Monday, 03 January 2011
Ian writes: With a break in the recent Arctic conditions, it was a joy to be "all systems go" for the first afternoon ride of 2011.
I dusted down my trusty Ribble, inflated the tyres, and set off from home, finding it was an almost odd sensation to be looking out over green fields after a couple of weeks of whiteout. This was the first time I'd ridden a bike in a while.
Today's tea was close to Cambridge, in Great Shelford, so a gentle loop of the South Cambridgeshire villages was going to suffice today after the period of inactivity.
Seven riders were waiting at Brookside: a respectable turnout for January. We had sunny intervals but the temperature was still only around two degrees.
We headed out of Cambridge to Barton, turning left to Haslingfield. With little wind we made decent progress. Car traffic was also relatively light. From Haslingfield, we made that famous right turn over the Col de Chapel Hill for the day's only significant undulation. The reward of the
wheeeeee down the other side was as welcome as ever, albeit a little chillier around the ears than usual.
From here we turned right in Barrington and headed up to Orwell before turning left to Meldreth. From Meldreth we headed to Shepreth, Fowlmere then Thriplow. Teatime was now approaching, so we took a direct route via Newton and the Shelfords, where the day ride and a few others were waiting.
Door to Door, a modest but welcome
29 miles on the clock.
Ian DriverView this GPS track on a larger map