Tag: stapleford

Madingley Hall Three Horseshoes, Stapleford

Two down in Stapleford

Ready for the off; Windmillers brightening up a dull morning in Stapleford

We’ve had our fair share of tumbles over the years, and of varying degrees of severity ranging from the mildest (witness: The Alan & Roger Tango and The Simon Roll) to the more serious Full Hazel, which required a visit to A&E. And to my knowledge, there’s only one Windmiller who ever broke bone, our dear departed friend, John Tarrington, though I hasten to say his final departure had nothing to do with his tumble.

So it came as a relief when Chris and Brian were seen to pick themselves up having quite independently come to grief on the same patch of spilt diesel, just 50 yards short of our lunch venue, The Three Horseshoes in Stapleford. Happily, both riders, despite some bruises and torn cyclewear, responded well to treatment, ie a pint in the pub.

Tumbles aside, it was a good outing; Brian leading the way around a 30 mile circuit via Cambridge to Madingley Hall and back. This was our first visit to the 16th century Hall, though not a propitious one, as we gave up waiting for coffee and cake, pressing on instead to Coton Orchard Garden Centre for some 21st century service.

In all, thirteen Windmillers – Alan, Andrew, Brian, Charles, Chris, Deborah, Iain, Jenni, Martin B, Ric, Rod, Sandra and Victor – completed the ride and eleven of ’em didn’t fall off. And finally, we were delighted to see Maurice joining us for lunch.

Brian

30 miles anticlockwise: Stapleford, Cambridge, Oakington, Bar Hill, Dry Drayton, Madingley, Coton, Grantchester, Trumpington Meadows, Hauxton, Shelford, Stapleford

Tags stapleford

Happy Birthday, Martin

Gathering in the car park on Thursday morning, there was an outbreak of jollity upon hearing that Martin – sadly in absentia – would be buying the beers at lunchtime. Top chap!

So it was that eleven Windmillers, led by Jeremy, set off from The Three Horseshoes in Stapleford heading for Wimpole. Along the way we pulled in at Barrington where we were joined by Alan.

The highlight of the ride was the 5 mile off-road trail around the Wimpole estate, taking in fine views of the 17th-century mansion, Gothic folly and Capability Brown landscape. The National Trust café was pretty good too and seemingly full of runners and other cyclists enjoying coffee and cake.

Back on the bikes we made short work of the return leg to the Three Horseshoes, where we promptly opened a tab in Martin’s name. Mid way through lunch we were surprised and delighted when the man himself joined us via a video call. There he was lunching with his family and raising a glass to us while we gave him a stirring rendition of Happy Birthday.

For the record, the turnout was: Alan, Andrew, Brian, Geoff, Graham, Hazel, Jeremy, Ric, Rod, Roger, Sandra and Victor – and we clocked up 30 miles.

Happy Birthday, old timer. Looking forward to you joining us again soon

30 miles anticlockwise: Stapleford, Shelford, Newton, Fowlmere, Shepreth, Orwell, Wimpole, Orwell, Barrington, Haslingfield, Harston, Shelford, Stapleford

Brian

Tags stapleford, Three Horseshoes, Windmill cycling club

Cambridge Cambridgeshire

A Space Odyssey

The club website says we’re all about exploring the quieter lanes of East Anglia – to which we can now add . . . and the solar system.

A blue planet on a very brown Midsummer Common

Curiosity about Thursday’s ride had been piqued by Brian’s invitation saying we would be . . . visiting every planet in the solar system before stopping for refreshments at a pharmacy beyond Pluto. We thought he’d just had too much sun.

Come Thursday and there was indeed lots of sun – not only the usual one overhead but another one in the middle of Midsummer Common, Cambridge; as if we weren’t hot enough already, having cycled into town from Stapleford in the middle of a heatwave.

We were at the start of the Our Place in Space trail featuring scale models of the sun and planets recreated as contemporary art sculptures strung out along the River Cam and extending some five miles to Waterbeach (aka Pluto). Confused? Have a look at the pictures and you’ll get the general idea.

As for the pharmacy beyond Pluto, that turned out to be a café in Waterbeach called, well, Pharmacie.

Some Windmillers got quite carried away with their adventures in space. Rod and Victor experienced weightlessness, albeit fleetingly, as each was seen to fly from the saddle only to crash land somewhat painfully on planet earth.

Victor experiences weightlessness in the confined space of the Carter Bridge, Cambridge

Despite the immense distances covered, we got back to the Three Horseshoes in time for lunch and a few beers – and we were delighted to find Maurice waiting for us at the bar.

And for the record the space travellers were Alan, Brian, Charles, Chris, Deborah, Graham, Ken, Martin, Rod, Roger, Sandra, Simon, Tom and Victor. Back on planet earth we clocked up 28 miles.