Norfolk Nips 3 ‘...on no account should you ride through the Shotesham Mill ford...’
The ice and snow had cleared during the week and the forecast was for rain, sleet and a strong southerly wind – balmy conditions then in comparison to the earlier weeks of the new year. Unsure of the temperatures overnight I had allowed extra time to ride the 45k to the start in Colney, but it was not needed which meant I had time for 2 cups of tea and plenty of choccy bikkies. Met up again with my mate Chris and was joined by Fidgetbuzz to chat about forming an East Anglian Arrow team.
We set off in a light drizzle along grit, flint and thorn-strewn roads – the p*nct*r* fairy had a field day! The first stage along the Waveney Valley revealed just how much water was around with the rain and melted snow. Many fields were flooded and as we came to a junction we had to skirt a white van stranded up to its axles in flood water. There was no way to avoid riding through the water but it was ok ‘cos this wasn’t Shotesham Mill. Interesting to observe the riding techniques; Chris favoured the one-legged peddling action to try to keep one foot dry, while I tried the top-half-peddling approach, but since the water was above the bottom bracket only succeeded in getting both feet soaked. At this point Fidgetbuzz (“...you guys will have to slow down for me, I’m not as young as you...”) took advantage of a roundabout to latch onto a faster group, leaving Chris and me trailing in his wake!
The route now turned directly into the strong wind so it was heads down to grind our way along. We picked up another rider and eventually overhauled Fidgetbuzz (who had been dropped by the faster group) and gave him a tow the last 10k into Halesworth. On the way we passed Arabella going in the other direction – obviously out for her own little joyride. And so it was 4 soggy riders that arrived in the Bridge Street cafe to be greeted by Malcolm H berating us good-naturedly for making such a fuss about a little bit of wind and rain.
Refuelled by beans-on-toast and copious mugs of tea, we set off, this time with the wind behind us and made good progress. Another couple of flooded sections were ridden through but again, it was ok, these were not Shotesham Mill. We seemed to drop Fidgetbuzz at some point here – he had talked of detouring home to pick up dry clothes. Thus it was 3 riders who finally came to the Shotesham Mill ford – and yes, it was a raging torrent across the road. Fortunately the footpath was still inches above the water line so we negotiated our way round in the (relative) dry.
The hot soup and rolls back at the John Innes Centre were most welcome and as we dried out and warmed up, in came Fidgetbuzz who, it turned out, had been scuppered by a flat and a failed inner tube.
With the drizzle petering out and the wind easing I had a good ride home, reflecting on a companionable first Audax of the year. A thanks once again to Keith and Sue for an excellent series of winter rides. I’ll be back for the Old Squit in February.
Halloween
