The Windmill Cycle Club

Thursday morning in The Pheasant car park and Maurice was running through the health and safety briefing. Today’s hazards would be twofold: firstly we should take special care on the busy A505. Secondly, we should watch out for any more bits falling off Andrew’s bike and take avoiding action.

Sure enough, we had only gone 500 yards and Andrew was shedding metalwork; nothing critical this time, just half a pedal. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine, just leave it”, he yelled over his shoulder. We carried on.

The A505 was indeed busy but, thankfully, we were only on it for a few minutes. Pulling off, we re-grouped outside Ron Charlton’s scrap yard, Andrew ignoring our jibes about trading in his bike for something more reliable.

We were heading north on a 30 mile circuit taking in Thriplow, Haslingfield, Barton, Barrington and Fowlmere. And blue skies meant we had a good turnout – Maurice, Andrew, Rod, Vernon, Sandra, Tom, Ken, Ric, John and Brian – ten Windmillers in all.

Stopping for coffee and cake at Burwash Manor, we sat outside sunning ourselves and listening to John bemoaning the price of their fancy Italian craft beer.

Back on the bikes for the return leg, Maurice succumbed to a puncture in Barrington – but this was soon repaired and we were on the road homewards once more. Returning to The Pheasant, we were delighted to be joined for lunch by Martin, Glenis and Marguerite.

Another delightful morning in the saddle and a good lunch in great company.

And thanks again to Maurice and Andrew for organising everything.

Brian

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.

Yet another chilly Thursday morning with the prospect of easterly winds and snow flurries; cold indeed, but not cold enough to deter hardy Windmillers.

So it was that Maurice, Sandra, Andrew, Tom, John and Brian set off from the Fleur to explore a new route to the east of Stansted Airport. We were well wrapped up, lots of layers, and John sporting a black balaclava with holes for eyes; a rather intimidating bank robber chic look.

Thankfully, this was to be an uneventful ride – no breakdowns, no punctures – and too cold even to pause for photos. We stopped just once, at Great Dunmow, pulling in for refreshment at Flitch Coffee, which proved a popular choice with John as it was next door to the Boar’s Head. We suggested he remove the black balaclava before entering.

Twenty minutes later and we were on the road again, Sandra having put her head round the pub door had summoned John with a jaunty, “Are you coming, darling?”

The return leg took in the Eastons and Pledgdon on quiet roads and through some lovely countryside. Returning to the Fleur we were delighted to be joined by Martin, still recovering from a nasty bout of flu, and Ken.

Thanks again to Maurice for planning the day and Andrew for organising things.

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.

An exceptionally cold morning saw Sandra, Maurice, Andrew, Tom and Brian setting off from the Packhorse Inn at Moulton on a tour of the lanes to the east of Newmarket. This was to be a memorable ride, the mercury never rising much above -1°C. Indeed our extremities stayed numb for many a mile! But it wasn’t just low temperatures that we had to contend with.

First of all, Sandra had a puncture, though this was fixed quickly enough and she was soon back in the saddle. Our next breakdown, however, posed more of a challenge. While cresting a hill, there was a loud snapping noise from Andrew’s rear end. His chain had not only broken but the damaged end had jammed in his gears and ripped off the rear derailleur! We were a long way from home and, mechanically speaking, things were not looking good.

But we Windmillers are a multi-talented bunch. Tom, stepping forward, donned a pair of latex gloves, upended the bike and set to work. He removed the broken derailleur, shortened the chain by several links and – lo and behold – converted Andrew’s stricken machine into a fixie. How impressive was that?

Within half an hour we were on our way again – and intrigued to find that Andrew went even faster without gears. Indeed, he arrived back at the Packhorse ahead of the rest of us, though maybe he was just badly in need of beer and sustenance after the misadventure with his chain.

Who needs gears anyway?

All in all we clocked up 29 miles; not bad considering the low temperatures and mechanical challenges.

Thanks, Tom, for keeping our wheels turning and – as ever – thanks to Maurice for planning the route and shepherding us around the Suffolk lanes.

Sandra, punctured!

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

Our first outing of the year was a special occasion in memory our dear friend, Kell Ryan, who died last week after a long illness. We were really pleased to be joined by Kell’s daughter, Sinead, and determined to make this a celebratory, rather than solemn occasion; a wake on wheels. The day was sunny, but freezing, so any tears were likely to become icicles.

It was a good turnout: Sinead and Andrew, plus Maurice, Sandra, John B, Rod, John from Dunmow and Brian. Maurice had planned a route around some of our old haunts, setting off from Great Chishill at the slightly later time of 10.00 and heading out to Buntingford for a coffee stop and then back to The Pheasant for lunch. At least that was the plan . . .

But the plan soon went out the window; and it was all John Bagrie’s fault. He invited us to stop off at his place in Sandon, whereupon Lyn plied us with coffee, sticky treats and champagne, plus, of course, a beer for John himself. We toasted Kell while we thawed out around the Aga. We also agreed this was definitely the best coffee stop in Hertfordshire. Maybe we should return every Thursday?

Then it was back to The Pheasant where we were joined by Sinead’s mum, Glen, plus Lyn, Rod & Cath, Vernon, John T & Bridget. Simon and Ollie served up a delicious lunch and, of course, we raised another glass to Kell.

Thanks to Maurice and Andrew for planning the day and to John and Lyn for their hospitality.

And a special thanks to Kell for his friendship, wisdom, tall stories and happy memories.

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!

Windmillers at Finchingfield

A gloriously sunny December morning saw nine Windmillers – Maurice, Andrew, Ken, Vernon, Keith, Tom, Sandra, John and Brian – set off from the Fleur de Lys for a tour of the lanes around Thaxted and Finchingfield. It was cold, very cold, but we were well wrapped and after a few stiff hill climbs we were soon warmed up.

Stopping for coffee at Finchingfield, we noted that Keith was on half rations (just one scone, plus cream and jam) and Sandra just couldn’t resist a slice of seasonal stollen. Mulled wine would not have gone amiss.

Revived and refreshed we set off on the return leg to Widdington, looking forward to beer and a good lunch at the Fleur. Arriving back, we were delighted to be joined by John Tarrington who had cycled the 12 miles from home. Landlord Chris, despite this being one the busiest days of his year, had kept us a table and served up a delicious two course lunch.

All in all we had clocked up a very respectable 32 miles under blue, sunny skies.

Thanks are due to Maurice for leading and Andrew for organising.

(Hey Kell! Get well – and back home – soon)

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.

During this damp but dry ride (if that’s not a contradiction of terms) of 29 miles, Maurice was threatened with being reported to the RSPCC, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Cyclists, if he attempted to take us up another steep hill. The first, which he did warn us about beforehand, was, appropriately enough, not far after the village of Nasty but closer to Dane End. A granny cog hill it was indeed and we all struggled up it, with the exception of course of Tom who left rubber on the road before zooming up it first. A subsequent so called steep hill proved to be quite gentle and so we let Maurice off with a warning.

And so there were nine Windmillers in all riding around quiet Hertfordshire lanes; Maurice, Andrew, Vernon, Ken, Keith (back from a month in Portugal), Brian, Tom, Sandra and Martin (back from 3 weeks in South Africa). Starting at The Golden Fleece in Braughing, we took an anti-clockwise route through delightful lanes stopping for coffee at a steamy café in Ware which served good coffee and cakes. Here is the route taken:

After coffee we pedalled on through quiet but slippery lanes, taking care on the steep dips and avoiding potholes which resulted in a safe and uneventful journey for all.

On the way back we stopped on a bridge over a disused railway running from Ware to Buntingford which Maurice said he would like to restore one day………… His proposed labourers thought otherwise and sped back to Braughing where a splendid welcome was awaiting us and a table bedecked with crackers. The jokes were a bit corny though – What kind of motor bike does Santa ride? A Holly Davison of course!

Thanks, Maurice, for organising a great ride and leading us safely through the lanes.

Moley Martin

 

A frosty Thursday morning saw nine Windmillers set out from the Fleur de Lys on a 35 mile circuit taking in the Pelhams, Puckeridge and Farnham. Our gang comprised Sandra, Tom, John B, Vernon, Ken, Brian and Andrew, accompanied by his old school chums, Ronnie and Don.

The lanes around Widdington were white with frost and, after a couple of nasty skids, Vernon thought it wise to turn back rather than risk a return visit to A&E. The rest of us, having checked our winter sports insurance, decided to brave it. Braking and cornering gingerly along the country lanes, we eventually arrived unscathed at Puckeridge where we stopped off at our favourite tea room.

Refreshed and with the lanes now frost free, we set off on the return leg. But it wasn’t long before Ken was brought to a sudden halt by his chain jamming in the front derailleur. Brute force proved insufficient to pull the chain free but Tom, getting to work with a multi tool, managed to release the mechanism and Ken was back in the saddle once more.

Then Tom himself was brought to a halt with a rear wheel puncture. With Don’s help this was soon fixed and we were on our way again.

The next hold-up was down to Network Rail at Elsenham. This must be one of the few remaining level crossings with manual gates. Opening and closing them is such a palaver that they just keep them closed for much of the day, or so it seems. We gave up waiting and humped the bikes up and over the very high footbridge. It felt like the highest point in Essex.

What with icy roads, jammed chains, flat tyres and slow trains, we were late getting back to the Fleur. But landlord Chris kept our usual table and we enjoyed an excellent, if somewhat delayed (2.30pm!) lunch.

Many thanks to Andrew for planning and organising things.

Brian

https://www.strava.com/activities/784250059/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1480008661

A group of eight intrepid explorers Maurice, Andrew, John B, Ken, Rick, Vernon, Lawrence and Sandra assembled outside the Pheasant, Great Chishill awaiting instructions as to where we were heading on what was going to be a pleasant Autumn day, if a bit windy at times.

Wimpole Hall being the destination for the days excursion and a general consensus that this should be a very nice ride and it certainly was even with a few events on route.

We set off with Maurice guiding us on a path to Barkway which takes in some hills at Shaftenhoe End that would certainly warm us up for the rest of the route, this was also the same route that the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw challenge had travelled only the Friday before, those guys and girls are amazing to have pedalled the rickshaw up those hills. From Barkway we headed to Reed and Therfield before dropping down to then cross the A505 and head past Ashwell and Morden station on into the Cambridgeshire countryside where we first started to feel the force of the wind cutting across the field and the roads with sparse hedges, Maurice making good use of me as a wind break at times, which I was happy to oblige, with the occasional comment from Maurice that there was no need to rush, I think this must have been as he was dropped out of shelter from me. Passing through Steeple Morden and on to Wendy cum Shingay or is it Shingay cum Wendy, (I think that depends on which way you are travelling!), this was where I dropped in behind John B and Rick to shelter from the wind and also the same area where Andrew found another gear and came steaming through like an express train, must have been the porridge kicking in. On to Arrington and the entrance to Wimpole Hall estate, where Vernon came a cropper on the step through the gate, with words of guidance from behind “Don’t put your hand down”, he managed to stay upright even if his bike went through horizontally. Through the parkland dodging the various green currants left by the sheep and odd cow pat, we went in search of coffee at the park’s restaurant.

A little over 20 miles down and feeling refreshed we set off again, it wasn’t long before John B came steaming through and shouts of puncture are heard from behind, the team turned around and headed back to Wimpole Hall to aid/supervise the repair of Vernon’s tyre. Back on the road again to Orwell then Barrington, where Vernon was found propped up against a telegraph pole adding a bit more air to said tyre. Onwards to Shepreth and then Fowlmere when it was discovered that the group had halved in size, we’re four down, Maurice duly waited at the junction while John B, Vernon and I would head on to the next junction. At this point I was beginning to regret not having a piece of cake with coffee, as my legs had had enough (self inflicted calorie controlled diet that a Sparrow wouldn’t survive on, well that’s gone out the window now!) At the same time my bike started to feel unusual, yes I’d developed a slow puncture and it was while I was adding a bit of air, that the stray gang caught me up and the tale of Ken’s bike developing a major steering fault, basically there was no steering, thankfully this was sorted and we were on the move again. Not far now and hoping that my tyre would hold up to get back, well it did but not without a couple more puffs to keep me going, last 50 yards or so on foot, with Andrew and Maurice making sure I made it.

Over lunch we started to compare distances travelled during the day on the various GPS tracking devices, Vernon 34.75 – the shortest distance for a change, Lawrence 35.76, Sandra 35.75 and Andrew 36.4 – having spent considerable time rounding up the troops and making sure I was ok on the final stretch, thank you.

Thanks to Maurice for another lovely, if eventful ride.

 

Sandra

https://www.strava.com/activities/784250059/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1480008661

Thursday morning saw seven Windmillers unloading their bikes in the car park of the Fleur de Lys at Widdington. The weather forecast was iffy – wind and a chance of rain – but we were up for it!

Maurice led us out – Andrew, Ken, John B, Chris, Ric and Brian – on an almost traffic free route through Henham, Thaxted and the Bardfields before stopping for coffee and cake at The Blue Egg. Popular with cyclists, the Egg is said to be Mark Cavendish’s favourite re-fuelling stop; and no wonder, the cakes are truly excellent. Brian’s piece of fruitcake could have fed a family of four.

Freighted down with cake, we took to the saddle again for the return leg through Great Sampford, Radwinter and Debden before the final killing climb (into a headwind!) up the hill and back to The Fleur. Landlord Chris had reserved our usual round table by the fire and served us up a superb two course lunch.

The conversation was wide ranging, everything from beer mixes of our youth (Black & Tan, Snakebite, etc) to paper cycle helmets (yes really – check out the BBC story).

Thanks as usual to Routemeister Maurice and Communications Manager, Andrew.

Brian