The Windmill Cycle Club

20 Windmillers cruised into Finchingfield in three separate groups to take over every available seat outside at Winners Tearoom on what could be a record ride for the Windmill Club. And Maurice joined us for lunch which made a total of 21. What an amazing turnout!

Assembling once again at the fabulous Chestnut Tree in West Wratting at 9.00am to have coffee and place lunch orders, the groups setting off included Andrew, Brian, Sandra, Ric, Charles, Ken, Victor, Roger, Rod, Graham, Alan, Jeremy, Howard, Mike, Tom, Lawrence, Jenni, Geoff, Simon and Martin. And to think we could so easily have several others join us, were it not for holidays, this says a lot for the club.

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It was great to have Lawrence with us, borrowing one of Maurice’s e-bikes for the day, and at the end there were still five blobs left on the battery indicator, having completed the circuit in eco-mode. Mike joined us too but chose wisely not to accompany Graham to the start from Ickleton which would have meant riding via Finchingfield and having breakfast in Haverhill. Brian, Ric, Victor, Tom, Jeremy and Howard also rode from their homes, clocking up many more miles / km. Well done to everyone.

Here is the route taken, anticlockwise:

Winners coped well with the invasion and dished up excellent coffee and cakes with great efficiency. A feature of the ride were the extraordinary smells that surrounded us, not just of the coffee but those of the harvested countryside – a mixed fragrance of freshly combined and ploughed fields which nasal buds were still able to detect despite frequent lateral flow tests for some.

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The first stop for Group B on the return leg had to be Finchingfield’s windmill:

The route then took us up a quiet lane to Helions Bumpstead, passing Jamie Oliver’s new abode on the way:

Simon also came across a classic pile of rusty junk somewhere en route which took his fancy:

Meanwhile, Andrew made a stop in Castle Camps to admire this RAF war memorial:

Back at The Chestnut Tree, the beer flowed plentifully as thirsty and hungry Windmillers arrived for lunch. And once again we were not disappointed.

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Maurice was still feeling a bit bashed and bruised from his accident last week but threatening to be back on his bike very soon. There’s no putting that man down.

Thanks to the team involved in planning the route – Howard in particular – and to Andrew for organising the record turnout. Also many thanks to photographers Charles, Brian, Graham and Simon.

Martin

Our thoughts today as we gathered for coffee at the Pig and Abbott in Abington Pigotts were with Lawrence and Simon O, both of whom will be having medical time out shortly. We wish them well for a good recovery and look forward to seeing them again as soon as possible. We also heard about a close shave which Maurice had the previous day whilst crossing the A1198 north of Royston on his bike when a passing motorist clipped his front wheel and knocked him off resulting in a few bruises, but it was great that he could join us for lunch relatively unscathed.

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So eight Windmillers, Andrew, Ken, Roger, Charles, Alan, Simon, Howard and Martin set off on a pleasant anticlockwise circuit of Hertfordshire and South Cambs lanes before meeting up with Brian and Victor in Haslingfield who rode over from Shelford. Alan had set off from Great Chishill and Howard had ridden all the way from Saffron Walden, clocking up 70 miles in all. Well done to all those long distance types.

This is where we went:

It wasn’t long before Alan hollered that he had a puncture, just before Barrington, but it turned out to be a mini one which was conquered at regular intervals thereafter by means of his trusty pump.

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In Haslingfield Brian and Victor were bemoaning the loss of the Moringa Tree café and its sausage rolls but were having a coffee instead at the nearby village shop, also destined for closure apparently. How will cyclists ever survive in this area in future?

On we went, taking a slight Maurice detour in Bourn as we did so, until another detour was made into what we thought was Bourn Golf Club for coffee until a chap with a yellow hat said it was a construction site for the new clubhouse. The old clubhouse was further down the road, where we pulled in for large slices of freshly made strawberry and cream sponge, but not an Americano or Cappucino in sight – just a bag of something that tasted frothy when stirred into hot water. Hopefully the new clubhouse will invest in a coffee machine.

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The return leg was uneventful, except for the occasional pump up by Alan, and relief was expressed all round that we descended the 10% Croydon hill rather than going up it.

Back at the Pig and Abbott somewhat earlier than expected due to a relatively quick flattish ride, it was good to have Maurice join us to give graphic detail of the idiot driver who nearly mowed him down. The driver stopped and asked if he was ok but then drove off without giving his details so if anyone in the Royston area spots a black Vauxhall being driven at high speed, make a note of the number.

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Pat’s pies were as good as ever, according to those that had them, and other menu choices were also excellent, washed down with fine ales. We shall be back on 4 November for Vernon’s memorial ride.

Thanks to Maurice for planning the route even though he was unable to take part, Andrew for his organisation and Charles, Simon and Brian for the photographs.

Martin

A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. Wikipedia. It’s also a very good pint of bitter brewed by the award winning Mighty Oak brewery in Maldon, and weren’t we lucky to sample it at The Chestnut Tree in West Wratting after this rapid ride around Cambs and Suffolk lanes?

And a rapid ride it was, having first placed our orders for lunch at The Chestnut Tree and had a cup of coffee. But the coffee stop in Barrow at The Three Horseshoes was not so rapid as the coffee machine packed up after the first few had been dispensed, resulting in a long wait for a cup of instant for those at the back of the queue of 16 Windmillers. Blame the Chinese, said Charles, who spoke ecstacically of Danish machines but eventually, after pressing various buttons the machine starting behaving itself just as we were leaving.

The A team of Maurice, Simon, Jenni, Roger, Chris, Jeremy, Victor and Ric were first in the queue whilst the B team of Martin, Deborah, Charles, Alan, Graham, Hazel, Howard and Brian arrived 10 minutes later having stopped occasionally to admire the lovely freshly combined Suffolk countryside, and got the instant coffee as a result.

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All changed in the team line up after coffee as Deborah was on a very tight schedule in order to get to Chelmsford by 1.30pm to view a wedding venue for her daughter and future son-in-law, who got engaged recently. Congratulations to them! There was much debate about how best to get to Chelmsford and the combined wisdom of Windmillers, which might well have resulted in Deborah getting hopelessly lost, actually enabled her to reach her destination bang on time. Much of this must have been due to Maurice switching to sport mode on his e-bike with his slightly depleted group (Victor and Ric joining team B, which was not considered a very good swap for losing Deborah!) keeping close behind.

Meanwhile, the now 9 members of team B set off also at a fast pace until it came to a sudden halt on hearing the word ‘Ouch’ screamed by Hazel who had been stung in a sensitive part of her nether region by something with a sting long enough to penetrate a layer of lycra. Luckily a gallant Windmiller (Alan?) came forward with some sting relief cream which seemed to ease her discomfort. Well done Hazel for managing this whilst surrounded by earnest and willing would-be helpers!

Back at The Chestnut Tree after a delightful ride through very quiet lanes but with a strong head wind on the last leg, we sat down at reserved tables in the garden to enjoy pints of Red Herring and other beers / drinks whilst eating fabulous sandwiches and other dishes, all delivered in such an efficient manner. The ham can be highly recommended, sourced from a Suffolk farm and cooked at the pub. It was great to be joined by Geoff who had done a ride starting from Balsham.

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And this is where we went, anti-clockwise:

Many thanks to Maurice for planning the route, to Andrew who couldn’t make the ride but who organised us and to Graham and Charles for some of the photos.

Martin

Andrew regaled us on this ride with his stories of joining the ‘real’ Windmill Club whilst on a night out in London, and losing his wallet en route (not due to improper expenditure it should be stressed).

What happened was that he left his wallet at a BP Station whilst en route to the Silverstone Clasic in his brother-in-law’s Mercedes Benz 560SEC, once owned by Martin. One Windmill wag questioned whether there was anything in the wallet but Andrew claimed it contained £240 and they were not Scottish notes, plus credit cards. Luckily it was handed in at the BP Station who promised to return it, and it eventually arrived with nothing missing.

If that wasn’t enough hassle for one day, after a rollicking good night on the town Lindsey left her handbag in a London cab, a fancy handbag at that, which contained her mobile phone. Andrew eventually traced it to a house in Barking where the hung over SEC was directed to early on the Sunday morning in an attempt to retrieve it. And there on the drive was a Black cab and the phone could be heard ringing inside but despite Andrew barking in true dawggie fashion outside there was no answer. Eventually an upstairs window opened and the sleepy cab driver who hadn’t got home until 4.30am came out in his pyjamas and handed back Lindsey’s handbag. Phew! Relief all round in the Rusack family. Or just Barking mad?

These tales of woe were recounted at various stages of a pleasant 30 mile ride around the lanes which Maurice devised, somewhat cruelly, to take in hill after hill after hill after hill, starting with that nasty little bastardo going eastwards from Chrishall Grange.

So stops galore were needed to regain breath and hear the next instalment from Andrew.

Then it was on to Arkesden, Clavering, Langley Upper Green, Duddenhoe End and back to the starting point of The Red Cow for refreshments.

Thanks go as always to Maurice and Andrew for organising our rides, and to Charles for two of the pics – he is not guilty of the Windmill Club pic!

Martin

Translated from the Latin, means ‘I, Borage, bring always joys’ and that was certainly the case for 10 happy Windmillers who cruised around the lanes from West Wratting admiring the blue Borage fields and wondering why so many farmers are growing the crop this year. The joy of money perhaps?

Meeting at The Chestnut Tree for coffee before departure were Maurice, nursing a disjointed new knee, Andrew, birthday boy Ric, Simon, Victor, Brian, Howard, Suzanne, Tom and Martin.

This is where we went looking for Borage, going clockwise:

The first stop was en route to Dullingham where we gathered under a threatening looking East Anglian sky, which proved to be harmless, and paid homage to Borage (photo above). Simon was joyfully happy to be photographed posing alone………….

………….as was Suzanne:

So Borage clearly has a joyful effect on Windmillers. Not surprising really because this is what Francis Bacon had to say about this ancient herb: ‘It hath an excellent spirit to repress the fuliginous vapour of dusky melancholie.’ And John Gerard said in his book Herball: ‘Those of our time do use the flowers in salads to exhilerate and make the mind glad. There be also many things made of these used everywhere for the comfort of the heart, for the driving away of sorrow and increasing the joy of the mind. The leaves and flowers of Borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadness, dullness and melancholy, as Dioscorides and Pliny affirm. Syrup made of the flowers of Borage comfort the heart, purge melancholy and quiet the frantic and lunatic person. The leaves eaten raw engender good blood, especially in those that have been lately sick.’ So there you go; pick some and don’t just bung it in your gin and tonic but make a syrup and it will cure all ills whilst also putting a lid on your average lunatic Windmiller.

At the half way stage in Barrow we discovered a new pub The Three Horseshoes who opened up specially for us at 11.00am to serve good coffee, which was enjoyed in the pub garden, but the all important cakes were not on offer unfortuately. Opposite the pub was a fine garage, Kevin Williams, specialising in classic cars and we were somewhat surprised that neither Maurice nor Howard stepped inside to do a deal.

The return leg to West Wratting took us through more delightfully quiet Suffolk and Cambs lanes where GPX files came in very useful unless you happened to be on Maurice’s tail, who sped along at high speed even though he was recovering from a fall on his replacement knee – well done Maurice!

Back at The Chestnut Tree, birthday boy Ric very kindly bought the drinks and received a hearty rendering of Happy Birthday in return. Large helpings of food appeared from the kitchen and an excellent lunch was had by all.

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Thanks once again to Maurice and Andrew for planning and organising the route and to Brian and Andrew for some of the photos.

Martin

What a colourful ride in Suffolk this was! Colours galore and colourful Windmillers much in evidence, the ride being a repeat of 27 May but going clockwise this time. Some even learnt about the art of dyeing, for which Lavenham is famous.

Starting once again at the popular Plough in Rede, who welcomed us warmly and efficiently with excellent coffee at 9.00am, we pondered the extensive menu before placing our lunch orders and then split into two groups of seven Windmillers before heading east on the first leg towards Lavenham. One wag was heard to comment that the arrival order in the car park set a club record with Deborah being one of the first to arrive and Andrew the last, a reversal of what usually happens.

Leading group A was Maurice with Rod, Howard, Brian, Graham, Roger and Lawrence in tow. Following on a few minutes later were the B team of Martin, Andrew, Charles, Geoff, Ken, Simon and Deborah but it wasn’t long before B caught up with A due to the lane being blocked by a large lorry.

Suffolk houses and gardens are a joy to behold, none more so than this cottage and immaculate vegetable garden in the pretty village of Thorpe Morieux:

Not long afterwards, group B could not resist getting up close to a couple of gigantic John Deere tractors, despite orders barked by Brigadier Charles to ‘get off my tractor’.

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Soon Lavenham came into view over the fields and it was great to revisit the National Trust Guildhall tearoom, part of the magnificent Guildhall featured above, and to sit in the courtyard garden devouring cakes and coffee.

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The perfect weather continued during the return leg to Rede – not too hot and just a light wind. And the best bit was being able to descend Hartest Hill instead of labouring up it as we did on 27 May.

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And of course an obligatory stop had to be made outside the impressive Church of St Mary in Hawkedon:

Group B eventually arrived back at The Plough only a short while after Group A, despite Brian reporting quite a lot of competitive racing between Howard, Graham and Roger, with Howard just having the edge were it not for the occasional call of nature. He also reported no mishaps, no newsworthy thrills or spills, no near misses, punctures or dismounts. Likewise, group B and so the perfect ride ended with a perfect lunch at The Plough.

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Thanks to Maurice and Andrew for organising us, everyone for taking part and to photographers Simon, Charles and Brian.

Martin

The Red Cow in Chrishall was once again the meeting place for seven Windmillers to spend a pleasant evening cruising around our quiet local lanes and admiring the countryside in all its splendour. We are so lucky to have this on our doorstep.

Maurice, Andrew, Charles, Suzanne (who rode all the way from Abington and back), Rod, Alan and Martin set off at 4.30pm and had an incident free ride taking in Heydon, Great Chishill, Nuthampsted, Anstey, Furneux Pelham, Brent Pelham, Lower Langley and Builden End before returning to The Red Cow for a drink and chips from the pulled pork van (which also offers excellent Alsace-style coleslaw with chunky bits of fermented white cabbage – go for it!).

Here is the route taken:

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Thanks go, as always, to Maurice and Andrew for devising and organising the route.

Martin

The site of Clavering Castle is reputed to be the oldest in England, according to the description on the information board overlooking the deep moat which would have surrounded it. Windmillers have ridden past the site on countless occasions without noticing it, hidden as it is behind trees and only accessible by a lane leading to the church or by a footpath, but on this ride a stop was made to soak up the history behind it.

Starting from The Red Cow in Chrishall, Maurice, Andrew, Lindsey, Lawrence, Charles, Deborah, Nick, Suzanne and Martin set off on a repeat of last Monday’s ride but in an anti-clockwise direction, taking to gravel tracks at times. This is where we went:

Maurice had warned of gravel tracks and, true to his word, it wasn’t long before we were ascending the lane from Builden End to Lower Langley, passing the Thames / North Sea watershed ditch on the way at the top of the ‘col’. We’re proud of our mountains around these ‘ere parts!

Then it was down to Brent Pelham, Violets Lane (thankfully free of water) and up to Washall Green where a stop was made for a natter as much as anything.

Not long afterwards it was time to stop and trek up through an unspoiled 1,000 year old meadow (photo above) to view the site of Clavering Castle – all except for Nick and Charles who nobly stayed back like knights of the castle to guard probably 10 grands worth of e-bikes and push-bikes. Thanks chaps!

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Continuing northwards via Arkesden on this warm summer’s evening, Maurice treated us to a ride up hill bastardo to Littlebury Green before taking to the gravel again through Elmdon woods and again through Chrishall woods before coming to rest back at The Red Cow, where he very kindly bought a round of drinks. Thanks Maurice! Somewhere along the route Nick left to return home to Meesden and Lawrence likewise to Fowlmere to get back in time for reading bedtime stories to his grand children. If we ask him nicely he might read us one too.

The Monday Pimp my Fish van was not in evidence but, instead, a French van selling delicious pulled pork, chips and the best coleslaw outside of Alsace kept the Woodheads fully nourished for two days.

Thanks again to Maurice for planning the route, Andrew for organising us and Deborah for sharing more photos of her student days in Leeds with the current leader of the Labour Party. Parties in Headingly have probably never been the same since.

Martin

Simon was full of the joys of Spring on this ride through deepest Suffolk, resorting to Pagan displays of happiness at times which involved praying to the flowers (photo above), ritual dancing to celebrate the forthcoming summer and a special Pagan pose too for good measure:

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Starting from The Plough in Rede, where Joyce and her staff made us feel very welcome with large helpings of coffee whilst we placed our lunch orders, we split into two teams with Maurice taking the A team of Rod, Roger, Charles, Suzanne, Deborah, Alan and Jeremy whilst Martin followed on with the B team of Simon, Brian, Lawrence, Graham, Mike, Hazel, Geoff and Victor.

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This is where we went, cruising through the most delightful countryside on a reasonably warm morning, waiting patiently for the sun to emerge:

The first village on the circuit was Hawkedon, which we rode through recently, with its church situated centrally on the village green and surrounded by quiet lanes – a spectacular sight when coming from the direction of Rede. This set the pattern for the rest of the ride as we passed through Hartest with its steep hill (the steepest in Suffolk with a maximum gradient of 12.6%), Lavenham, Thorpe Morieux, Bradfield St Clare, Sicklemere and Hawstead.

Team A chose to stop in Sicklemere for coffee whilst Team B took up Brian’s suggestion of coffee in the centre of Lavenham at the excellent National Trust Tea Room / Garden.

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By this stage, Mike was not feeling 100% having already ridden to the start with Graham and Hazel and so he took it easy with Graham on the remainder of the circuit but all arrived back at The Plough at about the same time thanks to puncture stops for both teams, Deborah suffering one for Team A whilst Brian got one in his back tyre shortly after thumping into a large pothole. But, boy were we impressed with Brian’s speedy repair – surely a Windmill Club record – not timed but it can’t have been more than 4 minutes. Well done, Brian – fancy giving the rest of us a few lessons?

Meanwhile Charles in Team A had been busy snapping away as they moved through the Suffolk lanes:

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Back at The Plough, those who stopped for lunch sat down inside a very pleasant dining room and enjoyed an excellent lunch washed down with drinks kindly provided by birthday boy Graham, who received a hearty rendering of Happy Birthday thanks to having choirmaster Lawrence with us and being joined by other pub customers too. We nearly brought the beams crashing down. Thanks Graham!

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After lunch Hazel couldn’t resist chatting up the owner of a smart red Jag in the car park, alongside other iconic vehicles out for a spin.

Many thanks to Maurice for organising the ride in all respects, in the absence of Andrew who was sunning himself in Scotland. All agreed that the ride was worth doing again in the opposite direction, with the benefit of descending Hartest Hill.

And thanks to Charles, Lawrence and Graham for supplying some of the photos.

Martin

PS. Just to confirm that of the money we have raised so far this year, we have already distributed £1,000 to Macmillan Nurses following the sale by Charles of the model boats given to the club and £200 to Jess at The Golden Fleece to support a breast cancer charity. Let’s hope that by the end of the year we beat last year’s record distribution.