Animate Objects in our Path

Maybe one day we will stop having our "good ideas" but maybe at that point life would be become a little boring .....
The good idea for Sunday 20th May was to combine a viewing for an agricultural machinery sale near Ely with a full luggage practise ride for France . Logistics were as complex as ever - starting with a pre - sparrow fart departure with tractor and trailer for Shaun. (He sends his apologies to all those caught in the 10 mile traffic queue on the A14). The mid morning saw Lesley and I driving our intended bike route in reverse in the bus. This involved Lesley driving and me screeching very last second instructions based on my blurry vision ( glasses at home ) of a biggish scale map. Apologies to alarmed pheasants and partridges.

Late morning we charm our way past security at the sale venue which we finally located in a village some distance from Ely, rescue a very frozen Shaun and head to Ely proper for warming soup (remember this was before summer decided to make her presence felt).

After insulting the looks of the resident riverside Muscovy ducks , swearing at the weight of our luggage and wondering just how far we would have to cycle before our feet defrosted we wobbled our way along the riverside path and headed for National Cycle Route 11 . We remembered to cross the river before launching ourselves South on the cycle route proper. We admired the straightness and flatness of the path and agreed that the weight wasn't so bad as long as it was balanced. We took time to pose on the throne like sculpture along the route and took care to avoid the cow pats liberally dotted along the way. About a minute later we both spotted the authors of the cow pats and simultaneously noticed the rather larger brown beast standing on the path. When Lesley exclaimed " shit it's got testicles" we knew we had a problem Houston. To our right down a steep embankment was the river . To our left down an equally vertiginous slope was a bramble filled ditch. Gates fore and aft were a long way away and we could not outrun the bull in either direction with or without luggage. Tacitly we agreed that the only way was steadily forward making neither eye contact nor alarming moves. Not so easy in a high viz bright yellow jacket but if there is only one option best to grasp it with confidence.

(The bull is on the far right!) We passed close enough to admire the skill with which his nasal piercing had been performed and to marvel at his all round bulk. Like Persephone we did our best not to look back and even though we could hear no thundering hooves the next gate could not come quickly enough. After safely reaching the other side we agreed that our hearts could not have been beating faster if we had just ascended an alpine pass.

After deep breathing exercises and customary map reading discussions we headed in to fenland proper and agreed that a good caffeine stop would be the charming looking pub 20 miles or so along the intended route. Sadly the welcome from the manager did not match the exterior charm of the premises and we vowed never to darken its doorstep again. On arrival home, I looked it up on Tripadvisor and found that we were not alone in our experience of lack of hospitality. I can live without being harangued by a man who must have been an extra in Dark Shadows in a genuine 70s brown striped shirt.....and I guess many others share that view.

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful by comparison but definitely taxing on stamina and map reading skills. It was good to pick up parts of the Cambridge to Norwich route and reminisce about kamikaze stewards and veteran cyclists on that sultry ride last October.We felt it was very sad that in mid May we were wearing all our winter kit and saw no need to remove any layers at any point.

So 66 miles later we are glad to have completed the baggage trial but both admitted to feeling a bit daunted by what we might have taken on with both the Norfolk 100 and Le Mans. If winter persists simply carrying enough spare clothing will be a real issue for France. The charity shop challenge will be a daily necessity.

At the time of writing the 100 is 24 hours away, my bike has had an emergency service at the wonderful Borwell Cycles in Norwich, summer and a strong easterly breeze have arrived and I am s**t scared....... Watch this space.