Ride Report by Ian A
Due to a late sick note by Doug, it was only Mark and Chris who met at PC on a chilly but dry morning. The 8degC that welcomed them was a particular shock for Chris as he was heard to say (on several occasions) “It was 26degC when I left Spain yesterday”. Needless to say he received little sympathy throughout the day. So the duo set off from PC for the ride to the Chequers pub in Hainford, a new venue. They picked up Ian and Andrew at Gresham Church which saved Ian a couple of miles as he continues to ‘take it easy’ on his injured knee.
The route took us via Aldborough, Calthorpe and onto Colby where we picked up Graham. We were expecting rain on the homeward leg and the rest of us had the de rigeur full mudguards, so it was a surprise to see Graham riding naked in that department… (However, maybe he got it right – more anon!) From Colby we skirted Banningham/Felmingham then via Swanton Abbot and Badersfield and towards Frettenham, before turning north to Hainford and the Chequers pub.
Despite arriving around 11:50am, the pub was open and we received a warm welcome albeit a cold table. But the sandwiches and burger were good and the tea/coffees hot. The Moongazer ale was a treat for a couple of the riders, too.
Mark assured us it was due to rain heavily at 2:45pm so we set a target of leaving the pub by 12:45 (which we nearly achieved) and agreed to lop a couple of miles off the planned return leg too. Whether it was the beer, but Mark couldn’t seem to get his bike computer to work properly after lunch and as we were reliant on him for the ‘sneaky shortcut’ I was frankly a bit concerned.
Anyway, his head and his head unit resolved themselves after a mile or so. From Hainford we headed north to Buxton and Brampton, where Graham left us to head back to Cromer. The remaining 4 riders took the Burgh Road into Aylsham and the Cromer road out. Shortly after leaving Aylsham we found the road closed due to ongoing Hornsea power cable works but we managed to walk our bikes around the immovable barriers via the flattened mud in the field, so we were soon on our way again.
Taking the small lane by the River Bure across Itteringham Common we made good progress to Itteringham and continued north to Matlaske. The skies looked fairly optimistic by now so it seemed we might stay dry after all – good call Graham on the no mudguards set up!
At Matlaske Ian and Andrew said farewell to Mark and Chris, heading to Plumstead to pick up the original route and back to High Kelling via Hempstead and Selbrigg Pond. Mark and Chris continued on to North Barningham and back to Sheringham via PC. Unfortunately Chris managed to get a rear puncture just after the corners at Barningham Winter, so after checking he had a pump & tube, he was abandoned as the black clouds moved in. So, Chris comes back from sunny Spain and straight away snatches the lead in the Puncture Challenge with an impressive 5 flats, Andrew will be mad.
Most of us got back home around 2:30pm just as some very light rain was starting. It rained heavily in High Kelling at exactly 2:45pm. As predicted by Mark…
PC to PC was 42.3 miles @ 14.7mph
Riders: Andrew B, Chris S, Graham A, Ian A, Mark M, with Ian & Andrew covering 47 miles @ 14.3mph
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 16th October – Deepdale Café, Burnham Deepdale
Saturday 19th October – Biagio’s, East Rudham
Routes for rides on the website under Dates and Destinations: https://nnwheelers.co.uk/club-runs/
Visit the Clubs Runs Gallery for larger and more photos: https://nnwheelers.co.uk/club-runs/club-runs-photo-gallery/
North Norfolk Wheelers 