The first Monday of September saw a record turnout - twelve Spokers - head down, bound for Anglesey Abbey and the obligatory stop for coffee and cake.
 |
| Pausing for a breather at Great Wilbraham |
Along the way Jeremy introduced us to a new off-road, woodland trail around Marleigh - a housing development near the airport - and on the return leg we pulled over at Great Wilbraham for a photo opportunity.
 |
| 24 miles clockwise |
There's twenty-odd cafés within easy cycling range of Shelford - and we've been to most of them. But having only visited The Stove once before, we thought it was high time for a return visit.
Slap bang in the middle of Bourn village, it's a delightful little place with plenty of seating indoor and out. Where better to sip coffee, munch good cake and catch up on everyone's holiday tales.
Refreshed, it was back on the bikes for the 11 mile return trip to Shelford.
For the record the turnout was Lewis, Graeme, Jenny, Jane, Hilary and three Brians. Well done, team!
And for reference, there's a list of all our favourite cafés here.
.jpg)
.jpg)
 |
| Bourn and back, 23 miles |
Monday's ride took us on a 22 mile jaunt around the solar system. Stretching from Midsummer Common along the River Cam to Waterbeach, the Our Place in Space trail features scale models of the sun and planets recreated as art sculptures – an arch housing each planet with its name on an illuminated sign above.
 |
A blue planet on a very brown Midsummer Common |
 |
| Preparing for take off |
 |
| Brian showed some reluctance to leave his home planet |
 |
Jane & Jim visiting Mars |
 |
| Chris at Neptune . . . |
 |
| . . . and Pluto |
 |
| 22 miles with a coffee stop at Waterbeach |
Sometimes we end up farther from home than expected. The return leg of Monday's outing to Oakington took us past Saturn where, naturally, we stopped for a photograph.
 |
| Jeremy, Hilary, Alan and Brian; way out in the solar system |
It was one of the installations along the Our Place in Space art trail that's currently visiting Cambridge. Stretching some five miles along the river from Midsummer Common to Waterbeach, it provides some perspective on our little bit of the cosmos.
 |
| Saturn as viewed from the Chisholm Bridge |
Back on earth we clocked up 24 miles and enjoyed coffee and cake at the Station House, Histon.
Maybe next week we'll tour the whole solar system.
 |
| 24 miles (plus a space warp) |
There was some consternation at Cambridge Station when the guard said he would only take six bikes. He already had two on board and our lot would bring his total to eight. Oo-er! But Jeremy's gifts of persuasion worked a treat and we were soon on our way to Ely, albeit with a warning not to test the guard's patience again. Our lesson for next time is to catch the more capacious London to Ely train rather than the smaller, more restrictive Cambridge to Ely.
 |
| Lewis and Hilary - with Ely Cathedral in the background |
Disembarking at Ely we took to the bikes and turned southwards on Sustrans Route 11 which would take us all the way back to Cambridge, mostly on farm tracks and quiet roads.
It may only take sixteen minutes by train but you can imagine it takes a bit longer on two wheels, especially when you haves to hump the bikes up and over the occasional fenland footbridge; but at least it's flat.
 |
| Pausing for a breather at Burwell Lode |
Along the way we stopped off at Wicken Fen for coffee and cake, returning home in time for a late lunch.
 |
| Chief negotiator, Jeremy |
 |
| 25 miles from Ely to Shelford |
Why bother with the bridge when there's a perfectly good ford? So wondered Jeremy and Tom as, to prove the point, they pedalled across the stream not once, but three times while the rest of us looked on from the bridge.
Given the heatwave, Monday's ride was short - just seven miles - and really just an excuse to visit the superb new café at Stapleford Granary.
 |
| A shady spot at The Granary |
 |
| Stapleford - Sawston - Babraham - Stapleford: a short, hot ride of 7 miles |
Five miles into Monday's ride and Lewis, Jeremy, Tom, Philippe and two Brians were contemplating the new sculpture outside Cambridge Station. Ariadne Wrapped was unveiled only last week by sculptor Gavin Turk and his pal, Al Weiwei, as an exploration of a classical figure that invites the audience inside a larger metaphysical maze. Well, quite.
 |
| Ariadne Wrapped |
Perplexed, we continued on to the river and followed the towpath to Milton where, over coffee at the country park café, we quizzed Philippe about living in Reunion - and Tom revealed he had visited the Indian Ocean island not once but five times, to compete in the scary sounding Megavalanche race down the mountainside.
 |
| Paddleboarders at Milton Country Park |
Back on the bikes we headed for Cambridge North Station and our second art installation of the day, Hercules Meets Galatea. Less challenging than Ariadne Unwrapped, Galatea's poise and digital production imply power and perfection over Hercules' somewhat shakier manifestation. We kinda get that one.
 |
| Tom and Jeremy admiring Hercules while Galatea in the background looks on |
Setting off homewards via the Chisholm Bridge we completed the return leg via Grantchester, Trumpington Meadows and Hauxton, from where we followed Jenny's Path back to Shelford.
We clocked up a total of 21 miles. Well done, team!
 |
| Brian and Philippe |
 |
| 21 miles anticlockwise |
Ten miles in to a twenty three mile outing and it was high time to pull in for refreshment. And there's nowhere more attractive to sip coffee, munch cake and generally put the world to rights than the terrace at Madingley Hall. Its only drawback, magnificent place though it is, it can take the hard-pressed staff half an hour to serve eight coffees.
 |
| The terrace at Madingley Hall |
The conversation over coffee was wide ranging: Trollope v Dickens, favourite poets*, and was Better Call Saul the best thing ever on Netflix?
Refreshed and back in the saddle, we made the return leg to Shelford via Comberton, Harlton and Haslingfield.
For the record our peloton comprised: Ann, Lewis, Janet, Jenny, Jeremy, Hilary and two Brians.
 |
| 23 miles anticlockwise from Shelford to Hauxton, Trumpington Meadow, Grantchester, Coton, Madingley, Comberton, Harlton, Haslingfield, Harston and Newton. |
Needing very little excuse to pause while puffing our way up a hill, this time it was Paul's yell of "Knapweed broomrape!" that brought us to a standstill on the - admittedly very gentle - ascent between Shelford and Newton. Dismounting, we gathered around as Paul pointed to a brown spikey plant on the vergeside, explaining that it was a parasitic wildflower. Containing no chlorophyll, it steals its nutrients from the Greater Knapweed host, without which it cannot survive. Fairly common in the dry, calcareous areas near Cambridge, it's often found in road verges, quarries and railways.
 |
| Knapweed broomrape |
Hilary, Jeremy, Lewis, Paul and Brian had set out earlier on a 23 mile circuit taking in Newton, Thriplow, Fowlmere, Chrishall Grange, Elmdon, Ickleton, Duxford and Whittlesford.
The outing also saw us try out a new coffee stop, Duxford Lodge. Very keen to encourage the cycling trade, they even promised us free cake on our next visit. We shall definitely return there!
Brian
A sunny bank holiday Monday saw Alan, Lewis and two Brian's setting off on a 30 mile loop to Willingham and back.
 |
| Crossing the Cam on the Chisholm Trail bridge |
 |
| Shelford - Trumpington - Grantchester - Grange Rd - Eddington - Girton - Oakington - Longstanton - Willingham - Rampton - Guided busway - Cambridge North - Chisholm Trail - Cambridge Station - Shelford |
There is no easy way to approach Elmdon. Eight miles south of Shelford and just over the Essex border, it's a stiff climb whichever way we go. Wikipedia sums it up nicely, 'the hilly topography of the area differentiates it from countryside to the north, which is predominantly fenland and flat'.
 |
| Brian and Alan, wobbling and panting their way to the top . . . |
 |
| . . . but it's worth it for the view |
Freewheeling back down the hill, we stopped off at El Cafecito for coffee and cake before returning via Thriplow, where the daffodils were still much in evidence.
For the record, Alan, Chris, Hilary and two Brians - Yorkie and Brummie - made it to the summit and back, clocking up 23 miles along the way. Well done, team!
 |
| 23 miles anticlockwise from Shelford |
Monday morning saw nine riders head off from Winners for a 25 mile tour of the villages south and west of Shelford, visiting Harston, Haslingfield, Barrington, Shepreth, Meldreth, Melbourn, Fowlmere, Duxford and Whittlesford.
 |
| 25 miles anticlockwise |
Chris, Alan and two Brians slogged up the hill to Balsham for coffee and cake at the Old Butchers, pausing only to take a picture of Alan cruising past Linton water tower.
Caffeine levels restored, we freewheeled back down the hill to Abington, dragging the bikes up and over the A11 footbridge before returning via Sawston.
 |
| 22 miles: Shelford - Stapleford - Sawston - Pampisford - Great Abington - Hildersham - Linton - Balsham - Little Abington - Babraham - Stapleford - Sawston - Shelford |
What better way to kick off the new year than exploring the newly opened Chisholm Trail and its landmark features: the Newmarket Road underpass and the gleaming new bridge over the River Cam.
 |
| The new Cam crossing - with the old railway bridge in the background |
So it was that seven riders set off towards Cambridge for the first outing of 2022. Picking up the new trail at Coldham's Common, we followed the impressively wide cycleway past the Abbey Stadium - Brian H here raising an arm in salute to his favourite team - before diving under the busy Newmarket Road and thence on to the magnificent new bridge over the Cam, where we paused for a photo opportunity.
 |
| Chris, Brian C, Janet, Paul, Brian H and Alan |
With Cambridge North close by on the other side, it was here we picked up the guided busway heading for Histon and Cottenham where, alas, our leader pulled up with a puncture. Fifteen minutes - not to mention much effing and jeffing - later, Brian was reinflated and back on the road, leading the way to Landbeach and thence Milton.
Our plan had been to pull in for refreshments at the café in the country park, but as this was chock-full of families enjoying the tail end of their Christmas holiday, we thought it best to press on, retracing our route via bridge, underpass and common, before heading home by way of Cherry Hinton Hall Park.
 |
| 25 miles clockwise |
All agreed it was wonderful to have a new cycle friendly route across town - and we look forward to seeing the next phase of the Chisholm Trail materialise in the near future.