England : Essex The Joy Of Essex 2! Sunday 11 August 2013

[Auntie Helen]

I received lots of comments from people who would have liked to come on my Joy Of Essex ride last Saturday but were unable, for various reasons.

I thought I might organise another ride in August and see if some others would like to come along.

I have a selection of dates possible, which are:

Saturday 10 August
Sunday 11 August
Saturday 17 August
Saturday 31 August
Sunday 1 September

If anyone is interested in coming along and has a preference for dates, do let me know!

It'd probably be 40ish miles including a stop for cake and a lunchtime pub stop, leaving from Manningtree at about 10am.

 

[lazytyke]

I'm definitely keen and assuming I can make the date will drag my mate who also has a trike along, so we'll at least have a trio ! 40 miles will be fine for us, as we normally do a bit more than that on our runs. I'll vote on preferences next week, after my wife gets her rosta for August. It's not that she won't let me out if she's off at a weekend, just that the begging I have to do plays havoc with my knees ! Adrian

 

[Auntie Helen]

I've had a lot of responses on YACF for this and the optimum day is Sunday 11 August so that's what I'm going with.

I'll post a route up nearer the time when I decide what kind of ride to do (depends on whether we have some more leisurely cyclists amongst us for it).

 

[4F]

Shame, I will be in France then :>(

 

[Auntie Helen]

Real shame, it would be so great to see you again Tony!

I'm half expecting to come to the DunRun the following morning again but you'll be long home by then I expect!

 

[Auntie Helen]

Well, the Joy Of Essex 2 is taking place this Sunday!

I have two routes that I am dithering between, both around 40 miles in total. This will be a LEISURELY ride with two stops (one for cake, one for lunch) with a bail-out-quickly option after lunch (at about 26 miles) which is just two miles from Manningtree station.

Start will be 10am at Manningtree.

I'm going to ride this morning to visit the tea room on one of the options. If they don't have any bike parking still that may swing it for the other option.

Should be a very enjoyable ride, almost all on quiet roads of a not-too-appalling surface quality.

Excellent pub for the lunch stop, although as it's Sunday the options are a roast dinner or a baguette with the roast dinner meats or other things inside (i.e. not a full fish 'n chips type option as they do things differently on a Sunday). The pub regularly wins CAMRA ale awards for our region.

It would be good to have a vague show of hands for how many think they will be able to come!

 

[Auntie Helen]

I have now decided upon the route! You can download it from BikeHike here: http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?lnk=http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk/JoyOfEssex2.gpx

Meet 10:00am at Manningtree Rail Station Café
(Or earlier if you want to eat their marvellous Half Breakfast. I shall be there from 9am)

Heading off through Mistley and Bradfield down to Wix, through Beaumont and then inland a bit more to Tendring before dropping down to Weeley. Up the hill to the Hilltop Nursery (Garden Centre) which has the Floral Café which does good cake. The manager has offered to let us take our bikes up to the café or to lock them into an empty greenhouse for us.
Distance for this stretch is 13.03 miles and it's fairly undulating with mainly surface-dressed roads. No particularly narrow roads and very light traffic.

The second stretch is much shorter (9.64 miles) and almost entirely flat except for one gentle climb to Great Bromley. The road surfaces are a bit better for part of this (i.e. no surface dressing but proper, smooth asphalt), but soon we return to Essex's wretched penny-pinching road surfacing. Bring your comfortable tyres or your bike with suspension if you have numb hands! Lunch is at the Haywain in Little Bromley which is an extremely pleasant hostelry.

If anyone needs to go home early, at this point it's just a two mile flat/downhill ride to Manningtree Station. However those with a bit more energy can do the final 16.34 mile loop which heads over towards Boxted and then to Dedham (there is the possibility of an ice cream in Dedham if we so wish!), then back up the hill before dropping down to Manningtree again.

All in all it's a rather nice route and traffic should be light for almost all of it. The only annoyance is the newly-surface-dressed road surfaces but it's getting impossible to avoid those these days!

Total ride distance 38.92 miles.

 

[Auntie Helen]

I have two other ICE trikes signed up, plus a tandem, plus a Moulton.

We really ought to have some normal bikes too!!!!

 

[redflightuk]

I'll have a look at options to get to the start when i get home from work. I would like to come but can't commit just yet.

 

[Auntie Helen]

Here's hoping you can make it - I'd love to hear your report of LEL!