23 Jun: Afternoon ride to West Wratting

Neil writes: I was joined at Brookside by three members, including one relatively new member trying out the Sunday ride for the first time. Four is a smaller than average group for a Sunday afternoon ride in June; no doubt people had been put off by the unfavourable weather forecast, though in the event we saw practically no rain. I led the group out of Cambridge past the funfair on Midsummer Common, then to the river and along the familiar route of NCR 51, making good progress with the wind behind us.

At Swaffham Bulbeck, we turned right and and shortly arrived in Dullingham (passing a game of polo along the way). This brought us to within 5 miles of our destination, so we made a loop through some of the villages of east Cambridgeshire – Stetchworth, Woodditton, Kirtling, Great Bradley and Carlton. The terrain here is a little less flat than around Cambridge, and the west wind was more noticeable as we turned toward West Wratting.

Just past Carlton Green, we had a mishap – my rear wheel went flat, and inspection revealed that the tube had punctured through a hole in the tyre. I replaced the tube, using a piece of toothpaste tube (carried for this eventuality) to line the tyre. After the repair was done, we continued, and arrived at the Chestnut Tree to find four members from the all-day ride waiting for us.

After an excellent tea at the Chestnut Tree, we returned home via Six Mile Bottom and Stow-cum-Quy. My distance for the day was 46 miles. Neil Spenley