cycling – The Windmill Cycle Club

Gog Magog Hills and spills

With much of the county lying at or around sea level, indeed, there are some places in the Fens that sit 3 meters below sea level, Cambridgeshire isn’t really known for its uplands. So when we find ourselves cresting a hill in South Cambs it is well worth pausing to take in the view – before it gets reclaimed by the North Sea.

Which is just what we did on Thursday when Jeremy’s route took us up and over the Gog Magog Hills. At 75 meters these aren’t exactly lofty, but nonetheless high enough such that, on a clear day, you can spy Ely Cathedral some 17 miles to the north.

Neil making adjustments ahead of the ride

Windmiller Charles scoffs at the notion of these being hills at all, residing as he does near Great Chishill which sits at 146 meters above sea level. While not quite at Munro-level it does win the accolade of being in the highest village in Cambridgeshire.

Views aside, the only other happenings of note were:

Martin B had an unfortunate encounter with a turnip – or maybe it was a sugar beet – causing him to fall off. We all stopped to assist, whereupon . . .
Charles, discombobulated by Martin’s mishap, keeled over and went sprawling nearby. Thankfully, neither sustained serious injury and were subsequently seen comparing flesh wounds over coffee.
We made our first visit to Gog Farm for coffee, which was very pleasant, though Paul was heard muttering about cake and a hot drink costing the best part of a tenner. Back in Yorkshire you can feed a family of four and a whippet on that sort of money.

So that’s South Cambridgeshire for you, flatish, with agricultural hazards and pricey refreshments. But hey, it’s home and we love it.

For the record, starting from Duxford’s Café 19, a dozen Windmillers rode a 32-mile figure of eight circuit south of Cambridge. Our runners and riders were: Alan, Brian, Charles, Chris, Geoff, Graham, Jeremy, Martin B, Neil, Paul, Ric and Roger.

Thanks go to Jeremy for planning the outing and getting everyone organised. Also Charles and Graham for the photographs.

Brian

15 February 2024. A tale of two cafés. 31 miles.

What have Café 19 in Duxford and Wimpole Hall have in common? Cafés of course but what a contrast there is between them. Café 19 is so efficient in all respects from the moment of arrival to the time of departure, but the National Trust team at Wimpole of a similar size seems to always struggle with probably a similar number of customers. There’s a job here for a time and motion expert but retired management consultant Jeremy, leader of this ride and also birthday boy, seemed unwilling to take up the challenge when asked. But despite another long queue for coffee and cake at Wimpole, the ride there is always a pleasure and the views from the ridge behind Wimpole Hall take some beating.

So 14 Windmillers gathered at Café 19 on a very mild day to cycle in two groups to Wimpole and back. The first group initially comprised Chris, Paul, Rod, Gareth and Ken but was quickly joined by navigator Brian when half of them were seen heading immediately in the wrong direction.

‘Oi! Come back, you’re heading in the wrong direction’, was the shout to some of Group A as they left the car park, hotly pursued by Brian who reined them in. Group B comprising Jeremy, Andrew, Roger, Martin W, Martin B, Deborah, Nigel and Alan left soon afterwards.

Riding anti-clockwise via Whittlesford, Newton, Harston, Haslingfield, Barrington and Orwell, it was an event free ride to Wimpole followed by a steep climb up to the ridge on a combined pedestrian and cycle path, which requires understanding from both sets of users. The views from the top towards Royston in the West and Elmdon in the East are spectacular on a clear day.

Deborah riding her daughter’s snazzy reconditioned bike, following the theft of hers

The return leg took us back through Orwell and then Shepreth and Fowlmere before crossing the A505 and heading back to Duxford. Despite the huge amount of rain in recent days and flooded fields the roads were remarkably free of large puddles.

Group A heads for home, Andrew having jumped ship from B as he had to get back in a hurry

Back at Café 19, some had to skip lunch but it was good to be joined by Geoff who had been suffering from sciatica, which hopefully has cleared up. Jeremy very kindly bought a round of drinks in his capacity of birthday boy and received a hearty rendering of ‘happy birthday’ in return.

Thanks go to Jeremy for organising the ride and to photographers including Brian and Gareth.

This is where we went:

Martin W