Ride report by Doug H
On a gusty, overcast Saturday morning, the returning Chris and Andrew were joined by Ian and Andy at PC. No Mark today—he had a shed roof to finish, and with the onset of wind and rain, that was probably the right choice.
Off they set through Gresham, and at Sustead they picked up Doug—or rather, Chris whooshed past with the cry of “Come on, no time to waste!” Clearly, Chris had been away too long and was in need of a good run out. This was confirmed later as he headed off into the distance, and we all nodded and let him go.
The route then took us south through Hanworth, skirting Aldborough, to Erpingham, through Ingworth, and on to the Blickling Road junction—where we had the first mishap of the day. Halfway across, Andrew threw his chain, which forced a sudden stop that left Andy on the floor and his mudguard shoved up into his wheel. Chain realigned and Andy brushed off with what he described as “a mere scratch,” we were off again. Andrew concluded that his manual gears were not quite as slick as the electronic version, and likely the cause of the incident.
We carried on north of Cawston, then to Wood Dalling, and south again until we arrived at our lunch stop—where we caught up with Chris. It’s worth noting that this first half of the ride was into the wind, so we were all looking forward to a nice tailwind home. Lunch at the Chrysalis Café was as good as ever.
Refuelled, we set off towards Lenwade, then to Elsing, and finally turned north out of the headwind to Bawdeswell. At this point Andy decided he’d had enough and headed home, while the rest carried on towards Foxley, then Guestwick, Edgefield, and Hempstead. Along this stretch, a number of impromptu races broke out, with Ian, Chris, and Doug sharing sprint wins. Some were left more broken than others and would pay for it the next day!
Ian then headed for High Kelling, Doug went off to Cromer, and Andrew and Chris returned to PC.
PC to PC was 63 miles at 15 mph.
Riders: Ian A, Andrew B, Andy S, Chris S, Doug H
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 24th September, Earle Arms, Heydon
Saturday 27th September, Café Verde, Mattishall
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 