Yes, where indeed. So let's begin at the beginning which is, in fact, when it started to go . . . wrong? pear-shaped? There could in fact be a case for saying that the ride began to go wrong before it had properly begun at all. There were 21 of us enjoying the sunshine outside The New Green Centre in downtown Thurston, talking amongst ourselves, when Peter called us to order and announced that he had a plan. Justin Wllace and Mark Harris had sections of the route to enable the plan. We were to go the National Trust tea room at Wicken Fen.
Mark Harris has, in the last few weeks of being a regular Mercrediste acquired enough local expertise to suggest that we use his normal route of Heath Rd and over the railway line to join the cycle path to Bury, brushing aside Justin's reservations about the road surface with a robust riposte and a loud laugh.
It can take quite a while to get 21 riders riding. Conversations at the back of the class can mean that some won't realise that the leaders are already in the saddle and heading down the road. Some will still be busy texting, and have a message to finish. As I was near the station car park I could still see several red jerseys up at the NGC. Right at he island, past the Post Office (and our dear old Bus Stop rendezvous) to hang a right into Heath Road. A polite gentleman unwittingly held open the crossing gate for a cyclist - and got stuck with another nineteen.
Did you spot something there? rider missing? yup. Sharon fell off her bike while starting out, leapt back on, gave chase, went the wrong way, couldn't see anyone - texted a chum in the group who shouted to the ride that we lacked a rider. We wondered what had been said, what was the delay. Gradually the news filtered to the front, plus a probably garbled account of the measures being taken to reunite Sharon with the group. By now we were spread fairly evenly between the crossing and the main road which made communication even more difficult. I think (maybe unfairly) that there was an element of confusion about where we were in relation to the errant Sharon. Whatever the reasons, we lost at least twenty minutes. The front riders had obviously been champing at the bit, because once we were under way a pretty vigorous pace was set along the cycle path. Justin did a good impression of one of the Cesenatico cycle guides by standing in the road as we all crossed at the Rougham junction. On, on, on! (copyright Gino Ginelli).
Down Mount road, two cars overtake, and do the unfortunately usual (these days) manoeuvre of charging at an oncoming motorist forcing him to stop. Then we see the stationary traffic. The next two cars to overtake obviously haven't absorbed this, swerving in and stopping just in time for us to swerve out ride past them. Crazy. Why the queue? A bus has hit a taxi and a car and swerved into a wall in Mustow street. (I later discover that this happened at 07.20 bus driver unhurt, Taxi driver with chest injuries.) Justin negotiates with the policeman at the junction for permission to proceed as far as the turn to Ram Meadow, and a wiggle through the back lanes to Northgate St., and On, on, on.
The energy at the front shows no signs of calming down as we rip up to Barrow - Ron & Tricia on the front. They now have the bit between their teeth, not responding to gasped requests to ease the pace a bit. Through Denham, left to Ousden. Reach Ousden and wait - half our number are missing. Julia opts for continuing on her own (for a ride without interruptions, no doubt). After 10-15 minutes, we have regrouped. It's not entirely clear what the problem was; it seems to have been a mixture of mishaps & mechanicals. We set off to descend through the village. If only it could be that simple; a small truck appears from the left, and Sharon, Dawn, Tony, Garry, Rob and your correspondent have to wait. As we six finally join the road, Garry (who took part in a sponsored 'side to side' ride earlier this year) tells me that he thinks his saddle might have dropped down a bit because he hit a bad pothole, and could I tell him if his rear tyre looks soft? We roll along towards the descent then notice that the other 14 riders are quite a way ahead.
"We'll check your seat post when we regroup at the bottom "
I said, optimistically.
They didn't stop. Well, one of them (Chris Wiseman) did. Now, I'm the one writing this and even I have lost track of how many riders there are left. So let's just take a moment to go through this methodically:
We were 21 at the start.
At Ousden Julia J goes off on her own. We are 20 riders
Glenn Morris is missing (he quite often needs to be home early, so we don't worry - but maybe we should?***) Now we are 19 riders
The 'lorry-split' yields a group of 6 chasing 13.Mark Harris has, in the last few weeks of being a regular Mercrediste acquired enough local expertise to suggest that we use his normal route of Heath Rd and over the railway line to join the cycle path to Bury, brushing aside Justin's reservations about the road surface with a robust riposte and a loud laugh.
It can take quite a while to get 21 riders riding. Conversations at the back of the class can mean that some won't realise that the leaders are already in the saddle and heading down the road. Some will still be busy texting, and have a message to finish. As I was near the station car park I could still see several red jerseys up at the NGC. Right at he island, past the Post Office (and our dear old Bus Stop rendezvous) to hang a right into Heath Road. A polite gentleman unwittingly held open the crossing gate for a cyclist - and got stuck with another nineteen.
Did you spot something there? rider missing? yup. Sharon fell off her bike while starting out, leapt back on, gave chase, went the wrong way, couldn't see anyone - texted a chum in the group who shouted to the ride that we lacked a rider. We wondered what had been said, what was the delay. Gradually the news filtered to the front, plus a probably garbled account of the measures being taken to reunite Sharon with the group. By now we were spread fairly evenly between the crossing and the main road which made communication even more difficult. I think (maybe unfairly) that there was an element of confusion about where we were in relation to the errant Sharon. Whatever the reasons, we lost at least twenty minutes. The front riders had obviously been champing at the bit, because once we were under way a pretty vigorous pace was set along the cycle path. Justin did a good impression of one of the Cesenatico cycle guides by standing in the road as we all crossed at the Rougham junction. On, on, on! (copyright Gino Ginelli).
Down Mount road, two cars overtake, and do the unfortunately usual (these days) manoeuvre of charging at an oncoming motorist forcing him to stop. Then we see the stationary traffic. The next two cars to overtake obviously haven't absorbed this, swerving in and stopping just in time for us to swerve out ride past them. Crazy. Why the queue? A bus has hit a taxi and a car and swerved into a wall in Mustow street. (I later discover that this happened at 07.20 bus driver unhurt, Taxi driver with chest injuries.) Justin negotiates with the policeman at the junction for permission to proceed as far as the turn to Ram Meadow, and a wiggle through the back lanes to Northgate St., and On, on, on.
The energy at the front shows no signs of calming down as we rip up to Barrow - Ron & Tricia on the front. They now have the bit between their teeth, not responding to gasped requests to ease the pace a bit. Through Denham, left to Ousden. Reach Ousden and wait - half our number are missing. Julia opts for continuing on her own (for a ride without interruptions, no doubt). After 10-15 minutes, we have regrouped. It's not entirely clear what the problem was; it seems to have been a mixture of mishaps & mechanicals. We set off to descend through the village. If only it could be that simple; a small truck appears from the left, and Sharon, Dawn, Tony, Garry, Rob and your correspondent have to wait. As we six finally join the road, Garry (who took part in a sponsored 'side to side' ride earlier this year) tells me that he thinks his saddle might have dropped down a bit because he hit a bad pothole, and could I tell him if his rear tyre looks soft? We roll along towards the descent then notice that the other 14 riders are quite a way ahead.
"We'll check your seat post when we regroup at the bottom "
I said, optimistically.
They didn't stop. Well, one of them (Chris Wiseman) did. Now, I'm the one writing this and even I have lost track of how many riders there are left. So let's just take a moment to go through this methodically:
We were 21 at the start.
At Ousden Julia J goes off on her own. We are 20 riders
Glenn Morris is missing (he quite often needs to be home early, so we don't worry - but maybe we should?***) Now we are 19 riders
At the Cropley Grove cross roads we six meet Chris Wiseman, who's waiting to take Sharon & Dawn right, down to Dalham and home. So that makes 4 chasing 12.
Except that, as I slow to hear what Chris is saying, Tony whooshes past leading the other three .
Which means that we are 1 chasing 3 chasing 12. Tony's pace is such that I can't close the gap. And he's just had his 77th birthday, for heaven's sake.
Now, only a few of the 12 know where Wicken is, and maybe 3 know a route to get there. I know both these things, but the three in front of me don't know either (To be fair Rob has an inkling, I later discover) so it is fortunate that the sharp-eyed Garry spots the group a quarter of a mile down the left turn signposted to Saxon St and Woodditton, which causes the three to pause which allows me to catch up. Regrouped, we start the chase. I miss the right turn to Broad Green and Saxon St, meaning we whizz down through Upend and then go right. Probably adds three miles. Writing this, I have OS map sheet 154 at my side. This is how I know how I went wrong (but got back on course)
Left in Saxon St, through Woodditton to Stetchworth where left at the pub down to Dullingham. At this point, on any ride in this direction, I imagine that we are pretty close to Swaffham Bulbeck (we're usually going to Anglesey Abbey) This time, however, I notice that it is five and a half miles, so must be at least fourteen to Wicken. I don't say anything. The wind is quite strong - but that's OK because so are Tony and Garry. I tried doing a turn alongside Garry before Woodditton, but had to give up, Tony steamed past to take over. Still a long way to go, perhaps I'll recover? Or get worse? And get dropped again? Read on to find out. On, on, on.
Once across the A1304, there's a bleak, exposed and undulating couple of miles to Swaffham Bubblepack, then right to Swaffham Prior then left onto the locally-notorious Upware Fen Rd. This suffers from the subsidence inevitable when you cross a bog (or Fen). Great cracks appear, sections drop by an inch or so. Without a good lookout this can be a wheel smasher. I organise a chain gang, since we now have a full head wind; after a few changes we begin to get a rhythm, with just under 1mph difference between the 'up' and the 'down' files. Poor Garry's sub-optimal seat post height takes its toll. He starts to miss turns, then pulls over to make the adjustment. "How far to the Café ?" asks Rob, hopefully
(I haven't a clue) "Could be as much as four miles, I'm afraid"
"Oh, only it's twenty to twelve already"
(I've just checked the map, and it was actually just over five) We arrive at the Café at about ten to twelve, to a warm welcome and some good natured badinage. They've only beaten us by ten or fifteen minutes. We feel quite heroic, and Tony (pictured left) actually was - still pulling through strongly,
right to the end. At one stage I pointed out that he and I, the oldest riders, were doing most of the work. That woke the other two up, who came powering through to take up the chain again (a chain reaction?)
After scones (made to order. Peter Heath's order) and tea we set off for home. Of course, being this ride, we got split by the traffic when joining the road through Wicken - but had re-grouped by the village boundary (we must be learning). The fast (for cars) road to the roundabout south of Soham is best taken lined out, and Mark H put in a powerful cafe-fuelled turn on the front, some of us finding this a bit painful. After Fordham we did Chippenham, Red Lodge & Tuddenham. Pulling out at Tuddenham (always a bit tricky, with only 20yds visibility to the left) Mark moved across with two others, I launched only to hear Mark shout "NO!!". I had reached the white line in the middle, and saw a truck coming from the left. I stopped. He stopped. I got eye contact, waived an acknowledgement, and moved on, followed by the rest of the ride. It's all part of going for a bike ride.
When we reached the other side of Cavenham, where the ride turned left to Lackford, Mark and I went straight on to Poor Man's Heath. I wanted to test a theory that it was quicker/shorter to go via Bury, and Mark was going home to Gazeley. Because it was by now nearly two o'clock I thought that I should phone home. No signal. What? I could see the water tower 400yds away, its rim cluttered with mobile phone transmitters! When I got to Thurston, and the end of Heath Rd., where I cross and go through the barrier and up past the school, I glanced to my left. There they were, the rest of the bunch just entering the 30mph zone (all over the road, of course). So that's that settled . It makes no difference in time; it's down to how you feel, whichever route takes your fancy. Total miles for me 75. An interesting ride, and at least I didn't have to sit at the laptop desperate for inspiration. Thanks guys.
SJH
*** Update on Glenn. He stopped for a pee at Saxham - I remember this, he rode off the front to do so and we passed him as he was just dismounting, (which always happens when riders try this manoeuvre). He didn't get back on (this was bad luck, and seldom happens). I have never thought it a good idea to attempt to ride off the front for a pee (and haven't worked how you put in the effort required if you're desperate) apart from Glenn's misfortune, there can be times when other riders will mistake your move for an attack, and join you. And then they'll be really confused when you stop. And if you don't realise that they're there, and suddenly stop . . . then you could have a stack-up. Best Practice is to ride to the front and have a word. The group will stop. Others, who were too bashful to mention the subject, will take advantage of the stop and be grateful that you took action. But anyway Glenn . . . Sorry mate.
Once across the A1304, there's a bleak, exposed and undulating couple of miles to Swaffham Bubblepack, then right to Swaffham Prior then left onto the locally-notorious Upware Fen Rd. This suffers from the subsidence inevitable when you cross a bog (or Fen). Great cracks appear, sections drop by an inch or so. Without a good lookout this can be a wheel smasher. I organise a chain gang, since we now have a full head wind; after a few changes we begin to get a rhythm, with just under 1mph difference between the 'up' and the 'down' files. Poor Garry's sub-optimal seat post height takes its toll. He starts to miss turns, then pulls over to make the adjustment. "How far to the Café ?" asks Rob, hopefully
(I haven't a clue) "Could be as much as four miles, I'm afraid"
"Oh, only it's twenty to twelve already"
(I've just checked the map, and it was actually just over five) We arrive at the Café at about ten to twelve, to a warm welcome and some good natured badinage. They've only beaten us by ten or fifteen minutes. We feel quite heroic, and Tony (pictured left) actually was - still pulling through strongly,
right to the end. At one stage I pointed out that he and I, the oldest riders, were doing most of the work. That woke the other two up, who came powering through to take up the chain again (a chain reaction?)After scones (made to order. Peter Heath's order) and tea we set off for home. Of course, being this ride, we got split by the traffic when joining the road through Wicken - but had re-grouped by the village boundary (we must be learning). The fast (for cars) road to the roundabout south of Soham is best taken lined out, and Mark H put in a powerful cafe-fuelled turn on the front, some of us finding this a bit painful. After Fordham we did Chippenham, Red Lodge & Tuddenham. Pulling out at Tuddenham (always a bit tricky, with only 20yds visibility to the left) Mark moved across with two others, I launched only to hear Mark shout "NO!!". I had reached the white line in the middle, and saw a truck coming from the left. I stopped. He stopped. I got eye contact, waived an acknowledgement, and moved on, followed by the rest of the ride. It's all part of going for a bike ride.
When we reached the other side of Cavenham, where the ride turned left to Lackford, Mark and I went straight on to Poor Man's Heath. I wanted to test a theory that it was quicker/shorter to go via Bury, and Mark was going home to Gazeley. Because it was by now nearly two o'clock I thought that I should phone home. No signal. What? I could see the water tower 400yds away, its rim cluttered with mobile phone transmitters! When I got to Thurston, and the end of Heath Rd., where I cross and go through the barrier and up past the school, I glanced to my left. There they were, the rest of the bunch just entering the 30mph zone (all over the road, of course). So that's that settled . It makes no difference in time; it's down to how you feel, whichever route takes your fancy. Total miles for me 75. An interesting ride, and at least I didn't have to sit at the laptop desperate for inspiration. Thanks guys.
SJH
*** Update on Glenn. He stopped for a pee at Saxham - I remember this, he rode off the front to do so and we passed him as he was just dismounting, (which always happens when riders try this manoeuvre). He didn't get back on (this was bad luck, and seldom happens). I have never thought it a good idea to attempt to ride off the front for a pee (and haven't worked how you put in the effort required if you're desperate) apart from Glenn's misfortune, there can be times when other riders will mistake your move for an attack, and join you. And then they'll be really confused when you stop. And if you don't realise that they're there, and suddenly stop . . . then you could have a stack-up. Best Practice is to ride to the front and have a word. The group will stop. Others, who were too bashful to mention the subject, will take advantage of the stop and be grateful that you took action. But anyway Glenn . . . Sorry mate.
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