23 May: Thursday ride to Swavesey and St Neots

Edward writes: Today was another twist in our fortunes with the weather in that it was very cool and blustery and with a forecast for rain in the afternoon. This was familiar weather to those who had returned from France where the weather was cool and windy. Tony H was our leader today for the ride out to St. Neots and nine riders arrived at Haslingfield not deterred by Tony’s uncanny knack of leading rides on days when the weather is doing its best to displease.

We set off into a stiff northerly wind through Harlton and onto the Eversdens. This brought us to Kingston and Bourn and the long, but slight climb up to the A428. Whilst the main group kept to the road it goes without saying that Adrian put in a bit of off-road work by going through Childerley Gate before rejoining us all in Boxworth. This was now downhill to a busy A14 which we crossed on the flyover and a mile and a half later we were in Swavesey and the Baptist Chapel. As we always report this is a firm favourite with the club and the ladies, this week represented by the Swavesey Fete organisers, did us proud with a fine selection of home-made cakes plus a drink all for £1.50. As is often the case we were joined by other members, many of whom were tempted into a second course.

Hilton

Sadly, it was time to leave and out we went into the wind and the threat of rain looking imminent. We went to Fenstanton, back over the A14 and along into Hilton where we caught in a heavy shower, but luckily the cricket pavilion was nearby so we took shelter there until it had passed. From here to Graveley and its wind turbines requires a couple of long stretches into the wind but we finally made it and then turned past Toseland wood and another long run down to the B1043 and then into a busy market day in St. Neots and lunch at the Ambiance Cafe.

St Neots

Strangely, most of us sat outside to either eat sandwiches or food ordered from inside. However, Sarah had made a cake, she said to welcome back the French tourists, but really she just likes baking cakes, and this was readily eaten by us all. After our treat it was time to move on but not before taking shelter from a sudden squall. Sarah left us here to head towards St.Ives and probably into the wind the rest of us headed to towards Waresley but with the benefit of the wind. All around were threatening clouds as we made our way via Waresley to Great Gransden, Caxton and Bourn.

It now looked like a race against the ever-darkening sky and getting home, but sadly the weather won: from Toft through Comberton and Barton we were caught by heavy rain and hail. We reached the Coton roundabout where the tour ended but having received a thorough drenching. Thanks to Tony for his leadership and this gave a ride of 52 miles Edward Elmer


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22 May: Evening ride to Harlton

Nigel writes: Despite the unseasonably cold weather there was a good turnout for tonight's ride: Rob, Tony, Daniel, Steve, John E, Peter D and newcomer John.

Our destination this evening was the Hare and Hounds in Harlton, a nicely alliterative pub that we hadn't visited before. I had phoned the pub earlier to check it was serving food and discovered that they stopped taking food orders at 8.30pm. Since this is a bit early for us I turned up at Brookside ready to suggest an alternative pub. However I was persuaded to stick to the original plan, shortening the ride to make sure that we got there in time.

Our route this evening was a simple clockwise loop. We set off south along Trumpington, the busway and the DNA path to Great Shelford. We reached Granham's Road to find the gates on the level crossing closing, so we made a diversion to use the Hinton Way crossing instead. However the gates closed a second time as we were crossing, stranding Daniel on one side whilst we waited on the other.


After a short delay we were soon on our way again, west to Little Shelford and then south along the road to Whittlesford. A pelaton of club cyclists overtook us and three of set off in chase, following them at about 22mph for over a mile before stopping to wait for the others.

We continued to Duxford where we turned west onto Grange Road.


This is a long straight road and despite the potholes our speed increased again, towed this time by our guest John, here on his first evening ride. At Chrishall Grange we turned north and continued our clockwise loop through Fowlmere, Shepreth, Barrington and over Chapel Hill to Haslingfield. A few minutes later we arrived at Harlton, where we stopped at The Hare and Hounds as planned. It was 8.15pm, in good time to order food. Impressions of the pub were positive: it was busy with plenty of people eating, and with a good menu with a good range of cheaper options. We agreed that we would come back here another time.

We sat with our food and drinks for almost an hour before returning home to Cambridge. Again the speed was satisfyingly high on the final leg, and I was home by 9.45pm, having cycled 30 miles.


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19 May: Afternoon ride to Braughing

Peter writes: The weather forecast for Sunday was for a rather grey day, so the light cloud and occasional sun was a welcome surprise. As I made my way to Brookside I cycled across Jesus Green, where the blossom was in full bloom.

At 1.30 there were six of us ready to go: John E, John F, Andy, Daniel A, and new rider Graham on a recumbent, as well as myself.


Our ambition was to get down to the Pelhams and so we rode directly out of town through the Shelfords and Duxford to Ickleton. Here we turned left and tackled our first climb of the day on the road to Elmdon. Here are John and John enjoying a well-earned rest at the top.


Out of Elmdon we descended towards Duddenhoe End. The cherry tree in Elmdon was especially fine as you can see in these photos.




We wound through from Duddenhoe End to Langley Upper and Lower Green and on to Brent Pelham. Here I decided the lead the group through a short cut to Furneux Pelham which turned out to be rather an adventure! We perhaps should have been warned by the "Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles" and “Ford” signs. As we progressed we realised that in fact the lane was more like a river bed, and indeed after a while the ford materialized in the shape of a completely flooded track. However, I did a reconnaissance up the bank and realised that there was a quite serviceable path running along parallel to the "road". We hauled the bikes up and rode along for a mile or so before passing them down a human chain on to the road a few hundred yards from Furneux Pelham.

Unfortunately I was too busy to remember to take any photos but here is Graham, (more or less) still smiling at the end of it, with the track behind him and the bank we brought the bikes down to our right.


The remainder of the ride to Braughing was uneventful, and we all enjoyed an excellent tea. On the way back, Nigel led us a slightly different and longer route through the Pelhams, Arkesden and up a back lane to Catmere End. Lovely rolling countryside and by now it was quite sunny, and developing into a beautiful long early summer evening.

I finally arrived home at around 7.40pm, having cycled 57 miles (very respectable for an afternoon). Peter Hutchison

19 May: Ad hoc all-day ride to Melbourn, Nuthampstead and Braughing

Nigel writes: I didn't go on the normal CTC all-day ride today. Instead I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and rode down to Trumpington Park and Ride to join the A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign and their ride along the A10 to draw attention to the need for better cycle provision along this route.

A short ride down the busway brought me to Trumpington Park and Ride just before 10am. Here I found a large crowd of cyclists waiting to set off on the ride. The turnout was bigger than anyone expected, with approaching a hundred people present, including many parents with their children.

Waiting to set off from Trumpington Park and Ride

The A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign is an independent organization but several CTC members are actively involved, including CTC's Cambridgeshire right-to-ride representative Mike Stapleton who gave a briefing at the start.

Mike Stapleton addresses the crowds before departure

We set off at about 10.20am along a concrete road which crosses the Trumpington Meadows development site to a "accommodation bridge" across the M11. This will one day be turned into a proper cycle route, but today we were able to explore the route with special permission from the developers.

Trumpington Meadows east of the M11

Approaching the accommodation bridge over the M11

After crossing the M11 the concrete road comes to an end and we had to wheel our bikes for a few hundred yards along the edge of a field to rejoin the A10 near Hauxton Mill. Some of us could have probably cycled this section but with so many people on the ride, many of them carrying children, it was better that we all walked this short section.

Trumpington Meadows west of the M11

When we reached the A10 it was simply a case of cycling along the footway along the northern side for about four and a half miles. Much of this is designated as a shared-use cycleway, though I'm not sure whether all of it is. Nevertheless it did mean that we didn't have to ride along the A10 itself at any point.

However this offers an extremely poor environment in which to cycle. The path was bumpy, extremely narrow, overgrown and intersected by numerous side roads where we had to stop and give way. The section through Harston was especially bad, with multiple side entrances to cross. Possibly the worst part was when we had to cross the side road to Haslingfield. Fortunately a marshall was waiting to help us cross at this blind corner. Essentially the goal of the A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign is to persuade the County Council to provide something better than this that people would actually want to use.

Poor-quality pavement cycleway along the A10

As we rode along I noticed that we were being filmed by TV crews from both the BBC and ITV. The ITV report can be seen here and included both some nice photos of us all riding along as well as several interviews with people who explained what we were campaigning for.

Just beyond the turn to Shepreth we crossed over the A10 (another difficult manoeuvre) and turned off onto a minor road towards Meldreth.

Approaching Philimore Garden Centre, Melbourn

A few hundred hards further we turned right into Philimore Garden Centre where we were due to stop for refreshments. I had expected a long queue for the garden centre cafe and so was delighted to discover that the organisers were waiting with a tent serving drinks and some very nice cakes. After a while a separate ride arrived from Royston, consisting of perhaps fifty people.

Coffee and cake stall at Philimore Garden Centre

My GPS gadget only registered just over eight miles from central Cambridge (and five miles from Trumpington), reminding me that this area would be an easy ride from Cambridge if only the road was less horrible.

It was now about 11.30am and people were beginning to set off back to Cambridge. I was ready for a longer ride and so were four other CTC members who were there: Rupert, Mike K, Neil and Cheryl. There wasn't time to join the official all-day ride at its lunch stop in Aston (near Stevenage), so Rupert suggested we have lunch in Nuthampstead instead.

We took a fairly direct route there, through Fowlmere, across the A505 to Chrishall Grange and up the hill to Heydon and Great Chishill. This is the highest village in the county and I led the group on a short detour along the B1039 to the top of the hill at the edge of the village. At 146 metres above sea level this is the highest point in Cambridgeshire.

Mount Chishill

It was nice to be away from the noisy A10 and on quiet country lanes at last.


We arrived at The Woodman in Nuthampstead at about 1.20pm. The restaurant was fully booked but were able to fit us in and I had a pleasant hour enjoying a gourmet sausage sandwich, a small bowl of chips and a large glass of orange juice and soda.

Afterwards Rupert said goodbye and set off for home leaving Cheryl, Mike, Neil and me to continue on to the planned tea stop at Braughing. I led the group south-west through Anstey and Wydial to Buntingford. We continued south-west, under the A10 and through Aspenden for a very nice loop through Cherry Green and, er, Nasty.


A short while later we reached Great Munden where we turned east for Puckeridge. This meant we had to cross the A10, which is a dual carriageway at this point but was relatively quiet (much quieter than when we crossed it near Shepreth). A short section of footpath took us into Puckeridge.

Short-cut to Puckeridge

We turned north for the final few miles to Braughing, where we stopped for tea at Braughing Village Hall. Here we found the "official" all-day ride and after about half an hour we were joined by the afternoon ride.


After tea we all set off for home. I rode back with Peter H and the afternoon ride.

Preparing to set off for home

Braughing is 25 miles from Cambridge by the direct route, making this possibly our most distant afternoon tea stop. But I didn't fancy the B1368 so suggested a slightly longer route to the east.

On the way home

Our route took us through the Pelhams, Clavering, Arkesden and the "little road over the hill past the radio masts" to Littlebury Green. From here a short climb took us to Catmere End and the ever-popular descent to Ickleton. From here the familar route through Duxford, Whittlesford and the Shelfords brought us back to Cambridge. I arrived home at 7.30pm, having cycled 65 miles.


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