Friday, 15 July 2022
Greg writes: "Deliver Us..."One up on my last write up which quoted Julian of Norwich, we now have the Lord's Prayer. What on earth (or in heaven) has this to do with a bike ride? Well the obvious start to discussing a ride on 14th July is Bastille Day & co. but who wants obvious? No, today's ride was held in glorious celebration of a famous movie…..a trip to the Deep South to explore the depths of the human psyche and its capacity for evil and for true comradeship (that's the ride I'm talking about.) Which movie? Haven't you guessed yet – the 50th anniversary of the release of the film Deliverance – manic banjo playing, swirling rivers and an eco message lost somewhere in the dark heart of mankind's animal instincts – a perfect fit for a CTC Cambridge tribute ride!
We gathered at The Square and Compass in glorious sunshine though the anticipated high of the day was a very pleasant 24C and not the sweltering 37+C that is forecast for next week. We were very excited to see that Simon had arrived in his 'French' cycling top (well Belgian actually but the writing was in French). A nod to the other anniversary – the 233rd of the storming of the Bastille – so to Simon for his sartorial efforts we say 'Chapeau'.
Also at the start were Sharon, Sheila, Ed, Edmund, Phil, Richard, David and Rachel.
Richard arrived breathlessly at 9.30am exactly – some cock and bull story about stepping on a shard of glass and needing said splinter removing before he could leave home. The pristine white socks he was wearing may have raised some suspicions as to whether or not the extent of the injuries had been slightly exaggerated but we forgave him and duly got ready to set off.
But no – not so fast. There was a crisis – this time genuine and far more serious than a mere puncture wound. Sheila couldn't find her lippy! After some frantic searching said balm was found and we could now head off – phew!
We went through to Little Shelford where a somewhat flustered Susan was approaching from her house and executed a graceful U-Turn to join the party. She was probably on Canadian time still following her recent wild camping exploits in the far North – another link to our tribute act as she regaled us through the day of tales of the Great Outdoors in North America. Wild bears, snowdrifts, trowels for digging your own loo, food deprivation and wet clothes – even setting fire to her boots in an effort to dry them out! What a write up that would have made at school…'And what did you do on your holidays?'
We headed to Whittlesford and then made a sharp left to follow the cycle track through to Sawston thence onwards to Babraham. After hauling ourselves and our machines over the we then went to Abington. Here a change of plan was required. This ride had already suffered from losing the original coffee stop and lunch venue so a further change was nothing to worry about. This time we were reacting to Edmund's timely intelligence which had informed us that the Abington to Hildersham back road was closed due to water main works. Well of course it is – after all they put a new layer of chippings down only 4 weeks ago – guaranteed to need digging up already!
So we detoured through Abington onto the back road and emerged at the 1307 where they are building a new set of lights. Us cyclists are already benefitting from a safer crossing point and when the final works are completed this will be much better for us.
Now we were back on course as we headed up hill towards Balsham. Once at the top we paused in the lay-by to permit us to regroup but Edmund suggested taking a few on to the café since it was quite close. Rule #1 is 'Don't split the group' – hasn't he seen the film? It's a bit like – Don't go up the stairs with a dodgy torch to search for the suspected intruder/rapist/ghost. Anyway – all the best films require the rules to be broken so Edmund duly led the first half onto coffee. The second half followed a few moments later – seems like we got away with it!
The Old Butcher's is a firm favourite with the club and it's easy to see why. Good cakes, coffee and space to sit outside. By this time though must of us were grateful for the shaded nook they had – outside but in the cool. Discussion was wide ranging – Ed wanted to talk about the Tory leadership contest – but the rest of us seriously sought Deliverance from that. He had to be trussed up to keep his silence – politics is bad enough at the best of times but this was a more daunting a subject than we could manage (aaah, enough! Ed)
Sheila lightened the discussion somewhat by revealing her sheer pleasure at her new toy. She is so thrilled at its pink colour, slimline looks and that she can take it to bed and it vibrates when required. Well of course we knew she was discussing her new Apple watch and its alarm function – what were you thinking about?
So a slimmed down group headed off together – the remainder left to do rides of their own. We bade farewell to David, Phil, Susan and Rachel at this time and the res of us headed towards Linton.
We got across the 1307 again and headed through Bartlow and then commenced the long drag up hill. Some two miles of gaining height but today we had the wind behind us. This road to Helions Bumpstead is frequently ridden by the club – but seldom in this direction. Relatively traffic free we could enjoy a glorious downhill wizz after the long ascent. We soon went over the staggered crossroads and were now on the four-mile lane down to Finchingfield – the road that passes Jamie O's Spain's Hall. Simon announced this is one of his favourite lanes to ride – smooth tarmac, traffic free – we do aim to Deliver what the members want.
We emerged into Finchingfield – looking as pretty as ever in the sunshine (the town, not us!) We couldn't stop – not for us ice cream on the green as Sheila had enjoyed a week ago, she announced. We went left up the sharp hill and then right to follow a delightful loop of quiet lanes which, after a short, sharp and nasty steep section eventually emerged at Great Bardfield. A half-mile uphill stretch then took us to The Blue Egg for lunch where most of us sat outside for sandwiches with the Old Goat
Afterwards we then went indoors to join Ed, where he was enjoying a rather attractive quiche and chick pea salad and we all bought drinks. The discussion ranged across many diverse subjects as is the CTC way. Progress so far, childen's poor table manners, the Tory Leadership election (an attempt by Ed to restart the conversation but he was once again thwarted) and Sheila then gave us all a good laugh with one of her legendary 'You'll never guess what I did' tales…
Well, on Monday she went for a ride into town for coffee with friends. Sitting with said friends at the café dressed in her cycling togs was deemed a fashion nono so she popped a dress on over some cycling shorts for her two-mile ride into town. On arriving at a set of lights she attempted to step down from the bike and got tangled up in the dress and proceeded to fall over – slowly, elegantly – nay even gracefully, we learned. We've all done it though few as balletically, I'll wager. No damage done except to pride but for the rest of the trip she thought it safer to tuck said dress into the back of her lycra shorts. Even as we speak we are seeking any CCTV evidence of this new fashion trend – pictures to follow (hopefully!)
We departed at 2pm and the advantage of this lunch venue is you start off with a one-mile ride downhill into town. However, we then got stuck into the long haul to Thaxted – the road winds away in the distance as it rises and falls. Harvest was well underway either side of but we were at just the right temperature since although the sun shone intermittently through the clouds the headwind at least kept us cool (the only good thing ever to be said about a headwind, methinks!)
We regrouped in Debden for the last effort that would bring us to Saffron Walden and then a break from straight into the wind. Simon called for a brief stop at Tesco Express for some emergency sustenance – he had opted not to go feral and live from the land. There is only so much wild outdoors that you can take – ask Susan.
We then cut the corner and avoided the middle of Saffron Walden to emerge on the Audley End Road. After passing the big house we joined the new cycle path for the dangerous corner and crossing the road and then hauled ourselves up Chestnut Avenue to Catmere End.
A pause here before we tackled Coploe in reverse – no, not cycling backwards just done in the opposite direction from how we normally do this road. At the top of Coploe there was a discussion over whether we should go straight ahead at the bottom and take the direct route back but Sharon wanted (insisted, demanded, required, ordered) us to take the route via Hinxton to ensure we Delivered the full 98 km 61 miles plus. Actually she asked very nicely, of course, and it was our very great pleasure to force our tired and aching limbs to do her bidding!
So it was we went through Hinxton and over the ford and round through Duxford. The crossing of the A505 at this time was somewhat fraught – the traffic gets no lighter – and we can only hope eventually for an enhanced crossing point here as they have done at Hildesham. Until then we simply waited for a suitable gap.
Through Whittlesford and a stop after the Bees in the Wall for the group to subdivide. Greg passed leadership duties onto Edmund (thanks for your help) for the final couple of miles to Shelford as he headed off home via Newton.
All in all a great day for a ride. A trip to the Deep South and a chance to explore what really matters in the characters of people – comradeship, humour and shared effort. Some 98 km 61 miles and 813m of climbing all duly Delivered! Greg
(P.S. Watch Deliverance if you get a chance – it's a Good'un)