Sunday, 01 September 2013
Graham writes: I was first to arrive at Brookside for this Sunday's all-day ride which was good since I'd volunteered to lead it. Iain, who was trying his first ride with the group, arrived soon after me with a completed guest form. Then regulars Zhiqing, Gareth, Klaas all arrived in due course. Steve called me back at 9.01am just as we were heading off and quite rightly suggested we should pause for just a couple more minutes. Hence our little loop within Newtown on the GPS track!Steve establishes the whereabouts of ripe plums in Horseheath
Amply fed with cakes we set off again at about 11.30am losing Gareth in the process as he needed to head back. Crossing the main road at the southern end of Howard's Lane (via a short footpath) we rode up the slope to Cardinal's Green. The nature of the ride began to change at this point, on the plus side the sun had come out and the day was becoming very pleasant indeed, on the minus side one of our group was clearly struggling with the "hills" and the fickle wind that seemed to blow from a variety of directions.Klaas climbing away from Steeple Bumpstead
Shortening the route to lunch was the only sensible option so we headed SE to Steeple Bumpstead then South to Finchingfield where we encountered many cyclists participating in the Essex 100. There was also a gathering of motorcyclists in the village most of whom were well behaved but one or two were using the B1057 as a racetrack.The route between Debden and Saffron Walden
After Saffron Walden we endured the B184 for a time before dropping down to Great Chesterford and arriving for tea at 3.30pm at the Riverside Barns at Ickleton. In a way it was good to give this resurrected establishment our custom and we enjoyed tea, cake, and an interesting chat by the waterside.