Woken by wife at 0700; "you might want to go on the ride today, it's not raining and the temperature is above freezing". I don't need asking twice, when it comes to this sort of suggestion. It is on a par with "shall we open another bottle?" "fancy lunch at [fill in name of restaurant here]?" and "How about an early night?"
Down at the Bus Shelter, there was a decent group of eager bikies, and the usual discussion of destination. Justin wanted to call in at his Cycling Tailor, at Elmy Cycles in Ipswich; Tom-Tom had the route. Decision made. Wind not quite in the ideal quarter, but nothing we hard riders couldn't cope with.
Those setting out were Peter H, Justin, Tom-Tom, Ed Bucknell, Richard Balaam, Sharon, Simon Bourne, Ron Fisher, and SJH, the weather, though dry and warm-er (or -ish) was very definitely grey (or gray). The route was straightforward, via Tostock and Elmswell, then Haughley New Street and the 'old' A14. No deviation, in fact, from roads that had, in their heyday been trunk roads that still were wide but now largely quiet, and the surface not as robust as it had been in their youth. At the junction with the A140 (in fact its inception) we negotiate the huge traffic island, and take the A14 slip road - but nip off left before the big road begins. T-T leads us, as before, on a complicated route first made up of run-down suburbia, then mean-looking streets (Policeman Simon reassured us that theses areas were absolutely fine, so long as we kept moving) followed by the more prosperous areas near to whichever Park we passed, and finally bringing us out a few yards from Elmy Cycles, where I took the
"does my bum look big in this?" photo of Justin. After a short while considering various alternative garments, and ordering another (it may have been only half an hour) we repaired to the Café at DanceEast (called DanceEats - geddit?). 
Here Ron and I had bacon baguettes (Ron reminded me that this was what we had so much enjoyed on our last visit). T-T was dismayed that he'd forgotten, and ordered only a scone. My Cappuccino was so finely presented that I just had to record it .
As we left the café, it had begun to drizzle - which accentuated the usual impact of leaving the warmth and security of tea stop. We set off on the same, complex, T-T route home that we used the last time that I came to Dance Eats, including the set of steps leading down to an underpass beneath the A14 that leads to Sproughton. Apparently, long, long ago, T-T lived in Sproughton , and this was his commute route (in reverse, obviously). Conquered personal demons and rode down the steps. Wasn't noticeably quicker than walking, but way more thrilling. A straightforward journey via Needham and Stow Markets, Onehouse and Woolpit (except that I took a left at Borley Green to join my short cut home) produced a 52 mile total which, added to my (frighteningly low) total for Feb so far of a mere 80 means a huge leap forward; and considerable fatigue. Well OK, "tired but happy" probably covers it -or "you look dreadful" as Susan put it. SJH
Down at the Bus Shelter, there was a decent group of eager bikies, and the usual discussion of destination. Justin wanted to call in at his Cycling Tailor, at Elmy Cycles in Ipswich; Tom-Tom had the route. Decision made. Wind not quite in the ideal quarter, but nothing we hard riders couldn't cope with.
Those setting out were Peter H, Justin, Tom-Tom, Ed Bucknell, Richard Balaam, Sharon, Simon Bourne, Ron Fisher, and SJH, the weather, though dry and warm-er (or -ish) was very definitely grey (or gray). The route was straightforward, via Tostock and Elmswell, then Haughley New Street and the 'old' A14. No deviation, in fact, from roads that had, in their heyday been trunk roads that still were wide but now largely quiet, and the surface not as robust as it had been in their youth. At the junction with the A140 (in fact its inception) we negotiate the huge traffic island, and take the A14 slip road - but nip off left before the big road begins. T-T leads us, as before, on a complicated route first made up of run-down suburbia, then mean-looking streets (Policeman Simon reassured us that theses areas were absolutely fine, so long as we kept moving) followed by the more prosperous areas near to whichever Park we passed, and finally bringing us out a few yards from Elmy Cycles, where I took the
"does my bum look big in this?" photo of Justin. After a short while considering various alternative garments, and ordering another (it may have been only half an hour) we repaired to the Café at DanceEast (called DanceEats - geddit?). 
Here Ron and I had bacon baguettes (Ron reminded me that this was what we had so much enjoyed on our last visit). T-T was dismayed that he'd forgotten, and ordered only a scone. My Cappuccino was so finely presented that I just had to record it .
As we left the café, it had begun to drizzle - which accentuated the usual impact of leaving the warmth and security of tea stop. We set off on the same, complex, T-T route home that we used the last time that I came to Dance Eats, including the set of steps leading down to an underpass beneath the A14 that leads to Sproughton. Apparently, long, long ago, T-T lived in Sproughton , and this was his commute route (in reverse, obviously). Conquered personal demons and rode down the steps. Wasn't noticeably quicker than walking, but way more thrilling. A straightforward journey via Needham and Stow Markets, Onehouse and Woolpit (except that I took a left at Borley Green to join my short cut home) produced a 52 mile total which, added to my (frighteningly low) total for Feb so far of a mere 80 means a huge leap forward; and considerable fatigue. Well OK, "tired but happy" probably covers it -or "you look dreadful" as Susan put it. SJH
Only 80? Things will soon come back. was it your new-ish cartouche (or however it's spelled)you bounced down the stairs? Personal demons indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes it's spelled that way, and yes it WAS the one I bounced down the stairs
ReplyDelete