Clubrun reports - 11th August

Category 6 ride led by Kevin McPheat

After learning that using Strava to 'edit' a route was a disaster, I decided to create the route myself, which is easy enough if you don’t get too ambitious. Route saved and downloaded to my phone, and the phone strapped onto the handlebar with some elastic bands added, as the last time, it went flying when we went over the railway crossing. With two water bottles and two bandage plasters in my kit, I was now ready to be a ride leader!

Luckily, clever clogs Tony downloaded my route and published it for the Garmin lovers. After expecting to see no one at the start because of the Norfolk effect, I was delighted to find Leigh waiting there. Then along came Kevin, Adrian, Bruno, and Jayne. So, no 'Billy no mates' for me! At 08:30 (to avoid some of the heat of the day), off we went to do the reverse ride from December’s and/or March’s Mill End Plants ride, which I believe was designed by Carolyn. Thank you, Carolyn.

Up the A10 and west at Old Hall Green Road, which was newly surfaced with that horrible tar and loose chippings, Bruno and Kevin decided to take a different route to avoid it, while the rest of us just ploughed through. After we reassembled, it was a pleasant ride through the villages, followed by a very nice downhill ride to Westmill and then on to Buntingford. We rode through Buntingford, back round past the egg station, and then headed up to Mill End No. 1, sweeping northwest to Sandon, and then south to Mill End Plants café.

After we were fed and watered, we headed south and then southeast to Great Munden, passing some lovely lavender fields. The sun started to peek out a bit, but luckily, after a while, it popped back in again. We then headed down towards Dane End, ready to face the great White Hill. Adrian peeled off here to Hertford, and the rest of us paused and mentally prepared for the climb while Bruno just got on with it and rode past us. After we reassembled at the top of White Hill, we recovered while riding down to the A10 and then onwards to Ware, pausing at the Sow and Pigs to say our farewells before departing on our final leg and disbanding.

A cold shandy was welcomed by the rookie ride leader at the High Oak Pub. 

The Tour de Broads report, written by Tony Dos Santos

The weather forecast was to be hot hot hot. Everyone, except me, had elected to  stay at a hotel the night before ride. 

I set off in my car at 5 to get to Norwich at about 7:30, planning a food stop. Things didn’t go to plan as when I arrived, as I had to wait thirty minutes to get into the car park. Arrival time was 8. 

All set up, I went to meet Carolyn, Pete, Graham, David, Davina, Di (Davina’s friend), Daniel and Ian. For some reason they wanted to meet me by the toilets! We met up with another couple, Tom and Alicia, who we knew from the year before on the TdB and had kept in touch. It was decided that we were going to go round this route and take in the atmosphere, taking shed loads of photos. 

We rode off at 8:36 and the sun was already blazing, yes blazing down. Everyone had applied the sun tan lotion - it was like having a layer of plastic on you. Nonetheless, we rode off happy as sand boys and girls. 

I had not realised the route had been reversed from last year and was scratching my head as to why nothing looked familiar on the ride out. However, Carolyn put me straight, being the aficionado and routemaster of all cycling. 

We enjoyed good banter and the lovely weather. We were about fifteen miles into the route, when Tom phoned me - his crank had fallen off. He had phoned the emergency number and would try and catch us up with Alicia. About twenty minutes later, he said they would take ages to get out to him, so Alicia said she would meet us at the food stop. By then we were only three miles from the first stop. 

We got to that stop, which was twenty one miles in at Horning - yes, I did chuckle at the name. We consumed lots of cake and crisps  and after about thirty minutes, Daniel confirmed he had eaten five, yes five, bags of crisps. Can you believe it, a honed athlete like Dan. Claire, as normal, took about eighteen fudge brownies. Carolyn was sitting in the shade as she didn’t feel protected from the sun with her factor 800 sun cream. We were all enjoying the sun, when Alicia turned up looking like she had run a marathon. Sweat was pouring off her, having obviously smashed her way so fast to the food stop. 

Once fed and watered, we set off into the searing heat - it was like being in the Savanna, but with no sand and not in a foreign country, lol. 

Daniel and I  had broken this ride down into “when’s the next food stop stages”, the next one being only another twenty miles away and being the supreme athletes we are, we knew we could make it! 

At mile twenty three, we went by David’s caravan park, where he had hitched up, I was tempted to go in and see Lois and have a cuppa as the heat was intense. Had I mentioned it was hot? If not, I apologise. It was hot! 

The peloton was starting to become somewhat discombobulated as there was a lot of traffic on the roads. Pete had decided to split the pack. We had ridden through some heavy traffic and when we got to a country lane, we re-unified and were one again. 

Carolyn became blinkered and, her head down, rode off into the sunset. Did I tell you it was hot! Hence saying about the sunset. We got to a right turn and BANG, yes BANG - Graham's chain had wedged between the chain ring and the frame. I went over to help and it was truly stuck. We got a tree branch (might be an exaggeration) and after ten minutes had unstuck the little blighter and were on our merry way. By now, obviously, everyone had ridden off into the sunset. Did I tell you it was hot? Well it was. 

Playing “catch up”, Ian decided we were going to smash it and catch them all up. Unfortunately, Ian had been watching the Tour de France and Graham and I  could not keep up. Ian, luckily backed off. 

After a few miles more, Pete was waiting at the end of a road. It was in a little village called Filby. As we entered there was a plethora of amazing coloured flowers. We got the other side of the village and decided to turn back to get photos of the place. Absolutely amazing!

We were now miles behind everyone else. I would have called them the peloton, but, yes they were the tete de la course! 

We got to the last food stop and by then the sun was blazing down, yes blazing down so hard, everyone was diving for cover in the heat wave! Did I say it was a tad warm? As we were chatting, Alicia said “did you see the zoo”? What! There was a zoo and we missed it! Apparently there were peacocks and a lion there. It might have been because we were stuck behind a combine harvester for about a hundred miles (a little exaggeration).  

We were now fed and watered again, and Daniel had eaten his eight hundredth pack of crisps. We were about to ride off but Davina needed a wee, Carolyn’s face was a picture, we had planned this one :-). 

The tete de la course shot off after this stop. However, I had one ace up my sleeve for a picture - we got into a little village called Beighton, where Alicia told me, there was a big pot with pencils in it just down the road. As we got there I slammed on my brakes, not believing we were in the land of the giants. Obviously, we took a picture. 

The last few miles in the desert like temperature of 800 degrees Kelvin had taken its toll on Alicia and cramp was setting in. Nonetheless, we persevered in the heat. Tom, who had his bike fixed, was for the last ten miles, there to help her.

We rolled in a tad late, but who cares eh. We had ridden, over 56 miles, through the “Great Heat Wave of 2024”

Part Deux! 

David and Lois had kindly invited us all back to their caravan for fish and chips. Pete, Carolyn and I duly accepted the invitation and popped down. It was getting a bit late, so it was decided that Pete and I would go down the chippie. Food orders agreed, we popped down and ordered. A fight then ensued about who was going to pay. We wrestled on the chippie floor but I had my card out and, reaching up to the counter, touched the reader. I had won the battle of “La Chippie”. Pete, looking bedraggled and now knowing I was actually better than him at something, went off to a local shop to buy a bottle of Coke, his tail between his legs! 

We got back to David and Lois’s caravan and enjoyed the meal. Carolyn stole a chip of mine and said “oh they’re nice”, I gave her “the look” that any man gives someone where food is stolen, yes, stolen from their plate. Also, if you know Carolyn, you know she doesn’t like chips. Well, we can now well and truly put that myth to bed, as she does indeed like chips, as long as they are someone else’s! 

After we left David’s, I arrived home at 9 in the evening, somewhat shattered and burnt because of the heatwave, nay,the great heatwave of 24’! 

This was NOT written on the throne, but in the back garden the day after the frivolities and such a good laugh. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. 

Love and kisses. Tony.