Thursday 4 November 2010

Bikes on a Train

Yesterday I had a special day off from the relentless 7 days a week grind and took my bike on the train to Ely where I met up with my brother and we cycled to Cambridge. I'd never taken my bike on the train before so this was really the most exciting thing ever. That's MY bike in the picture!

The route took us along Sustrans National Route 11 and included a 9 mile section recently opened called "The Lodes Way" which traverses the six Cambridgeshire "Lodes" -  man-made (probably Saxon)waterways built for transport and to protect the rich agricultural land around. The Lodes way was built by Sustrans with the aid of a £50 million Lottery Fund Grant (thanks Mum!) but try as I might I failed to come up with a suitable pun involving "Lodes" and "£50 million". 

As we set off I discovered a new fact (or "factoid" as Steve-love-the-Show-Wright would have it).

I'd been looking forward to cycling on absolute level surfaces as this part of the world is as flat as a Tich's Wit. The weather forecast was for strong 20 mph South-West winds - I'd be propelled along at terrific speeds towards the South West with hardly a pedal!

Who would have thought that "South West" winds come FROM the South West rather than TO? That's about as logical as calling the 1900's the 20th Century. 

Anyway we made it and the rain held off until we reached the outskirts of Cambridge. I was drenched on the return jouney when I cycled from the station back home. I'd gone from the Beach Boy's "Fen Fen Fen" to Marti Pellow's "Wet Wet Wet".

"How was the terrain?", asked Mrs Rine when I related my adventures. "It had three carriages", I informed her.

13 comments:

Sarah said...

She must love you very much !

Good job. It's nice to see the oap's on the blogosphere getting out and about.

Dave said...

Cycling to Cambridge? Talk about coals to Newcastle.

Z said...

Comments made me chuckle, thank you Dave and Sarah.

My son-in-law takes his bike on the train ten times every week. I must remember to tell him how lucky he is.

I'm doing a lot of walking this week. I don't really do walking, I'd rather have my bike. Except for the hills. I don't do hills either.

Rog said...

Sarah: Bah! OAP's have a "P" for Pension. I'm just an "OA". *shakes stick*

Dave: That expression's a bit dated now. What about "taking chavs to Chelmsford"?

Z: You'll be ready for that Yagnubian Wind when you get back in the saddle then.

Geoff said...

Yeah, but Frommer's doesn't rate the Fens as one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. You want to get yourself down to Reculver for some gentle cycling with wonderful scenery!

Macy said...

Twenty years of cycling have taught me that Rule of Sod appies to wind direction.
The wind will always be against you - unless of course it's strong enough to push you over when it blows side on.

Roses said...

See that's why you'll never catch me on a bike. Too open to the elements and too much physical effort required.

Glad you had fen though.

Christopher said...

Oh dear, the standards you set us, and how feeble we are by comparison. How can we live up to your example? How many more sleepless nights vainly contriving puns involving 'lodes' and '£50 million'?

You find a fen shoe is what's needed for this sort of exploit?

broken biro said...

Bike on a train eh (better than vice versa)? Thanks for giving us the Lode down.

Rog said...

Geoff: Is Seasalter still down there? I remember spending 3 hours coming back from my Uncle's caravan through the Medway Towns in the back of an old Austin.

Macy: My bro is practising for a cycle trip across NZ. I think is may be hillier there.

Roses: Have you thought of a Tandem with Brad Pitt?


Christopher: Aha! If we'd done a Fen Shoe we'd have cycled in the opposite direction.

Biro: We were doing Lodes of training on bikes!

Zig said...

So why didn't you cycle all the way?

Madame DeFarge said...

Weren't you tempted to freewheel backwards? Or is that impossible (she says as a cycling ignoramus)? Or couldn't you have been pulled along by the dogs?

Malcolm Cinnamond said...

If your mum contributed to the cycleway, isn't it the Motherlode?

Having spent much of my youth cycling around the Ely area, I know it's not as easy as it looks when the wind comes blowing across the Fens.