Ride Report – Sunday 6th November

Brian, our secretary, went on this ride led by Milton and writes:

Looking out of the window at 9 o’clock, there was wall to wall sunshine and blue skies.  The reality, however, was that it was only a few degrees above freezing outside.  At the Canoe Centre, Milton and I decided that the weather must have put off riders that morning but then Colin and Nick arrived.  Given the temperature, the four of us set off without delay for Castle Ashby, welcoming the hills in between to get warmed up.  At Easton Maudit Geoff joined us on his tricycle and the five of us then made our way to Harrold and on to the picturesque village of Newton Blossomville.  With a good tail wind, warming sun and ever quieter roads it was perfect autumn weather for a ride.  When we saw the sign “Welcome to Central Bedfordshire” we knew we were not far from the Bike Bus Café, a red London double decker bus parked on a farm at Bourne End.  Arriving at 11.30 a.m. we were soon enjoying excellent coffee and sausage baps, sitting outside, soaking up the sun and warmth.

Having seen a couple of other cycling groups leave, we were soon on our way to Sherington after which we changed direction and headed back into a very chilly wind.  Fortunately we were often sheltered by hills and tree-lined roads but it was noticeably cooler now.  Our route took us through Tyringham Hall deer park and not long after turning onto the Newport road the predicted rain clouds appeared and for the rest of the way home through Salcey Forest the rain got steadily heavier.  We were well prepared for the rain and made good time to the Canoe Centre arriving just after two o’clock, damp but in good spirits, having had an excellent day’s ride.  Thanks to Milton for planning and leading the ride!

Advertisement

Ride Report – Sunday 5th May

Iain Dawson led this ride – “A Ride of Two Rivers” – and writes:

There were five of us ready, outside the Canoe Centre, for this trip on Sunday morning and the weather was looking promising as well. Better than it did last time I tried to lead this ride anyway.

After a short deviation into the industrial estate, we picked-up National Cycle Route 6 in Great Houghton, rode on past Salcey Forest, and down through Haversham on the north side of Milton Keynes. Then we turned onto a gated road that brought us out by Stantonbury Wharf and the Grand Union Canal. We followed this, more or less, half way to Willen Lake, the only snag being that whoever drew the Buckinghamshire street map didn’t know where the bridges over the canal were! Redway navigation is tricky at the best of times, because you never see the street signs, but to have bridges spring up out of nowhere? That’s a new one on me! Anyway, after a couple more pauses to check the map and the signs on nearby streets (thanks Karen and Dave), we found a sign, an actual sign, for “Willen Lake” and were duly delivered to the café there.

Refreshed, we took to the Redways once again to cut through a corner of the original Milton Keynes, with its 12th-century church, and past the Open University, which wasn’t quite as exciting as I’d hoped. We did, however, get to see a lot of the greenery that Milton Keynes has to offer before we cut through the car parks at the west end of the shopping centre and headed up past Linford Wood to the old railway line that now serves as a pedestrian/cycle link between northern MK and Newport Pagnell. A short ride from there – up through Sherington and Emberton Country Park – saw us installed in our favourite Olney café for lunch, sitting out in the sun. I have to say, each time we crossed the Ouse I was getting more and more tempted to drop down to it and take a dip. The weather was magnificent for May.

With only the few miles separating Olney (on the Ouse) from the Canoe Centre (on the Nene), we set off with just Cogenhoe hill left requiring any real work ahead of us and we had an uneventful final leg back to Northampton to finish around 4pm. Not bad for a 52 mile ride taking in some very congested Redways with a couple of navigation errors thrown in to temper the pace.