Monday, 20 November 2023

An emu encounter

We do occasionally encounter a deer, hare or fox during our rides, but large flightless birds are a rarity. So imagine our surprise on Monday when, cycling through the old Abington Land Settlements, we were brought up short by a loud grunting noise and there on the other side of the fence was an emu. As you can see, it wasn't camera shy. 

Which one is behind bars, Brian or the emu?

Leaving emu behind, we climbed the hill to Balsham where we pulled in for coffee and cake at The Old Butchers. Refreshed, we cruised back down the hill to Abington, hauled the bikes up and over the A11 footbridge and made short work of the return leg to Stapleford and Shelford.

For the record, the turnout was eight Spokers, namely Hilary, Jane, Jim, Jenny, Jeremy, Lewis and two Brians.

Balsham and back; 24 miles