Ride report by Ian A
With the weather set fair again a massed gathering of seven Wheelers met at PC for the ride out to Reepham. It was good to see Duncan there for his first ‘start’ since 2024. And also Barry, again down on holiday from Leicester.
The shade would provide some welcome relief from the sun on the route which took us up Red Barn Lane then down the hill to Gresham, through Metton and across Hanworth Common and the c-c-cattle g-g-grids. We then turned south through Alby and Erpingham. At the Village Hall, Ian suggested we could stop for an early coffee/cake at their regular Wednesday morning fundraiser. This was met with mixed enthusiasm, and notably vetoed by one person who said ‘no time, too early’ but over lunch found time for a second coffee while some of us were ready to leave! Honestly… Anyway, after the briefest of pauses we continued on past the Village Hall and on to Ingworth, skirted Blickling and went via Cawston, gave Brandiston and Swannington a wide-ish berth and through the pretty Witchinghams, swinging north to Reepham, reaching the Dial House Cafe after 30 miles.
It was good to see Brian and Graham already there and enjoying their lunch in the sun. Some of us joined them and the rest of us took another table. There was some fruitless fettling by Ian to move a sunshade/stand with some practical advice by a charming group of ladies i.e. “Why not sit at the other table that HAS a sunshade?!” Obviously being blokes we chose to ignore that. Though in hindsight…
The savouries at the Dial House are tasty but limited, however the cakes are good so we feasted on ham/cheese rolls, scones, cakes & pastries, with Barry having the World’s largest cheese straw. The coffee is good, and may explain Chris’s second cup. A nasty habit he must have picked up from his recent continental trip as he’s usually a tea man.
We waved Brian and Graham off and once Chris (and Andrew to be fair) had drunk their refills we mounted up for the return leg. After a demonstration of ‘clipping in’ to one of the aforementioned ladies we set off into a gentle headwind for most of the return journey. We went along the Kerdiston Road to Guestwick, then on to Briston. The lanes had been particularly sandy and gravelly after last weekend’s storm so we diverted from the planned route though Briston/Horseshoe Lane and stuck to the Holt Road. At the Stody junction Duncan took the direct route back to Holt via Hunworth. The Boy Done Good. The rest of the Peloton continued on to Hunworth via Stody. And then came the Hunworth Road climb to Edgefield. Chris and Andrew set the early pace with Ian on their wheel. Where was Mark? Plotting an attack? For once, it turned out not. Chris started to flag allowing Andrew and Ian to get ahead and with a powerful surge, Ian went past Andrew and showing good pace was a clear winner at the summit. Mark saw the action from the back of the bunch (well he had led us out most of the day) and it seems that Barry (85+ years old if he’s a day) beat not only Mark but Chris to the top too. So this confirmed that after three weeks off the bike and a TT the night before, it can catch up with you. But even so. 85?…. After a brief chat and allowing a particularly large tractor/trailer combo to come past us, Andy turned off to head back to Corpusty and the remaining five continued down Rectory Road and then to Hempstead. Mark suggested we stop at Selbrigg Pond which always holds some interest. But again, Chris was having none of it and he, Andrew and Barry continued on to PC via Lower Bodham and West Beckham. Mark and Ian enjoyed a very pleasant few minutes enjoying the scene at Selbrigg Pond. Nice swan and lots of dragonflies and damselflies. The waters were clear and enabled us to see er, ‘fish’. Probably Roach and Rudd but we were randomly just spouting names we knew. Stickleback? But there was a ‘significant’ pike lurking near the bottom of the pond. Probably a good 15″ nose to tail and certainly bigger than Barry’s cheese straw. After about as much exciting nature as we could take, we headed up to the Selbrigg Road junction where Ian turned left for High Kelling and Mark made his (lonely) way back to PC. An excellent ride if a bit sketchy on the sand/gravel in places and some disjointedness in the ranks. We don’t know if Barry beat Chris back to PC.
PC to PC was 51.8 miles at an average speed of 15.4 mph
Riders: Andrew B, Andy S, Barry, Chris S, Duncan S, Ian A, Mark M (Graham A, Brian P lunch only)
Upcoming Rides –
Saturday 21st June – Poppylands, Horsey
Wednesday 25th June – Binham Parlour (Breakfast)
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 