Ride report by Neil M
Four wheelers met at PC on a cool May Saturday morning. The week had been showery, windy and cold, but Saturday was forecast as dry and slightly warmer. This turned out to be accurate and the brief spells of sunshine were actually quite pleasant once the initial chill had faded.
The outbound route was straight down the Matlaske road to Saxthorpe then along the Little London road to Town Close where Andy joined the group at the bottom of Heath Road. From there the route continued to Wood Dalling, Guestwick, Foulsham and across the Fakenham road to Bintree.
From Bintree we took the back lane to Billingford and then a brief section on the Kings Lynn road before turning off to Worthing (with the obligatory bridge stop) to follow the old railway line to Hoe and Beetley. Rather than orbit the cafe through Gressenhall village we made directly for the Mardler’s Rest, our scheduled lunch stop. We were expecting to meet Graham A at the cafe, but there was no sign of him at first. He arrived as we had mostly finished, so there was only time for a brief chat.
The cafe was fairly quiet, so we speedily ordered food (including the obligatory and excellent Quiche, chips and beans for some of us) and settled down for lunch. The main topic of conversation was dodgy builders that various Wheelers had employed and how the ensuing disasters had been put right. Talking of disasters, Doug managed to fling the contents of his serving tray all over himself as we got up to leave. Fortunately the food had been eaten and there were no breakages!
On leaving the cafe the route briefly detoured south through Sparrow Green before striking north through Whissonsett, Colkirk and then turning east across the Fakenham road to Great Ryburgh. Mark’s usual wave at the bridge traffic lights was effective at changing them to green and the climb up to the Norwich road was taken at a steady pace.
From the Norwich road the route continued on through Stibbard, Wood Norton and past the old Foulsham airfield where an attack of the killer flints stopped progress by hitting Mark with a puncture. It proved tricky to get the little arrowhead out of the tyre, a brand new GP5000, but once it was prised out the rest of the repair was as slick as usual and we were soon ready to depart. At this point we were surprised to see Ian cycling towards us, so we remained for a chat. He had just got back the preceding day from a holiday in Norway and was a bit too tired for a full club ride, but was keen to get out for some air.
Leaving Ian to continue his ride we carried on to Craymere Beck, Briston and up the hill to Edgefield where Neil and Andy left on the downhill run to Edgefield Street, Corpusty and home. The remaining trio carried on to Hempstead, Baconsthorpe and Red Barn Lane where Doug headed to Gresham, Cromer and home. Mark and Andrew continued to PC to complete the ride.
PC to PC was 59.3 miles at an average 15.3 mph (15.4 Out, 15.1 Back)
Riders: Mark M, Andrew B, Doug H, Andy S, Neil M and Graham A at lunch.
Graham A sends a report on his recent cycle trip to Holland via the Harwich ferry.
My trip to the Netherlands was enjoyable, more so than last time as I had less learning to do. I had four full days over there using public transport: tram, metro and bus on two windy days to go to Rotterdam. On one of those days I went on a long water bus trip to Kinderdijk to see all its windmills, a tourist hotspot. I cycled two days, the first day with heavy baggage in the Westland area, the second time on the fourth day on mostly the dunes route, to Schevenigen, a Brighton like resort for Den Haag (The Hague). The weather was perfect, apart from the wind, and I was able to eat al fresco at cafes/ restaurants. No supermarket food this time for me.
There is still much to do and see over there and I suspect I may return. My b&b was the same as last time down to the same room and bed. Expensive but excellent with breakfast included.
Upcoming Rides –
Wednesday 20th May – Binham Parlour
Saturday 23rd May – 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 