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A14 flyover

Bar Hill by car? There's no avoiding the A14. But Bar Hill by bike can be a very pleasant, traffic free experience - if you know where to find the bridleway out of Dry Drayton. What's more, you can now exit Bar Hill via the gleaming new cycle bridge spanning the A14, which is ten lanes wide at this point.  High above the traffic So it was that Lewis, Alan, Hilary, Chris and two Brians explored a novel route to Oakington and Histon. And it was in Histon that we pulled in for refreshment at the Station House Café. Open these past two months, the coffee and cake were top notch and the service very good too; we shall return. The Station House, Histon Back on the bikes we followed the guided busway back to Cambridge and on to Shelford, clocking up some 25 miles in all.  Lewis, Alan, Hilary, Chris and Brian 25 miles clockwise: Shelford - Trumpington P&R - Grantchester - Coton - Madingley - Dry Drayton - Bar Hill - Oakington - Guided busway - Histon Station House - Cambridge North
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Anglesey Abbey

A fine September morning saw Chris, Lewis, Gordon, Alan and two Brians labouring up the hill to Fulbourn, en route to Bottisham, Lode and Anglesey Abbey. Pulling in for coffee and cake at the National Trust tea room, we enjoyed the view across the Abbey Gardens before setting off on the return leg via Ditton Meadows and Cambridge Riverside. 25 miles anticlockwise: Shelford - DNA path - Worts Causeway - Fulbourn - Great Wilbraham - Little Wilbraham - Bottisham - Swaffham Bulbeck - Anglesey Abbey - Stow cum Quy - Newmarket Rd P&R - Ditton Meadows - Riverside - Cambridge Station - Shelford
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Monday in Milton

 Alan, Lewis, Gordon and two Brian's - Yorkie and Brummie - set off for Grantchester, Cambridge and Milton, where we pulled in for coffee and cake at the café in the country park.  Refreshed, we made the return leg to Cambridge via the towpath along the river, clocking up 22 miles as we returned to Shelford.  22 miles clockwise: Shelford - Hauxton - Trumpington Meadows - Grantchester - Grange Rd - Garret Hostel Bridge - Market Square - Jesus Green - Chesterton Church - Cambridge North - Milton Country Park - Riverside - Cambridge Station - DNA path - Shelford 
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Ouch!

Ten miles into our Monday outing, Gordon - poor chap - was stung on the face by a wasp. Stout fellow that he is, he pedalled on and, by the time we pulled in for coffee at El Cafecito, he had quite recovered his composure. Otherwise, it was a pleasant ride and we clocked up some 25 miles zigzagging our way around the nearby villages. For the record, the turnout was: Alan, Chris, Jeremy, Brummie Brian, and poor old Gordon - who took it on the chin (or more precisely, the cheek). A 25 mile, back and forth route taking in Whittlesford, Newton, Thriplow, Fowlmere, Foxton, Fowlmere, Chrisall Grange, Duxford, Whittlesford and Sawston
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Dodging the showers

The forecast was for heavy showers, but we thought we'd take our chances; Alan, Gordon, Jenny, Jeremy and Brian, hoping for the best but dressing for the worst. The gamble paid off; it did rain - but only while we were safely inside the café at Burwash Manor. And judging by the flooded roads we encountered in Harston it must have been quite a downpour. Miraculously, we stayed dry, despite tempting fate by stopping for a picture in Haslingfield churchyard. The graveyard shift: Brian, Jeremy, Gordon and Jenny at All Saints, Haslingfield. Note the sunshine! 25 miles clockwise: Shelford - Newton - Harston - Haslingfield - Harlton - Eversden - Kingston - Toft - Hardwick - Comberton - Barton - Haslingfield - Harston - Hauxton - Shelford
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Wildlife photography

Chris, Gordon, Jeremy, Lewis and two Brian's set off on a sunny August Monday, destination Willingham and the excellent café there at the auction rooms. Along the way, Jeremy managed to creep up on - and photograph - a heron at close range, quite a feat in hi-viz lycra. We speculated it might be one of those plastic herons you can buy in garden centres but - as you will see below - it was real enough. Ardea cinerea, the g rey heron to you and me, fishing in the Cam 31 miles clockwise: Shelford - Trumpington - Grantchester - Grange Rd - Eddington - Girton - Oakington - Longstanton - Willingham - Rampton - guided busway - Chesterton - Riverside - Cambridge Station - busway - Shelford
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Head for the hills

With an all male turnout - six mature, grizzled types - Monday's ride scored none too highly on diversity and inclusion. Pausing for a breather atop Coploe Hill Moreover, compared with recent outings, this one was hot and hilly. Labouring our way up to Littlebury Green, much puffing and panting, not to mention the odd oath, was heard from the rear of the peloton. And there was little in the way of refreshment for the first 20 miles, so it was with relief that our gang of six - some of them looking distinctly pink - pulled in at Duxford Community Centre for coffee and cake. Refreshed and revived, we made short work of the return leg - thankfully just 5 miles - to Shelford. Brian promises a flatter ride next week. 25 miles clockwise from Shelford: Newton - Fowlmere - Chrishall Grange - Elmdon - Littlebury Green - Ickleton - Duxford - Whittlesford - Shelford
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The morning after . . .

After a heavy night watching England go down to Italy on penalties, it was good to put the weekend behind us and get the wind in our hair, riding out to Ickleton and making the long climb up to Elmdon. Cruising back down towards Fowlmere was a delight, all the more so as we called in at El Cafecito for coffee and cake. For the record, Monday's peloton comprised Alan, Jenny, Jeremy, Hilary, Lewis and two Brians - and we clocked up a respectable 24 miles. 24 miles clockwise: Shelford - Whittlesford - Duxford - Hinxton - Ickleton - Elmdon - Chrishall Grange - Fowlmere - El Cafecito - Thriplow - Newton - Shelford
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A sourdough outing

Realising we were passing the posh bakery, quick as a flash, Hilary was off the bike and into the shop, emerging moments later with an artisinal sourdough. "That's my lunch sorted," she said, popping it in her voluminous saddle bag. Six of us - Alan, Hilary, Jenny, Lewis and two Brians - were passing through Eddington, mid-way to Girton on our regular Monday morning jaunt. The Eddington architecture - Cambridge University's new development - isn't to everyone's taste, but the area around the lake is very pleasant, dotted as it is with some interesting artwork installations, including the reflective Pixel Wall .  Pausing for reflection at the Pixel Wall, Eddington Heading back to Cambridge along the cycleway from Girton, we had planned to stop on the riverside at Kerb Kollective - but alas it was closed. (Subsequent enquiries reveal it's being refurbished and will re-open). So instead we carried on to Mill Road where we pulled in at Hot Numbers. Sitting out
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A good soaking

The photos are misleading; sunny skies over Elmdon gave way to blustery squalls at Duxford, so blustery indeed that the tables outside Café 19 were upended and the parasols blown away. Brian H made a dash for home while the rest of us sheltered under the eaves of the Community Centre. Ultimately there was no avoiding a soaking and we all arrived home looking like drowned rats. We are truly an all weather club! Admiring the view near Elmdon Before the deluge
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