came the description of where we were going -“UP to ”, then UP to ”, then UP to and so on”, the colour drained from Chris’s face, what had he let himself in for! We quickly reassured him that it was all metaphorically speaking and wouldn’t be that hilly!!

We set off into the wind to Clavering via Anstey, Meesden and Sheepcote Green, then we headed to Wicken Bonhunt, from there we took advantage of the wind behind us back to Barkway via Arkesden, Newlands End, Coopers End, Duddenhoe End, Langley Upper and Lower Greens, Meesden and Anstey. A moderate 630ft climbed in the process.

Thanks to Maurice for another great ride and Andrew for organising us all.

With the evenings getting lighter, a later start of 14.30 at the Tally-Ho, Barkway for Maurice, Andrew and Sandra, for a 21 mile circuit of some of Hertfordshire’s villages.

Setting off from Barkway on the scenic/safer route to Wyddial via Barkway golf course. On the way up the hill to Wyddial, I could hear suggestions from behind of what the guys could do to my bike in a bid to slow me down, like letting the tyres down or adding some extra weight. Well I’m quite capable of doing both in one hit, an over indulgent weekend had added the extra weight to make the rear tyre appear flatter than usual but little did they know, I’d taken Matron Maurice’s advice over the weekend and sourced some medicine to finally get rid of the remnants of cold/chest infections I’ve been harbouring for sometime now. Well with a swig of this before setting off, it’s amazing how much easier it is when you can breath!

On through Buntingford to Westmill, where Andrew found the power button on his ‘stand in bike’ and took off up hill, only to find the battery wasn’t fully charged! Not just dope testing required but power testing too!! We caught him up and set off on the small path alongside the A10, so glad to be off there and back on the quiet roads to Braughing, Furneux Pelham, Brent Pelham, Meesden and Anstey back to Barkway, where John B joined us for a welcome pint and chips.

Another very pleasant ride, thanks Maurice.

With the threat of bad weather closing in around midday, the group comprising Maurice, Andrew, Ken, John B, Rick and Sandra met outside The Pheasant and prepared to set off in a bid to beat the impending rain, on route to the Pheasant Rick had managed to pick up a puncture, most likely from a farmer with a badly set up hedge cutter, spewing thorns and shards of hedge all over the roads. Puncture repaired and we set off towards Nuthampstead, Anstey, Brent Pelham, Furneux Pelham and Manuden, a lot of this outward leg was made harder by the prevailing southerly wind. A close encounter with a Seearo truck with no respect for other road users on a single track road, thankfully we all came out unscathed.

Manuden on to Rickling Green and a very welcome cup of coffee and a pint or two for J B at the Cricketers Arms. Leaving Rickling Green the rain had decided to materialise, only light to start with but would get heavier and then ease but thankfully the wind was now on our backs for the return leg to Gt Chishill via Wicken Bonhunt, Arkesden and Chrishall. 28.3 miles and just about dry by the time we got back to The Pheasant.

Thanks Maurice for another lovely, if wet and windy ride.

What looked like was going to be a lovely sunny afternoon ride for Maurice, Andrew and Sandra didn’t take long to deteriorate. We set off from the Tally Ho, Barkway heading towards Shaftenhoe End. Well, Maurice took off down Barkway High Street, with what appeared to be a motorised bike, either that or he’d been on the spinach. We did catch him up and felt sure we could hear the whirring of a motor but haven’t managed to prove it yet.

Shaftenhoe End to Little Chishill, Langley Lower Green, Sheepcote Green, Clavering and Starlings Green where we stopped to reassure Andrew that he hadn’t been seeing things or drinking prior to previously passing this particular field, where he was convinced he’d seen an Emu. The elusive bird wasn’t obvious to start but it appeared in the distance, not an Emu but a smaller relative a Rhea, sanity restored, well sort of!! Also noticed in amongst the buildings was a Range Rover Andrew had a lucky escape by not purchasing. A little bit of detective work proved that all was not as it seemed and best left.

Pelham Gate to Brent Pelham where the weather started to close in and showed signs of turning foggy, as well as getting colder. Route revised and shortened, so we headed back to Barkway via Meesden and Anstey. 17.3 miles and a lovely welcome back at The Tally Ho.

Thanks to Maurice and Andrew for organising another very pleasant ride and shaparoning me along the way, some laddish bantor along the way always adds to the fun.

Yet another glorious sunny, frosty January day greeted the group of 6 cyclists, Maurice, Andrew, John B, Ken, Rod and Sandra outside The Black Bull, Balsham for what would be a 30 mile circuit. Although frosty the temperature at the start seemed quite comfortable. It soon became apparent that it was colder out there than we had thought. Leaving Balsham heading towards West Wickham, half the road was covered with a layer of ice, water running off the fields onto the roads had frozen, forcing us to ride on the wrong side of the road to avoid this hazard. In places where the water had splashed up on to hedges/verges it had frozen there too, care needed to be taken all the way around.

Leaving West Wickham heading towards Withersfield – Rocket Rod took off leaving us trailing behind, we rained him in when he was about to head off in his own direction, not the planned route for the day. Onwards to Great Thurlow, Little Thurlow, Great Bradley and East Green, where we turned to get the sun on our backs and headed towards Kirtling. Shouts from behind that my reflectors were too bright and now dazzling Rod, I was about to stop and put some mud on them to dull them down when I realised it wasn’t my bike reflectors but my night vision cycle tights, sorry Rod too cold to take them off!!!

On to Upend and Silverley where we added a little bit more by missing a turning and the shouts from Maurice behind, having to turn around to come back, never mind only an extra half mile or so. Silverley to Saxon Street, should we be concerned, quite some time spent looking at a map and then the Ordnance Survey is brought out, are we lost? Then with some authority, yes we know where we need to be heading and we set off again to Woodditton and Dullingham for a longed for coffee at The Boot Inn and a welcome warm by the wood burner. Suitably warmed up again and it was time to head towards West Wratting and back to Balsham, only 8 miles to go and downhill all the way we were assured. One of the long drawn out hills took it’s toll and stretched the group out, Ken took off on a mission to get back, all you could see was his red jacket way off in the distance. Rod’s jet pack was failing, Maurice hung back to make sure Rod was ok, he caught up, took a swig from his bottle, well we don’t know what is in that bottle but apparently he had a new lease of life and flew back to the Black Bull. I don’t think dope testing is compulsory for leisure riding yet but would love to know what’s in that bottle!!

Back a The Black Bull and birthday boy Brian joined us and welcomed us with a birthday drink, very kind, thank you. Huge thanks to Maurice for organising another lovely trip around some wonderful countryside.

 

A beautiful winter scene greeted the group of five cyclists outside The Pheasant on this Thursday morning, a merry band comprising Maurice, Andrew, Will (Andrew’s son), John B and Sandra, all set to burn off some of the festive excesses. Some of us needing to work a little harder than others, me being one and thus had the bright idea of cycling to and from the start, just an extra 4 miles each way. Well I certainly warmed up on the hills to the start but didn’t take long to cool off while waiting for John B to arrive, who had been driving the treacherous cross country roads to assess road conditions, needless to say I think the route for the day was changed 3/4 times before we set off.

The sun shone brightly through a clear blue sky and the frost was clear to see on the fields and untreated roads, it was almost as if there had been a covering of snow. We set off from Great Chishill to Duddenhoe End, Arkesden and then on to Rickling Green for a well deserved coffee and warm up at the Cricketers Arms, senior moment alert as Andrew managed to zip two totally different colour jackets together for a very interesting look!!

Leaving Rickling Green we headed back towards Rickling where we had an encounter with a Black Swan deciding to show us his full glory, not quite sure what he was hoping to prove or even for who this was intended.

 

Onwards to Berden, Stocking Pelham and Brent Pelham, this was where Maurice took off and left the rest of us trailing in his wake, we discovered that this could have been when the extra Christmas cake kicked in, we caught him up and headed back via Anstey, Nuthampstead, Barkway, Barley and The Windmill back to The Pheasant where Lynn B joined us for yet more fantastic food, thanks to Simon and Ollie.

27.5 miles on some very icy roads. Thanks to Maurice for organising another interesting route.

Even though I’ve only been with the group since mid August, I would like to thank Maurice for organising the routes over the year and to Andrew for keeping everyone informed and under control. I’d also like to thank everyone else who have come along for the rides or participated in any of the activities. I for one have certainly enjoyed every moment and look forward to all that 2017 has to offer.

Sandra

It was almost the shortest day of the year and extremely gloomy when five Windmillers rode forth at 2.00pm on a 20 mile ride circuit from The Tally Ho in Barkway, taking in Therfield, a short hairy stretch of the A505, Sandon, Buntingford, Wyddial, Anstey Quarry and back to the welcoming fire at The Tally Ho.  Led by Maurice, the others comprised Andrew, Keith, Sandra and Martin.

In Sandon we sang carols outside JohnB’s house followed by a loud knocking on his front door in the hope of mulled wine and mince pies. But all to no avail! John appeared clutching a pint, saying how nice it was in front of the Aga……….. However, we had no time to stop in any event as the gloom was thickening  by the minute and we still had another 10 miles to go.

Back at The Tally Ho, the Windmillers tried their best to be as gloomy as the weather but such are the spirits of your average Windmiller they found it very difficult to follow suit, as this selfie shows:

 

 

 

Thanks, Maurice, for brightening up a gloomy day!

After the sumptuous Christmas lunch the day before at The Pheasant, a fairly short ride of 26 miles to Saffron Walden and back was organised by Maurice to work off some of the calories gained. A good turn out of 8 Windmillers comprising Maurice, Andrew, Vernon, Keith, Brian, Tom, Sandra and Martin set off shortly after 9.30am in mild, misty weather and so hi-viz jackets and good lights were the order of the day. Here is the route taken:The elevation chart above shows that this was not exactly a gentle ride but a coffee / cake stop in Saffron Walden soon piled back on any calories lost in getting there.

Keith’s front wheel has had a dose of the wobbles in recent rides and so Andrew took it down to Newdale’s in Saffron Walden to try and get it fixed, with mixed results. Chief mechanic Maurice offered to take a proper look at it in his workshop. (Keith was not persuaded to replace his bike with a fancy make on sale in the café.)

The ride back was shorter at 10 miles, steadily uphill almost the whole way, which resulted in another large calorie intake back at The Pheasant. Result: Net gain since the previous day’s lunch for most of us, which was not the intention, the exceptions being Numb Bum Brian and Knackered Tom who rode all the way from Shelford before the ride and back again afterwards, clocking up a total of approx. 45 miles. Well done both on achieving on what was surely a net loss!

Whilst de-biking and re-loading before lunch, we were privileged in being allowed a look inside the back of Sandra’s capacious  van. Many had often wondered what Alpaca shearing equipment looked like, and were none the wiser but Sandra claimed she knew where every piece of equipment needed could be found. Amongst other things there was Santa’s hat and no doubt a few rabbit traps too…….

Thanks, Maurice, for not treating us too hard after yesterday’s lunch!

And that’s just one of some unusually corny Santa jokes which a large gathering of members and their spouses enjoyed whilst having their annual Christmas lunch at The Pheasant. After an excellent meal which included a choice of Loch Fyne scallops, prawn cocktail or tomato soup as a first course, followed by turkey, venison or sea bass as a main course, and lemon posset or Christmas pud for dessert, all washed down with some fine wines and beers, it was hardly surprising that by the time the speeches were made some could have been excused for nodding off.

Maurice thanked everyone for coming and said what a good year the club had had, with several new members taking an active part in the rides and whose company was very enjoyable. He said we had once again raised over £1,000 for charity, ably assisted by Sandra who generously donated some money that Maurice had paid her for catching rabbits in his garden. Maurice then showed a cheque for £1,000 that he would be sending to Macmillan Nurses for the work they do in caring for the terminally ill in particular.

Moley Martin then took to the stage and after firstly thanking Maurice and Andrew for all their hard work in organising the rides he welcomed John Tarrington, whose wrist had recovered well from his fall in Norfolk, and hoped we would see him out with us again soon.

He then proposed a toast to absent friends, including Linda Warner who was recovering from a recent operation and Kell Ryan who had been taken seriously ill whilst on holiday in the Bahamas. John and Lynn Bagrie were also missed but were hopefully having a good time on the ski slopes. Vernon was awarded the Recovery Prize for an astonishingly quick return to fitness after a serious operation in early 2015.

Moley thanked his deputy bloggers Brian, Andrew and Sandra and then proceeded to give some interesting facts and figures about the year’s rides – 56 rides to date (possibly some others not blogged), 1,701 miles ridden, average of 30.56 miles per ride, 26 members took part at one time or another and the best attendees were Maurice and Andrew. The 2016 Puncture Champion was thought to be Brian.

Members also took part in other rides during the year, clocking up a total of over 2,000 miles in the case of Andrew. These included Vernon riding a tandem for Camsight with a partially sighted co-rider, Tom and Brian riding 80 miles in the Tour of Cambridgeshire for charity with 8,000 other riders and Andrew, Maurice and Martin riding 184 miles in Scotland with Andrew’s friend Don, during which the infamous yellow carpet story was referred to again, complete with a colour photograph. Finally, Moley circulated a selection of the 200+ photographs that appear on the 2016 blog, printed copies of which would be available for purchase early in 2017.

Andrew, smartly dressed in his Scottish trews, then thanked all members present and others who could not be there for their support over the year. He also handed out momentos to Maurice and Moley of red stained pieces of yellow Axminster carpet together with packs of carpet stain remover as a reminder of the yellow carpet incident in Scotland.

Finally, Maurice thanked Ollie and Simon for their hospitality and support over the year and presented Ollie with a large bouquet of flowers.

This was not quite the end of the Windmill Club’s year as more rides were planned before Christmas and perhaps afterwards to trim off excess calories, but it served as a focal point for members and their spouses on what the Windmill Club is all about – good company, good conversation, having a laugh, keeping fit and, of course, good food and beer.

And just in case your Christmas cracker jokes do not come up to the mark, here are a few more corny ones:

What do you call a frozen elf hanging from the ceiling?
An elfcicle!

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Frostbite!

What carol is heard in the desert?
O camel ye faithful!

Happy Christmas from the blog team!

 

 

At 2.00pm it looked as if gathering around the fire in The Tally Ho with a fine pint of a Sussex beer called Dark Star was the best way of spending a Monday afternoon, but at the height of the drizzle outside four stalwart Windmillers comprising our Squadron Leader Maurice, Dirty Dawg Andrew, Two Scones Keith and the Revd Moley Martin set off on a 20 mile ride around the lanes. Soon the drizzle became light rain but after just a few minutes of praying by the Revd a miracle happened and we enjoyed a dry but gloomy ride typical of a December afternoon. (For a small fee the Revd is happy to perform miracles at any time.) Here is the route taken:

http://www.mapometer.com/embed/route/4449710

Arkesden has become the most photographed village on our 2016 travels and today was no exception when a mini Rudolf was spied outside a picture postcard thatched cottage which Maurice, Andrew and Keith, desperate to get into the Christmas mood,  couldn’t resist being photographed with:

Although it was only 3.30pm, it was nearly dark by the time the Tally Ho appeared once again in the gloom, by which time it had just started drizzling again, but the fire was roaring and well earned pints of Dark Star and other fine beers soon made us forget about the weather outside.

Thanks, Maurice, for planning an interesting reversal of our usual route around the lanes.