Ride report by Chris S On an overcast and cool Wednesday morning only three wheelers, Chris, Mark and Andy turned up at PC. Illness and golfing commitments accounted for the reduced numbers. With no rain forecast and a favourable tail wind the three set off.
The tail wind enabled a reasonably fast pace (average 15.8 mph) without too much effort. The outward route passed through Baconsthorpe, Edgefield, Briston, Hindolveston, Fulmodeston and Great Ryburgh. Just after East Raynham the route took the riders past the attractive estate grounds of Raynham Hall and onto West Raynham. The ride then passed the former RAF Raynham airfield which has now been converted to a massive solar energy farm although the control tower still stands and was visible from the road.
Arriving at Biagio’s just after 12 noon the trio sat down for a lunch of jacket potatoes with very generous fillings of tuna mayonnaise/chicken coronation and in Mark’s case coronation chicken sandwiches all washed down with tea. Only Mark had cake!
After the lunch the riders set out into a moderate head wind for the whole of the return leg via West and South Raynham. Whissonsett, Broom Green, Guist, Wood Norton and Guestwick. At Corpusty Andy dropped off heading for home leaving only Mark and Chris to complete the route back to PC.
Average Speed 15.2 mph Total Distance: 62 miles Riders: Chris S, Mark M, Andy S
Ride report by Doug H On what can only be described as a traditional ‘not quite sure what the weather is going to do’ Easter Bank Holiday Saturday, Mark, Chris and Andy met at PC. Setting off through Gresham they collected Ian and Neil. With Ian on the orange winter bike following a baffling issue with the pads of his disc brakes. However, he was adorned with his new varifocal, reactolite, side vented, smart looking cycling glasses. Very nice.
The group then headed off via Metton to upper Roughton Road to collect Doug who joined at the back of the group, which then headed into a cold head wind through Northrepps, on to Mundesley, Trunch, and Knapton. Shortly after the group were offered a short cut to lunch, but it was decided to complete the loop via Crostwight, Ridlington then back to Bacton. With the potential of not having a table at Watsons, we upped the pace and at arrival at Bacton, Neil made a dart for the last large table for lunch.
With great relief we arrived ready for lunch. With Ian forgetting his phone the emergency £20 was broken into and we commenced the ordering. Thank you Mark. One would imagine that ordering a mug or pot of tea for one for two, and a pot of tea for two should be relatively straight forward, but not for us. We managed in the end and was astounded at the size of the pot of tea for two, which was meticulously shared. We then endeavoured to eat our way through a very seasonal gift of mini eggs from Ian, who had now, with the impact of photo chromatic changes, began to resembled Austin Powers.
Lunch at a busy Watsons, Bacton 19th April 2025 L-R Doug H, Andy S, Ian A, Neil Mc, Chris S, Mark M
With lunch completed we began the return with the promise of a tail wind, which did its best to allude us. We set off through Edingthorpe, skirting North Walsham on to Briggate and Worstead. At around this point Chris experienced a wobble on his back wheel, and by the time it was diagnosed as needing a closer look, the remainder of the group was gone just leaving Chris and Doug to make the repairs. On inspection, a spoke had broken and with a quick use of a cable tie and a quick snip we were off again. However, with quite a wobbly wheel we slowly got back to the group. We continued on through Swanton Abbott, Skeyton, up to Colby and on to Erpingham. At which point we said goodbye to Neil and Andy, then up via Wickmere with Doug going right to Aldborough and Mark and Ian heading back to PC. A lovely day on the bike.
PC to PC 56.9 miles at an average 15.4 mph Riders: Chris S, Andy S, Mark M, Ian A, Neil Mc, Doug H
Just a reminder that the first TT is on the Pretty corner to Holt 10 mile course on Tuesday 29th April starting at 7pm. Guests are welcome (road or TT bikes with front and rear lights) and riders to sign on at 6.30pm in the Sheringham, Pretty Corner layby. You can pay online or £5 cash on the night. If you want to pay for the season or a half a season and get a permanent number please let us know (details below and on the TT website pages).
Please pay online (preferable) up to a week prior to the event or on the day. Payment is via Bacs and made to the club account stating ‘TT fee and rider surname’ in the comments. Cost is £5 (cash on the night (correct change) is also acceptable). Please make this payable to North Norfolk Wheelers, sort code 09-01-29, account no.19987590 (bank Santander). Numbers will be allocated on the day when you turn up to sign on and must be returned at the end. If the event is cancelled by us (e.g. road closure) your payment will roll over to the next event you enter unless you want a refund.
Members (1st or 2nd claim)
Members can pre-purchase entries for the season and obtain a fixed number (excluding hill climb) prior to first race in April 2025. This will be £3 per race (i.e the CTT entry fee). Due to a lack of marshals it is expected that on at least one event you are available to help marshal instead of ride. You will be allocated an event to help at, but if not available on that date then this can be changed. So for the 19 events (no charge for the marshalling event) during the year payment for whole season is £57 (or you can pay in two instalments one of £30 by April and second of £27 by July).
Ride report by Andrew B Five riders met at PC on a sunny spring but very windy morning for a run to Café Verde, Mattishall. The planned route took us through East Beckham, Little Barningham, Itteringham, Oulton, Cawston, Haveringland, Felthorpe, Attlebridge and Weston Longville.
Wheelers at The Wensum, Attlebridge 16-April-2025. L-R: Andrew B, Mark M, Andy S, Chris S. Ian A camera and non-conforming gilet…
The going was tough against the wind but Mark seemed unperturbed by this and lead most of the way. There were a few diversions to the route due to road works and the closure of Heydon park. On arrival at the Cafe we decided to go inside as the wind was cold. The service was good and the food excellent, with most opting for the all day breakfast except for Chris who stuck to his diet!
Lunch at Café Verde, Mattishall 16-April-2025. L-R: Andy S, Mark M, Ian A, Andrew B. Chris S camera.
The route back to PC took us through Clippings Green, North Tuddenham, Peaseland Green, Mill Street, Sparham, Wood Dalling, Thurning, Ramsgate Street, Baconsthorpe and West Beckham. However, it was decided to stop for Ice Cream at Dann’s Farm, North Tuddenham, after only three miles which was welcome and even better as Mark treated us all! Andy left us at Corpusty for home and Ian at Hill Farm. The remaining three continued back to PC. The days combativity prize has to go to Mark. Overall, a hard but great days ride.
PC to PC 58.6 miles Average speed 15.1 mph Total Elevation 2300 ft Riders: Mark M, Andrew B, Andy S, Ian A, Chris S.
Ride report by Neil Mc Four riders met at PC on a lovely morning. It was still a touch cool, but would warm up quickly in the unexpected April sunshine. Ian was feeling keen, so met us at PC rather than High Kelling despite us going through there later.
The breeze helped a fast run out through West Beckham, Bodham and across the A148 at High Kelling and down to Wiveton and Blakeney. We rode down by the quay to take in the ambience and grab a photo opportunity aided by a suspiciously proficient passer-by. We all sucked our stomachs in and tried to look sporting.
Blakeney 12th April 2025 L-R Neil Mc, Mark M, Ian A, Doug HBlue Sky at Blakeney, 12th April 2025 L-R Neil Mc, Doug H, Mark M, Ian A
We headed out of Blakeney toward Langham where we picked up Andrew at the end of his road. From Langham we took the coast route past the WW2 gunnery training dome and down to Stiffkey and back up the hill to Warham and down again to Wells (up and down hills was a feature of this ride). The planned route was via the quay, but the “carpark full” signs discouraged us and we pressed on toward Holkham Park instead.
The park was also busy with people enjoying the sunshine, but we were just passing through; in the East gate and out the West and on to our second seaside stop at Burnham Overy Staithe. The quayside was busy and there was an attractive little coffee van that was highly tempting, but Mark reminded us that the lunch stop was close so we pressed on to the outskirts of Burnham Market (aka Chelsea-by-the-Sea) and then on to Burnham Thorpe.
Tide out Wheelers in, Burnham Overy Staithe 12-April-2025. L-R: Andrew B, Ian A, Neil Mc, Mark M, Doug H.
A brief stop was made to admire the birthplace of Norfolk’s Hero, although the old rectory is long demolished so there is only an ornamental plaque to mark the spot now. And then on to the lunch stop at North Creake Abbey.
Burnham Thorpe, Nelson’s Birthplace. 12th April 2025
We found a nice outside table in the sun and shielded from the wind by an attractive olive tree in a pot. Food was ordered and quickly arrived. The sandwiches were agreed to be particularly good, with Doug stating it was the best gluten-free sandwich he’d ever had. High praise indeed.
The conversation ranged far and wide, touching on dental implants, golf, Ian’s sighting of an Adder (slightly trumped by Andrew’s Adder picture) and just what had Doug said to embarrass the young lady serving us. It was so pleasant in the sun that a second round of coffees was had before the depart, and then onward into the breeze that had been helping us until now.
The post-lunch route took an even hillier turn with the run through North Creake, North Barsham, East Barsham and Great Snoring. Past Great Snoring we stopped to watch an amazing sight of four hares in a field racing around together, jumping over each other and fighting energetically. “Mad March Hares” indeed.
The route continued on to Hindringham, up the lane that is always flooded (not today – just puddles) and on to Bale where Andrew left the peloton to make his way back to Blakeney. We continued on over the A148 and through Sharrington, Thornage and to Hunworth. Progress was then interrupted by Neil having a mystery puncture in his front tyre which meant a welcome interlude repairing it in the warm sunshine before the slog up to Edgefield. No-one felt like a race up the hill today, so we arrived at the top more-or-less together.
Neil left the peloton at the Old White Horse to make his way back to Corpusty, leaving the remaining 3 to head back to PC. Ian followed the route via Hempstead and Selbrigg pond back to High Kelling, while Mark and Doug saved a couple of miles by going through Baconsthorpe and the final split at Red Barn Lane.
PC to PC was 59.6 miles at an average 15.1 mph Riders: Mark M, Neil Mc, Ian A, Doug H and Andrew B.
Three Wheelers raced the Skoda Tour of Cyprus (with a bit of last minute training before) over three days from 4th to 6th April. This is a well organised event with a rolling road closure on nice smooth roads starting at Paphos Castle and tackling various climbs and fast descents between the coast and Troodos mountain. 37 countries were represented include some Brits from the military bases stationed in Cyprus. Nigel Walsh and Phil Hurr competed in the Medio Fondo, with Nigel winning his age group on the 2nd and 3rd days and qualifying for the world finals, with Phil winning his age group in the sportive group on all three days. Mike Padfield competed in the Gran Fondo, winning his age group in the sportive group on the 1st and 3rd days with 2nd on the Saturday and also qualifying for the world finals. A big shout out to Jon Maynard who was also there and rode up to the highest point of the race on Saturday to hand out bottles. The event ended at Paphos castle with a medal ceremony, food and drinks. Some stats for the week for the Gran Fondo and some additional riding before: Distance covered: 525km, Climbing 8500m, Time riding: 22 hours. Average speed on race day: 28.4 to 29.2kph Fastest speed: 75.2kph. 10,875 calories burnt. Keo Beers drunk around 30. Photos below:
San Jamie to Benissa/Castelli Loop Report by Chris S
Today’s ride report had to be written whilst supping a can of cold Amstel cerveza (sorry no San Miguel today!). The route was probably a little bit over ambitious particularly as the temperature reached 26/27 degrees C, blue skies with full sun and very little shade to be had.
Only one mad English man (note no dogs this time) set off in the midday sun (actually it was nearer 11am a slightly later start than intended due to having to wait for the rider’s Italian builder to explain where all his internal doors had gone and when they would be back, how he was going to fix the aircon unit which was lacking an electrical supply and when the gas boiler would be fixed!).
Anyway the route followed the usual initial 275 metre climb up to Benissa and then onwards though Xalo, Alcaldali and onto Benigemba. It was here that the fun started as the Garmin flashed up a climb alert – 590 metres in 9.71 miles with an initial gradient of 4%. However just past Castel de Castelli the gradient started increasing with 8% for the last two miles. The top, Puerto de Sa-Creueta (780 metres) was finally reached at a record pace of 3.5mph!
It was then a fast downhill run past the rather unusual Love More-Live More Budhist Centre(?) in the middle of nowhere followed by more climbing including another 200 metre climb to the restaurant at the top of Coll du Rates. Luckily from here on there was a long and quick descent down to Parcent. Parcent to Benissa included yet another 200 metre climb in 1.9 miles. Then it was a final 275 descent back to the coast and the usual climb back up to San Jamie to finish off the ride/rider.
Total Distance 59.35 miles Average Speed 13.54 mph Total Ascent 1875 metres Total Descent 1886 metres
Ride report by Mark M With holidays and illness, Mark was alone at PC but had arranged to meet Clive A, at the Selbrigg junction. As it was a cloudy day with a very cold north easterly wind, it was back to leg warmers and full finger gloves as well as the winter base layer. Knowing that Clive was cycling from Blakeney and back, together with the miserable day, the route was shorted and Junction 21 became the café stop. It was a fast wind assisted route via Edgefield, Briston, Hindolveston and Foulsham to the café. We were pleased to get inside and get some hot food and drinks. The café was fairly busy during our visit, though no other cyclists turned up. It was no warmer after lunch but now we had the headwind for the leg home as we went via Kerdiston, Wood Dalling to Corpusty. Then it was along the Matlaske Road to Little Barningham, where we turned for Plumstead and Baconsthorpe and up Bodham Hill to a fast turning wind turbine. At the end of the road Clive turned for High Kelling and Blakeney, hoping that the wind would now be helping him, while I returned to PC.
PC to PC was 36.6 miles though Clive would have done about 50 miles Average speed 15.0 mph Riders: Clive A, Mark M
Ride report by Mark M Another sunny and cloudless day, though the strong north easterly wind kept the temperature down, no fear of overheating here. Neil Mc had managed to get a late pass and escape doggy minding duties, so was able to join Doug and Mark at PC. We picked Ian up at Selbrigg, to make a group of four and continued with the wind pushing us, to Holt, down to Hunworth and across to Stody and Gunthorpe. As we approached Thursford, Neil reminded us that it was the first Saturday of the month and Coffee and Cakes would be available at Thursford Church. Extra cake was too good to miss, so we joined a good number of locals and volunteers at the well organised event. Doug had cash and generously made a donation to cover us all (it’s for roof repairs) only to be told there were no gluten free cakes this month, so he had to watch on as we enjoyed ours, thanks Doug. That lack of extra cake must have been the reason he would fade on the return leg home!
Bonus coffee & cake stop at Thursford Church, 5-April-2025. L-R: Doug H, Mark M, Neil M. Ian A camera.
Refreshed and a bit chilly from sitting in the church, we set off with renewed vigour to Great Snoring and on to Fakenham, where we took some quieter roads to the site of Gogg’s Mill on the Wensum and stopped to look at the river and the ever present ducks. Then it was past Hempton Garden Centre and up Beacon Hill towards Tittleshall, reaching a dizzying 89 metres (take note Chris) before turning for Oxwick, Whissonsett and the Old Dairy, Stanfield. The rear courtyard garden was sunny and wind free so we had a leisurely lunch of well filled and very tasty sandwiches and panini and coffee.
Lunch in the sunshine, at The Old Dairy café Stanfield, 5-April-2025. L-R: Neil M, Doug H, Mark M, Ian A.
Then we went back to order some of their excellent cakes and more coffee and Doug had a gluten free chocolate orange brownie, so he was very happy. In Chris’ absence, it was Ian who took over the role of getting us all moving again, so we reluctantly left the sun trap and ventured out into a strong headwind. Through Brisley to Broom Green and the compulsory photo stop at Bintree Mill, before the steep climb from the mill and on to Bintree.
Spring Daffodils at Bintree Mill, 5-April-2025. L-R: Daffodils, Doug H, Mark M, Neil M. Ian A camera.
Outside Foulsham we lost Ian, who had stopped to take photos of large lambs in an oilseed rape field (sadly space limitations meant that photo had to be cut). It was noticeable today how much colour there was across the landscape, with rape in yellow flower, deep green fields of wheat and barley and white blossom in the hedgerows, spring has arrived. Continuing into the wind through Guestwick and into Corpusty, where Neil was happy to give up the lead and turn for home, leaving three to continue the battle northwards. At North Barningham, Doug peeled off for Gresham and the final few hard miles to Cromer, Ian keen for an extra couple of miles waited for the West Beckham junction before getting a tailwind back to High Kelling.
PC to PC was 54.3 miles at an average 15.0 mph Riders: Doug H, Neil Mc, Ian A, Mark M
On a lovely sunny Spanish morning with a high of 22 degrees C and not a cloud in sight only one wheeler, Chris, set off for a circular ride.
The route headed inland via the initial 9 km 275m climb to Benissa. On the climb Chris actually managed to pass a number of other cyclists for once (admittedly one group was a group of girls although they were probably at least 30 years younger and very much fitter looking!). The ride then continued to Senija and Lliber, where after being caught by traffic lights Chris then found himself leading a group of cyclists for the next five miles passing through Xalo (very busy due to market day) and onto Parcent. Luckily (for Chris at least as the pace was beginning to tell plus there was quite a strong headwind) the group turned off towards Benidorm.
Chris’s ride continued downhill (a few more cyclists passed!) through Orba and Benidoleig where a long flat straight stretch with a tail wind took the rider on through Ondara and to Denia. Traffic then slowed progress considerably until the seafront was reached where Chris stopped to take a photo of his dream yacht.
Yacht envy at Denia, Spain. Chris S 5th April 2025A comfortable 22c in Denia, Spain. Chris S 5th April 2025
It was then a long steep climb (250 metres in 3km) towards Javea (three more cyclists passed on the climb) followed by a fast ride with lots of hairpin bends down into the town.
The final stretch comprised a further climb to the town of Benitchell and another fast downhill section into Moraira. This just left a very steep 80m climb to reach home.
Rider: Chris S Total Mileage: 50.48 Average speed : 14.59mph Total Ascent 1233 metres Total descent 1251 metres
North Norfolk Wheelers 