CommanderChuff
Devout Dirtbag
Tour of Cambridgeshire, TOC, 56 miles (90km). June 2018.
Garmin: 55.9 miles, 3 hrs 13 mins, 17.4 avg, 1,200 ft.
The town of Stamford looks very much like a typical town which can be seen during my training rides in the Cotswolds. It is located on the same limestone rock seam as Bath and the Cotswolds and is "finest stone town in England", its prosperity drawn from the wool trade and its historical position as a mail coach inter-change on the Great North Road almost halfway between London and York. Stamford was the first town in the country to create a conservation area in 1967 and it has this to thank for the fact that over the subsequent half century much of its historical architectural heritage has remained intact. The political support of Lord Burghley (posh house and horsey events fame) ensured its place in on the tourist trail.
The TOC is multi-ride event with elite riders mixing with leisured peddlers. The good news was that the Tour Classic had only one distance offered (56 miles) for the oldies and we saved 25 miles over the elite power riders. There were 57 classic riders on some very nice machines and I came halfway down the field after a good ride which saw a 17.5 mph average on route which was very similar to my normal training ride (best average 16 mph). It was all good wide tarmac on closed roads, with just one short section of narrow farm lane, and sign posting and marshalling was excellent. There were two stops with plenty of food + water, very helpful attendees, and lots of room to park and refresh. The day started clear and sunny but clouded over later to give some relief from the heat. There were a few crashes as riders lost control on the roads and face planted but none of the usual collisions between fast and slower riders, medical help and road support was excellent, and there was the usual spray of punctures on high tech bikes. The elite rider pelotons for both sexes were a joy to behold as they whizzed past at twice the speed of my pace. A few complimentary remarks for the Holdsworth were offered and the classic bike riders were always chatting about their machines and plans for the next event. A comment thrown out by a passing rider about the ‘nice bike’ was riposted with ‘just need some younger legs to make it go better’. ‘You are doing all right’ he said, and later I thought that it’s not too bad I suppose, a seventy year man (nearly) riding a 50 year British steel bike, and keeping up with youngsters on fancy hi tech machines.
A lovely day out on the Holdsworth, a visit to the steam railway Nene Valley line to photograph some continental coaches for a future modelling project, and Stamford town was a revelation.
Garmin: 55.9 miles, 3 hrs 13 mins, 17.4 avg, 1,200 ft.
The town of Stamford looks very much like a typical town which can be seen during my training rides in the Cotswolds. It is located on the same limestone rock seam as Bath and the Cotswolds and is "finest stone town in England", its prosperity drawn from the wool trade and its historical position as a mail coach inter-change on the Great North Road almost halfway between London and York. Stamford was the first town in the country to create a conservation area in 1967 and it has this to thank for the fact that over the subsequent half century much of its historical architectural heritage has remained intact. The political support of Lord Burghley (posh house and horsey events fame) ensured its place in on the tourist trail.
The TOC is multi-ride event with elite riders mixing with leisured peddlers. The good news was that the Tour Classic had only one distance offered (56 miles) for the oldies and we saved 25 miles over the elite power riders. There were 57 classic riders on some very nice machines and I came halfway down the field after a good ride which saw a 17.5 mph average on route which was very similar to my normal training ride (best average 16 mph). It was all good wide tarmac on closed roads, with just one short section of narrow farm lane, and sign posting and marshalling was excellent. There were two stops with plenty of food + water, very helpful attendees, and lots of room to park and refresh. The day started clear and sunny but clouded over later to give some relief from the heat. There were a few crashes as riders lost control on the roads and face planted but none of the usual collisions between fast and slower riders, medical help and road support was excellent, and there was the usual spray of punctures on high tech bikes. The elite rider pelotons for both sexes were a joy to behold as they whizzed past at twice the speed of my pace. A few complimentary remarks for the Holdsworth were offered and the classic bike riders were always chatting about their machines and plans for the next event. A comment thrown out by a passing rider about the ‘nice bike’ was riposted with ‘just need some younger legs to make it go better’. ‘You are doing all right’ he said, and later I thought that it’s not too bad I suppose, a seventy year man (nearly) riding a 50 year British steel bike, and keeping up with youngsters on fancy hi tech machines.
A lovely day out on the Holdsworth, a visit to the steam railway Nene Valley line to photograph some continental coaches for a future modelling project, and Stamford town was a revelation.
