Ride report by Ian A
On a chilly but dry and soon to be sunny day Mark and Chris set off from PC to pick up Ian at High Kelling for the ride to a Wheelers’ staple – Norton’s cafe & bar at Little Walsingham. Neil had meant to meet at PC too, but Doggy Daycare duties meant he was delayed leaving home and made his own way to Norton’s.
The route from PC went via West Beckham, kissing Bodham before cutting down to Lower Bodham and the Selbrigg Road/A148 junction at High Kelling where they met Ian. No kissing. The threesome went over the NNR bridge and on to Wiveton, Glandford, Saxlingham and Field Dalling. Between the last 2 villages a low flying skein of 100+ pinkfooted geese flew over, honking away and lit underneath by the low bright sun it was a lovely sight. Ian slowed to admire them and as a result ‘lost the wheel’, which cost him a small reprimand later. Tough school! Ian caught up with watts to spare and at Binham we bumped into Harvey who turned round and joined us for a couple of miles for a natter. I’m pleased to report that Harvey was in fine fettle, is racking up significant mileage and looked good, riding one handed up a hill with us (well OK, a slight incline) and easily holding a conversation. (Form is temporary but class is timeless, they say…) The remaining threesome continued to Copys Green, where again, Ian ‘lost the wheel’ by dint of following the route and not taking a small but sneaky shortcut – instigated by Chris. Again, this earned Ian a small reprimand later on, but he’s pretty sure he retains the moral high ground…
At Great Walsingham Mark elected (as ever) to cycle through the ford crossing the River Stiffkey, while Ian & Chris elected for the foot/cycle bridge. No dramas. Swinging into Little Walsingham we found Norton’s very quiet inside with a few tables reserved and laid with Christmas crackers, but there was a large table where Neil was already seated. The food was generous as ever, but Mark had opted for the ‘complicated’ fish finger sandwich & chips and the waitress told him there’d be a 10 minute delay as they had a large party upstairs. Well, the 10 minutes was clearly to allow someone to pop over to Wells and fish something out of the sea as it was probably 20+ minutes before said sandwich arrived at the table. But it was mighty. Mark managed it with ease though, and even his cake seemed to slip down nicely too.
After the rest of us put the world to rights whilst Mark ate, we departed. The route back took us initially via Houghton St. Giles, crossing the Stiffkey again – deeper and muddier this time so we all opted to walk our bikes over the bridge. No submerged and/or lost pilgrims were spotted. We made good progress to Great Snoring and Hindringham (helped by a general tailwind on the way back) but when we turned up Bale Road it was badly flooded again. Mark elected not to ‘give it a go’ and ‘show true leadership’ as he did last winter where he came to rest half way through the flood, up to his knees in water. So we sensibly turned round and went along the Thursford Road, turning for Gunthorpe and on to Sharrington where we picked up the original route and went via Brinton, Stody, Hunworth and up the Hunworth Road to Edgefield (crossing the River Glaven this time) with Mark beasting us all up the climb. (Chris must have dropped his chain or something as he was a good few seconds behind when we all reached the top.) From Edgefield we crossed the B1149 Norwich Road and on to Plumstead where Neil diverted back to Corpusty to make his day worthwhile and not get back toooo early… Shortly after Neil had peeled off, Ian diverted back to High Kelling via Baconsthorpe and Selbrigg Pond, leaving Chris and Mark to continue back to PC via Bessingham and Gresham, and then home to Sheringham.
PC to PC was 48.5 miles at an average speed of 14 mph.
Riders: Chris S, Mark M, Ian A, Neil M
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 18th December – Stables Café, Blickling
Saturday 21st December – Watsons, Bacton
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 