Fens and Headwinds

[loadsabikes]

Ah! the joys of the eastern flatlands.
Mrs Miggins and I had decided to take our daughters and their families, including our four grandchildren to CenterParcs at Thetford forest for the half term weekend.
We thought it would be a good opportunity to test our new touring set up for the trikes including a new Radical Cyclone trailer and also get a few training miles into our "bent" legs.

Our planned route would take us from a start in Ketton, via the back lanes to Peterborough and then out into the Fens via Whittlesea, March, Southery and Feltwell before the final drag up from Brandon to the site at Elvedon.

We set off just after 6am and made good progress through the villages and the short sharp climb out of Castor to Ferry Meadows at Peterborough. This is a good route into the city that manages to avoid all the main roads.
We had a coffee and pork pie stop alongside the rowing course and then followed the off road route into the city centre.
NCN 63 then follows the banks of the Nene over paved but potholed track more suited to an upright machine than a recumbent trike.
It was at this point that the brisk Southeasterly wind began to make itself felt.
We were reaching the end of this first section, when I saw a horse alongside the path ahead. As we approached, said horse sauntered across the path and pulled his tethering chain taught across the path at a trike stopping height of about 300mm.
As this path is on a steep raised bank, it was not possible to divert around Dobbin, so i was forced to dismount and back him up and hold him while M M took the trikes past. He was a trifle put out.
It was then a change of river bank via a curved bridge and then on into Whittlesea.
We stopped here for a second breakfast at the Sunshine cafe before pressing on to March.

I had planned the route on Ride with GPS and thus far, there had been no surprises but this was about to change.
Just east of March, the gps directed a left turn, perhaps I should not have ignored the sign for No through road.
The surface gradually deteriorated until it became mostly grass and mud with occasional patches of concrete. I could see traffic on the road ahead so we continued until we came to a robustly locked gate.
Not to be deterred, we unhitched the trailer and carried the trikes down a ditch and around the gate to re-join the track on the far side. Things improved from here and we were soon back on more trike friendly roads.
On through Tipps End and the village of Welney having crossed the old Bedford river and 100 foot drain. We took a tea stop at the Welney wetlands center. Mrs Miggins was beginning to feel the effects of the very exposed route and the near constant headwind.
The wetland birds had clearly been put off by the windy weather and were all hiding, there were a lot of very grumpy Twitchers in the cafe.

Suitably refreshed, we pressed on, only to be caught out by another section of gps induced comedy off road. This time it included sandy forest path. Fortunately it had not rained, for had it done so we would have had to turn back as traction was becoming an issue on the short climbs.
It was getting towards dusk as we made it to Brandon. From here it is the busy road through the forest to Elverdon and it has to be said that we were both very pleased to see the right turn into CentreParcs. As we pulled away from reception, my nearside front tyre suffered a visitation, bugger!
120kms for the trip and we both raised our hats to Teethgrinder!

We had a great weekend with the family and reversed the route on Monday but cut out the off road sections. Needless to say, the wind had done an about turn and was now blowing NW and it was tipping it down. We availed ourselves of the hospitality of the School House B&B at Welney and what a good decision that was. We awoke to bright sunshine on Tuesday morning and after a fine breakfast, set off for the 80kms home.
Dobbin did his chain trick again, but this time I took the time to shorten it which has spoiled his tricks for future passing cyclists.
Soup and tea were enjoyed at the Castor coffee shop before the final section.
258kms for the weekend.
An enjoyable ride but those Fenland roads can be soul destroying when it's windy.

[Wobbly John]

Welcome to my world, Loadsabikes...

It sounds as if I took a similar route back from the 'Rutland Weekend' a couple of years ago, except I used roads that I know across from March to Welney, via the 16ft bank and Christchurch.

I usually avoid COR around here. It's often on clay and used by farm vehicles - therefore it's either wet, slimey, claggy mud or, when dry, washboard tyre tracks.   

The monotony of the landscape does not help when riding into the wind - a couple of miles of dead straight, flat, open road into the wind, and then a sharp 90 deg bend and you're faced with another mile of straight, flat open road...


...which stangely is also into the wind.   

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I figure that many English cyclists must suffer from ADD as they seem to get bored if something new (village, hill, corner, whatever) doesn't appear every couple of minutes. A couple of miles on a straight flat road, how dreadful! ;-)

[Wobbly John]

It's more a case of: a lack of a target to aim for increases the sensation of getting nowhere in a headwind.

[Peter]

Pretty determined stuff - thanks for the story!

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I figure that many English cyclist must suffer from ADD as they seem to get bored if something new (villiage, hill, corner, whatever) doesn't appear every couple of minutes. A couple of miles on a straight flat road, how dreadful! ;-)

I don't think it is boredom.  Whilst there is a unique attraction about the Fens, at the same time I also have a slight feeling of depression in such a wide flat and fairly unchanging landscape.  If anything, a headwind would alleviate that by providing a challenge, for a while anyway.

When sailing, as I used to do a lot, a flat calm had a similar oppressiveness. Not for nothing is the equatorial region of calms known as the Doldrums!

At sundown in the fens the drains can provide a bizarre light effect if you find  one  running the right direction.  The sun's beam follows the direction of the channel and is concentrated into a strong ray that is reflected back into the sky like a searchlight.

[Pancho]

I spent a lot of time in the Fens as a youth; cycling and fishing (there's sod all else to do there). It's a very odd place. And not a little scary at times. The light and flatness has a supernatural spookiness sometimes. And I was always suspicious and wary of the fen men themselves.

[Wobbly John]

At sundown in the fens the drains can provide a bizarre light effect if you find  one  running the right direction.  The sun's beam follows the direction of the channel and is concentrated into a strong ray that is reflected back into the sky like a searchlight.

Once I saw the reflection of the sun off a drain had cleared a stripe of cloud above it - difficult to believe, and unfortunately the phone photo I took did not do the effect justice.

[Wowbagger]

Just to be off topic for a moment, a few years ago Kim and I took the Sunday afternoon off from Mildenhall and hied us to the drainage museum at Prickwillow. We were a bit concerned about our fate as it was a very windy afternoon, and the wind was decidedly unhelfpul for the first few miles, whereupon we changed direction and headed north.

The wind was behind us now, and quite strong. We hurtled along at a fair old lick, but not at all looking forward to the return trip, which would be drudgery indeed. Imagine our surprise and delight when, after a goodly time in the museum, nattering to the venerable lady in charge, we emerged to find that the wind had turned 180° and was, if anything, even stronger. We almost flew back to Mildenhall, and at one point Kim topped out at just over 30mph. I think I would have done but I miscounted my gears and failed to engage 14th!

On the other hand, on another occasion I was headed from Boston for Chris S's former abode in Necton on a blazing August day with the wind against me. Chris's description of it being like riding into a hair drier was pretty accurate.

[Kim]

Whereas another Mildenhall weekend featured slogging into the wind on Forty Foot Bank.  In the pissing rain.  With a swollen, bleeding ankle.  And a pannier full of soggy biscuits.

And that wasn't even the worst cycling experience I've had in the Fens; I'll take pissing rain over the fenland hair drier any day.


I much prefer hills.  At least you get to change gear and rest your knees a bit when you get to the top.

[Bunker22]

Last day of LEL 2013. Directly into a strong headwind on the hottest day of the year. The hairdryer was up to max and it was soul destroying!