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No coffee at Balsham

Monday morning saw Hilary, Chris, Alan, Lewis and two Brians pedalling out of Great Shelford, headed for Balsham where BrianC had assured us of refreshment at the Old Butchers Coffee Shop.
24 miles clockwise
It was a leisurely start, along the cycleway to Sawston and thence on to Babraham. There followed some upper body exercise as we hauled the bikes up and over the A11 footbridge between Babraham and Abington; not a problem for those of us on pedal bikes, but Hilary's e-bike required considerably more man-handling.

Our next challenge was the long ascent from Hildersham to Balsham, but the prospect of coffee and cake saw us crest the hill in anticipation and roll up in front of the aforementioned Old Butchers Coffee Shop. Alas, it was closed for refurbishment! BrianH suggested trying the Black Bull - where we similarly drew a blank. Humph! What's the point of a ride leader if he can't even organise a coffee stop.

There was nothing for it but to make the descent into Linton where - glory be - we were warmly welcomed by the ladies at the Linton Kitchen. Sitting outside, we sipped our coffee and samplied some excellent cakes while swapping stories of school governorship. Several of our riders bear the scars on their backs from that experience.

Back on the bikes, we headed for Hildersham and Great Abington, from where we took the cycleway alongside the A505 back to Babraham and on home, clocking up some 24 miles in all.

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