Last year the Weather Forecast for the Summer was predicted to be a good one in fact it was predicted to be a "BBQ Summer". If you looked closely there was a probability associated with the prediction. The trouble we tend to look at the headlines and ignore the fine print so when the "BBQ Summer" did not happen (and I seem to remember there was a 20% probability or 1 in 5 chance it would not) there was a lot of grumbling about the weather forecasters.
This weekend has been predicted to be an "Ice-cream weekend" and you know what; they've got it right. Of course there were a number of factors in favour of the forecasters. The forecast was both short-term and near-term making it much easier to get right. We sat in the garden to have breakfast - I can see why people move to sunnier places like Spain to live - it is so nice to be able to potter around in a t-shirt and shorts with some glorious sunshine and blue skies.
Being a Saturday various chores had to be done first including popping into the Supermarket for the weekly shop. With the World Cup coming up it seems that multi-packs of beer are being pushed - we ignored those and got a few bottles of a light sparkling rose - just the thing to drink on a warm summer's afternoon. A few bottles of Theakston's Old Peculier, Badger's Golden Glory and Henney's Dry Cider also sneaked into the shopping trolley as well - don't know how that happened. We started drinking this cider because my son had been working at the Farm where the apple orchards are and had brought a few bottles back one weekend - after that we were hooked. They have four different types of cider and the operation only started in '96 - they are delicious though.
I love cycling in the sun - but tend to like to potter rather than head out to clock up the miles. So after lunch on Saturday I sat down to look at the map - actually Where's the path and had a look to see what areas I could potter around, especially off-road places where I had not been before. The Fens off towards Wicken Fen are always good for a potter - but that tends to be my default direction for cycling so I thought I might head off around Soham as, to the North-East, there looked to be some interesting by-ways with a route back to Burwell and Sustrans 51 by heading down to the B1102 and then taking to a by-way at Ness Farm which by-passes the B1102 - a fast road - not the most pleasant to cycle along (although not the worst!)
So that is what I did - as it was a route I did not know (around Soham) I printed out some crib sheets and marked up the paths I thought I would take. I have since marked up the route on an Open Street Map, OSM and included it in this post. It turns out that the OSM is incomplete around the North-east of Soham there are missing roads as well by-ways. When I have some time I must investigate how to contribute to the excellent work done to create the OSM. So if you follow this map forgive me if it is not quite accurate - the main problem areas are where the route crosses the A142.
When out cycling I generally try to ensure I have some tools and pump. This was the first time of the year I also took some sun-screen after using it first of course - remembering my feet - sandals are no protection - and the backs of my legs. I also took two water bottles (CamelbaK Chilljacket) filled with crushed ice then orange and mango squash and filled with water. Just before I set off, on the spur of the moment we also decided to get a take-away curry and invite some friends around and eat it in the garden. A prospect my daughter thought was good and instead of eating in Cambridge with a friend stayed at home invited her friend along.
The skies were so blue with the only clouds visible being contrails as the jets fly of to the US. I am not sure why - it seemed that there were more passenger jets flying high - at one point three seemed to be chasing each other across the skies. Here "X" marks the spot. These pictures was taken on Fen Road, just out of Lode alongside Bottisham Lode.
A stream of water vapour left behind as the plane soars through the skies. Judging by how the "lower" contrail has stayed together there can't be much wind about at that altitude (or the wind flow is uniform). In any case the contrail does not seem to be dispersing very quickly.
This is the same plane as in the picture above - there are three other contrails in the sky.
It does not take much of a dry spell before the fields need irrigation. This picture was taken from Whiteway Drove on the way to Upware.
A different field from the one in a previous Post - I used to think the crops were dying - I now think they are grown to plough back in to improve the soil - nitrogen-fixing perhaps.
After Upware the soil is browner (compared to the black peaty soil). There are small shoots appearing - hence the need to irrigate.
Along Padney Drove (Sustrans 51 between Wicken and Ely) this looks like a field of two different types of lettuce being grown.
My route turned away from Sustrans 51 at Barway Corner. This bus caught my eye - it would have been difficult not to notice it really! At this point I started having to pay more attention to the crib sheets. I zig-zagged on the A142, just outside Soham and cycled along Eye Hill drove alongside what seems to be an extensive tree nursery before turning right down Barcham drove past Barcham Farm - a large farm complex on each side of the road with a large house being developed on one side of the road and a large lake on the other.
The route then took to the by-ways heading out towards Broad Hill. It has been so dry that most tracks are ok to cycle along - the biggest problem is the shaking as you cycle along in the tractor tyre tracks. You feel as if you are being shaken to bits. On this bit of the track there were huge deep ruts though - solid - but too deep to cycle in as my pedals kept catching the edge. So I ended up walking through three places where the ruts were extreme. As this was the first bit of the unknown off-road I did wonder what I had let myself in for. There were country roads around that I could cycle along if I bailed out - but for pottering it was not too bad. If I had been in the middle of a 160Km/100mile ride then I probably would had taken to the roads - but for pottering it was interesting.
The by-ways at this point were fairly narrow with hedges each side and so that probably constrained the farm traffic. At Broad Hill the route "opened" up and the tracks became a little less rutted. As you might expect from this part of the world the fields were flat and there was a lot of Oilseed rape growing. Farmers do seem to like having sheds around though and most look a little dilapidated.
This is the type of track - white hard-packed mud which also seems to stand up to the tractor traffic better. Cycling along this type of track is easier and you can spend more time looking around. This was not actually the route I took - it is not marked as a by-way on the map - it is why a take a crib sheet. It meant I could stop and take the route I had planned rather than the one that looked obvious. (I also got into the habit of having a drink whenever I stopped as well - there was still ice in the water bottles.) The "X" contrails seem to have followed me.
The route I took - large hedges with blossom along a similar track. The challenge is keeping an eye out for ruts that can suddenly seem to appear as the bright sun and dappled shadow confuse the eye. This track heads to Saxon Farm where it briefly joins a road before another by-way.
After Saxon Farm the track opened up completely - it is a little surreal cycling along the middle of a large green field. The horizon seems to stretch on for ever. So far I not met anyone else whilst cycling - that's what I like about these by-ways not far from towns and villages but secluded.
Despite the pressures on farmers to maximise yield in order to scrape a living and the resultant mono-culture appearance of the countryside there are still some wild flowers around - I think these are moon daisies. (Don't get me wrong - I do not blame the farmers - they are under huge pressure from the supermarkets to deliver.)
The track became even grassier - there was a ditch alongside which helped to ensure a bit of biodiversity. When cycling I listen to pod-casts on my MP3 player. The general staple is the Archers, Science programs and documentaries - and at the moment three Hole albums (with Courtney Love). It turns out (well the first I knew of it anyway) is that 2010 is biodiversity year. I do think that we tamper with the diversity on this planet rather too much, with 6 billion people on the planet we compete for the natural resources and significantly impact those resources. The radio interview was a little too generic though - the issue is being pulicised to raise the importance of biodiversity - but there were very generic statements about how we the listeners might do something. (For what it is worth we have sown a bit of our garden with a bunch of meadow flowers.)
Wheat (I think) growing in the field - according to my son the last couple of weeks have seen a huge acceleration of crop growth in the fields. (I should check with him whether it is wheat!) The route then zig-zagged back almost the way I had come, past what looked like an abandoned (and stolen) car in the field, but it turned out to be owned by three lads who set off up a track after it struggled to start.
Another track - this time gravelled, along Qua Fen common which turned into a road - although it had an unlocked gate and after looking at the OS map I am not sure whether it was a right of way or not - sorry if it wasn't. Mind you it looked as if a bunch of people had driven their cars along it to Qua Fen common for a picnic.
Heading South out of Soham I avoided the A1123 ( a road I consider to be very dangerous for cyclists - cars/lorries speed along and some overtake with inches/cms to spare.) A by-way brought me out onto a road leading over the Ely/Bury St Edmunds railway line and then onto the B1102. This is a B road but reasonably wide and so although cars speed along it it is not as busy as the A1123, cars also seem to give more room to cyclists. As I headed towards Burwell I wanted to take a by-way just near Ness Farm. There is a little road loop of the B1102 to Ness Farm and the first bit of the "loop" is signed as a Private Road. (Now that can be true whilst still being a right of way. Bu I could not see any By-way sign. I cycled along the second entrance of the loop and found the by-way sign leading of down a flattish, open farm track. This then turned left to head towards Burwell. Looking back along the track you can see how open it as.
Looking forwards it passed through a copse before joining/becoming Broads Road and joining Sustrans 51 at Dyson's Drove. At this time of year this is a great route for cyclists wanting to avoid (much of) the B1102 - I passed nothing until I got into Burwell on this route.
I then cycled along to Reach and a short by-way linking Little Fen Drove (Road) with Whiteway Drove (Road). The track is called Black Droveway and appears to be well used by farm traffic (and the occasional traveller family) but is wide enough that you can avoid the ruts on a bicycle. I then cycled up to the Lodes Way Bridge over Swaffham Bulbeck Lode and back through White Fen and Lode. Although I did stop to take a picture of the unidentified tree just by the bridge. It is no in leaf.
That is a route I would definitely take again. Having done it once I can ditch the crib sheet - but if you do cycle it many of the by-ways around Soham are not signed I guess that they are well used by the local farmers but perhaps not so much by walkers. Now there may be a chicken and egg problem there - put signs up and you might get more walkers - but I am not complaining - it made of a great bit of cycling.
After a quick bath (showers are ok but I prefer a hot bath after cycling) we popped into the garden drank some sparkling rose and ordered our takeaway - I couldn't stop smiling it just felt so good - sunny cycling, warm evening and a curry!
