Ride report by Ian A
A very cold morning but no frost greeted our merry band this morning. And the roads were generally dry (apart from the usual farm mud in places). In full deep winter gear, 4 Wheelers met at PC and arrived in a chirpy mood to collect Ian at the Selbrigg Road junction at High Kelling. The conversation was hard to discern as Doug had brought a bag of spanners with him (“Don’t worry it’s just excess chain wax and it’ll crumble off”) and Andrew (with a last minute bike change and a dubious rear tyre which fortunately stayed inflated) had collected some noisy mud in his front mudguard. The route took us past Selbrigg Pond (a pair of pochards (ducks) were seen there last month apparently) then through Hempstead and crossing the Norwich road and up Rectory Road to collect Neil at the old White Horse junction at the top of Edgefield. Neil also had some noisy ‘mudguard mud’ and various mud sticks were employed during the ride to quieten things down – not to mention save a few watts.
The intrepid 6 then continued on good roads to Briston, skirting Heydon, back across the Norwich Road and onto Blickling, Ingworth and Banningham, arriving with perfect timing at The Crown just before midday when the food service begins. A wise route reversal by Mark had ensured this! (Chris carried on without lunch as he needed to get home early.)
The rest of us received a warm welcome inside the Crown and there was a nice fire going. Fortunately the table next to the fire was reserved as that might have been a bit too comfortable! But a nice table in an alcove kept us out of harm’s way and the tea/coffees plus beer & cider (no names) arrived promptly, soon followed by hearty brunches/lunches and large ciabatta sandwiches. All very tasty. After lunch we saddled up and headed on to Felmingham and Antingham where we crossed the mainline railway, turned sharp right and continued on to Bradfield, Trunch, Southrepps and Northrepps where soon after we bid farewell to Doug who headed back to Cromer (and in fairness to him, he’d left behind his bag of spanners much earlier on the ride).
The remaining 4 continued on to Metton and Gresham Church where Mark and Andrew continued on the route back to PC, while Neil and Ian turned left up the hill towards High Kelling. Neil soon took the left turn towards the Barninghams to head back to Corpusty, leaving Ian to continue back to High Kelling.
PC to PC was 47.3 miles at an average of 14.4mph
Riders: Andrew B, Chris S, Doug H, Ian A, Mark M, Neil M
Reminder that Membership Fees are due if not yet paid: https://nnwheelers.co.uk/membership/
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 22nd January – Warham Horseshoes
Saturday 25th January – Chrysalis Café, Sparham Hill
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 