The first ride of the year was a cold one; barely 2°C as we set off and not much more than that when we got home. But that didn't deter five hardy Spokers, all well wrapped up against the cold. It's all about layers!
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| 25 miles anticlockwise - 5 riders - coffee at Melbourn Hub |
Monday again and only two sleeps until Christmas! A good excuse to keep the ride short and get back to Shelford for some festive drinks and nibbles chez Brian.
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| 12 miles clockwise |
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| 20 miles clockwise - coffee at Ruby's Room, Great Abington - 13 riders |
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| 23 miles anticlockwise - 5 riders - coffee at Mohak Café, Haslingfield |
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| 21 miles anticlockwise from Shelford - 8 riders - coffee at University West Café |
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| 25 miles clockwise from Shelford - 7 riders - coffee at Melbourn Hub |
Only 45 sleeps 'til Christmas - but it's already festive at Wimpole.
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| 25 miles clockwise - coffee at Wimpole Hall - 11 riders |
Brian thought it was high time we tried out Cambridge's newest bit of cycling infrastructure. Recently completed at a cost of £32M the Milton Road Improvement Scheme features dedicated cycle lanes and, most notably, a CYCLOPS "cycling optimised protected signals" junction separating pedallers and pedestrians from the traffic. It's really a fancy roundabout featuring a remarkable 36 traffic lights.
Glad to say, our thirteen-strong peloton negotiated it all with aplomb and the general consensus was that it works. Hats off to the transport team at The Greater Cambridge Partnership.
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| 24 miles clockwise - 13 riders - coffee at Kerb Kollective, Technology Museum |
Eight of us completed a 24 mile circuit taking us up the hill to Elmdon and back. Towards the end we stopped off at Duxford Community Centre for coffee (and repaired a puncture too!)
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| 24 miles anticlockwise |
Another ride featuring three Brians - though one had to turn back after suffering a broken spoke or two in his rear wheel. Otherwise, a lovely ride.
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| 25 miles clockwise - 7 riders - coffee at The Station House, Histon |
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| 24 miles - 12 riders - coffee at Day's Bakery, Newton |
Mid-summer and the weather set fair; what better time to make our annual pilgrimage to Ely. Whereas last time we caught the train there and cycled back (see blog), this time with the wind from the south it made sense to do it t'other way round.
So it was that eleven riders set off from Shelford heading for Lode, gateway to the Fens. But we'd only got as far as Cherry Hinton when Brian pulled up with a flat tyre caused by a discarded drawing pin (possibly an act of malice by an ex-pupil, he thought). Brian looked on while Chris and Paul effected a repair and, fifteen minutes later, we were back on the road, Ely-bound once more.
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| Brian supervises his puncture repair |
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| The notorious Cock-Up Bridge |
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| Alan |
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| Jenny |
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| Paul |
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| Hetty |
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| Hilary |
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| Dominic |
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| 25 miles from Shelford to Ely |
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| 22 miles anticlockwise - 14 riders - coffee at Pharmacie Café, Waterbeach |
Lovely day for a ride - and it's always a pleasure sipping coffee in the little courtyard behind The Old Butchers.
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| 24 miles anticlockwise - 7 riders - coffee at The Old Butchers, Balsham |
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| 21 miles anticlockwise - 7 riders - coffee at Grounds Café, Milton Country Park |
Lime Kiln Hill - normally a no-go route for the safety conscious cyclist - was closed to traffic, so what better time to enjoy the view from the top and take a peek at Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits.
Then it was on to Teversham, Fulbourn, The Wilbrahams, Bottisham and Lode, where we pulled in at Anglesey Abbey for coffee and cake. And it was here that eagle-eyed Tiggr spotted the bee orchids on the edge of the car park.
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| Bee Orchid, Anglesey Abbey car park |
The natural world, eh? And so often it's hiding in plain sight, as with the knapweed broomrape Paul spotted near Newton some two summers ago.
Back on the bikes we made the return leg via Fen Ditton and the Chisholm Trail home to Shelford.
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| 24 miles anticlockwise - 10 riders - coffee at Anglesey Abbey |
A pretty good turnout - 10 riders - for another Monday bank holiday. Local roads were thankfully quiet as there was no school-run to contend with. Close to home, we got a soaking in Sawston and Alan nearly fell over wrestling with his overtrousers.
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| 25 miles - 10 riders - coffee at Duxford Community Centre |
After last week's hills, we were glad of an easy ride out to Wimpole and back.
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| 25 miles clockwise |
Our annual visit to see the bluebells near Littlebury is by far the hilliest ride of the year. With the Shelfords at just 14m above sea level and Littlebury Green topping out at 118m, not to mention all the ups and downs in between, we end up climbing a total of 350m, or just over 1000 ft in old money. All the more reason to enjoy coffee and cake at Compass Courtyard.
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| Ann and her posse atop Coploe Hill |
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| Wild garlic and bluebells at Howe Wood on the Audley End Estate |
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| Enjoying a cuppa at Compass Courtyard |
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| 28 miles clockwise - the little purple blobs indicating the bigger hill climbs |
