CTC Cambridge

2010-04-03T01:30:00.001+01:00

Rides in July and August

Rides lists for July and August are now available using the links here or on the left.

As always, our rides lists are subject to change, but you can always obtain the latest version from this website. If a ride is cancelled it will normally be announced here. In addition, members who are subscribed to our email discussion list will be notified by email.

Latest ride reports from the CTC Cambridge Blog

28 Jul: Evening ride to Fen Ditton
On a dull and overcast but warm evening, I arrived at Brookside to find
Gareth, Cheryl and Rob waiting for this evening's ride to Fen Ditton. (more)

25 July: Day ride to Stradishall, Lavenham and West Wratting
Tom led us on a fine ride today, taking in some beautiful countryside
and many quiet lanes. There were six riders at the start (more)

21 Jul: Evening ride to Dry Drayton
Damien Walsh writes: When I arrived at Brookside, Cheryl and newcomer
Rob were waiting there. Before long two more rides arrived Daniel and
John. (more)

20 Jul: Senior Cyclists' Ride to Stechworth
George Rich writes: The Senior Cycling Group met on Tuesday. It was a
hot sunny day. We started from the Newmarket Road Park and Ride site at
9. (more)

18 Jul: Afternoon ride to Hemingford Abbots
Simon FitzMaurice writes: Perhaps threat of interment was no
discouragement, because around a dozen riders were already at Brookside
when I arrived this Sunday. (more)

Start point for Saturday and Sunday rides

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(For the start points of our Tuesday Senior Cyclists's Group rides, see here.)
(For the start points of our Thursday rides, see here.)

Our Saturday morning, Sunday all-day and Sunday afternoon rides depart from the traditional club meeting point which is at Brookside (Lensfield Road end) on the southern edge of Cambridge City Centre. Our occasional midweek summer evening rides also depart from here.

View Larger Map

We assemble by the bench near the Hobson's Conduit monument. The bench bears a small plaque commemorating the fact that we have been meeting here for many years.

Start points for Thursday rides

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(For the start point for our Saturday and Sunday rides, see here.)
(For the start points of our Tuesday Senior Cyclists's Group rides, see here.)

Our Thursday rides normally start start in one of two places:

50 Jopling Way, Hauxton , Cambridge CB22 5HY. We meet outside this private house (where the ride leader lives) which is about 5 miles south-west of Cambridge City Centre
Haslingfield Church. This is about 6 miles south-west of Cambridge City Centre.

See the details for each ride to find our which start point is being used that day.

View Larger Map

Our weekly rides programme

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CTC Cambridge runs several cycle rides every week throughout the year.

Our rides reflect the seasons and the amount of daylight. In this description, "Summer" means the period of British Summer Time, which is from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October, and "Winter" means the remainder of the year.

See About riding with CTC Cambridge for more about what our rides are like, and what you need to know.

Sunday rides

We run two rides on a Sunday: an all-day ride and an afternoon ride. Both rides meet for tea and then return directly to Cambridge.

Sunday afternoon rides

The Sunday afternoon rides start at 2.15pm at Brookside in Cambridge. The length of the ride varies from week to week, but in as a general guide we cover about 45 miles in the summer and about 30 miles in the winter.

The goal of the ride is the tea stop, after which we ride directly back to Cambridge or wherever we live.

For most of the year, tea is usually at a country pub, where a spread of sandwiches and cakes has been pre-booked and is waiting for us. There is a fixed charge of about £4.00. From December to February we stop at cafes (often at garden centres) or at the houses of members.

Tea is at 5.00pm during summer (during the period of British Summer Time) and 4.30pm during winter.

Sunday all-day rides

The Sunday all-day rides start at 9.00am (summer) or 9.30am (winter) at Brookside in Cambridge. These last all day, with stops at a cafe for coffee (approx 11.00am) and at a pub or cafe for lunch (approx 1.00pm) before meeting the afternoon riders at tea.

These rides might be 70-80 miles in the summer and 50-60 miles in the winter but you can have a shorter ride by dropping out (or joining in) at one of the intermediate stops, and many members do just that.

During the warmer months, whilst most riders eat at the specified pub or cafe, some prefer to bring a packed lunch and eat it nearby.

Sunday longer rides

Occasionally in the summer we have a second all-day ride which starts earlier and goes further than the normal ride. These rides are no faster than our normal all-day rides - they're just longer.

Saturday morning rides

We also hold rides on Saturday mornings about twice a month except during the winter. These are our shortest and easiest rides and are intended to be suitable for everyone. They start at 10.00am at Brookside and cover about 15-20 miles at a gentle pace, stopping for a refreshments at a cafe along the way. Anyone able to cycle around Cambridge should be fine on these rides.

Thursday rides

We hold all-day rides on Thursdays, starting a few miles south of Cambridge at either Hauxton or Haslingfield. These depart at 9.30am and are shorter than the Sunday all-day rides, with a stop for coffee and lunch but no formal tea stop, returning to Cambridge during the afternoon and always before dark.

The mid-morning stop is often in the countryside so riders tend to bring their own coffee and snacks. Lunch is at a pub or cafe though some riders prefer to bring a packed lunch.

For dates, destinations and start points see the rides list. For further information phone the organiser, Greta Lumbers, on 01223 872327.

Tuesday rides (Senior Cyclists' Group)

Our Senior Cyclists' Group meets on Tuesdays. These rides are open to everyone but the pace is gentle. They usually depart at 9.30am or 10.00am from Madingley Road Park and Ride, Newmarket Road Park and Ride or Trumpington Park and Ride, all on the outskirts of Cambridge and offering free car parking and toilets. The group typically rides to a country pub for lunch before returning home.

For more information about the Senior Cyclists' Group contact Peter Rowell (01954 210692).

Bring your own coffee, except for rides departing from Madingley Road Park and Ride when a coffee stop will be provided on the way at Peter's.

Occasionally the ride is car-assisted. If you're not bringing a car call Peter to arrange transport.

Details of rides can be found on the rides lists. If the weather is doubtful, call Peter or the appointed leader the previous evening (Monday) after 7.30pm to find out whether the ride has been changed.

Wednesday evening rides

During the summer months, when the evenings stay light until quite late, we have rides on Wednesday evenings. These usually depart from Brookside at 7pm. These rides don't have a leader: the riders who turn up will choose a route on the day. There is usually a pub stop towards the end of the ride. These are intended to be daylight rides, but you should bring lights.

About riding with CTC Cambridge

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If you enjoy sociable and non-competitive cycling in the local countryside, for an afternoon, a whole day and occasionally for longer, CTC Cambridge is the club for you.

We're a local group of CTC, the National Cyclists' Association. You don't have to be a member of CTC to try us out, but if you become a regular you will be expected to join.

As a club, we are open to everyone with an interest in cycling. Cycling with CTC offers an environmentally-friendly and enjoyable way of keeping fit, making friends and exploring some of the country lanes, villages, cafes and pubs in the Cambridge area.

Read Our weekly rides programme for a description of the various rides we run each week.

Thinking of riding with us?

The best option for newcomers is to join one of our Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon rides.

The Saturday morning rides (summer months only) are short, about 15 miles, and are gentle-paced and suitable for virtually anyone.

The Sunday afternoon rides (all-year) are rather longer, 45 miles in summer and 30 in winter. They are the core of what the club does, with the tea stop being a particular highlight.

We don't ride especially fast. A typical average is 12mph, which is slower than most racing clubs though we tend not to stop very often until we reach the tea stop. So come prepared to ride fairly steadily for about 30 miles (summer) or 25 miles (winter) until we get to tea, where there is ample opportunity to rest and recharge before the shorter ride home. This might be a challenge for the first few weeks but you will soon develop the legs for it.

Whatever your strength and speed, we won't abandon you, and the ride leader will adjust the route to suit the speed of the group.

Taking part in rides

Although the leader and the other riders will try to look after you when on the ride, you do need to be fairly self-sufficient and responsible for your own safety:

1. Make sure your bike is in good working order. Check the brakes work and make sure that you can use all the gears. Put some oil on the chain if it looks a bit dry or rusty. And check the tyres are pumped up fully.

2. Carry enough tools to allow you to mend a puncture. This means a puncture repair kit, a spare tube, a pump, tyre levers and a spanner if necessary to remove your wheel.

3. Bring enough cash for the refreshment stops or to pay for a taxi home in the event of a complete breakdown.

4. Bring lights for all rides in the winter

CTC national office has produced a useful guide to cycling with a group (pdf) which includes some important safety advice.

What to wear

Wear whatever you like and feel comfortable in, though make sure it is appropriate to the weather.

Although many of our members wear specialised cycling clothing (lycra shorts, etc) quite a few don't, and you shouldn't feel you need to wear anything in particular to "fit in".

However cycle-specific or similar sports clothing is often the most comfortable and can add greatly to your cycling pleasure. Your ride leader and other members will be pleased to give advice.

The best approach is to dress in layers so you can adjust your clothing according to the changing weather and how warm you are feeling, and since this is Britain come prepared for rain.

Photos by Julia Hochbach.

Links

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Other CTC groups

CTC - The UK's National Cycling Organisation
CTC Peterborough
CTC Bedfordshire
CTC Hertfordshire
CTC Norfolk
CTC Suffolk
CTC Essex

Other local cycling organisations

Cambridge Cycling Campaign
Cambridge Cycling Club
The Veteran Cycle Club
Mildenhall Cycling Rally

Other cycling organisations and websites

Sustrans

Legal

2009-07-01T10:31:00.004+01:00

Who we are

CTC Cambridge (Cambridge Cyclists' Touring Club) is a member group of CTC, the UK's National Cycling Organisation.

For legal purposes it is part of Cyclists' Touring Club (Eastern) Limited, a subsidiary of CTC.

CTC was founded in 1878. Our Cambridge group was formed in 1921, and has been assembling for rides at Brookside since 1921.

To contact CTC Cambridge, see our contact us page.

To contact CTC (national office), visit their contact us page or write to CTC, Parklands, Railton Rd, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX.

Copyright statement

Main website (ctc-cambridge.org.uk):

All text is Copyright © 2010Cyclists' Touring Club (Eastern) Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

All photographs remain the copyright © 2008-2010of the original photographer.

Blog (blog.ctc-cambridge.org.uk)

All postings and photographs are the copyright © 2008-2010of the original author or photographer, All Rights Reserved, whose name is normally stated nearby.

Some photographs may have a more permissive licence: this will be displayed on the individual page.

Starting points for Tuesday rides (Senior Cyclists' Group)

2009-06-01T13:29:00.006+01:00

(For the start points of our Thursday rides, see here.)
(For the start point of our Saturday and Sunday rides, see here.)

CTC Cambridge's Senior Cyclists' Group usually meets at 9.30 or 10.00 on Tuesdays at one of

Madingley Road park and ride (west of Cambridge)
Trumpington park and ride (south-west of Cambridge)
Newmarket Road park and ride (east of Cambridge)

These start points offer free car (and cycle) parking, toilets, vending machines and shelter.

See the details for each ride to find out the start time and which start point is being used that day.

View this on a larger map

Rides lists in Google Calendar

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The CTC Cambridge rides lists are now available via Google Calendar. If you use Google Calendar or another calendar program that allows you to view shared calendars in iCalendar format then you can display our rides on your own calendar.

This is a new feature of this website, and we'd be interested to hear whether you find it useful. Please send your comments or questions to the secretary (contact details on our contacts page).

Six separate calendars are available, one for each kind of ride we run. You can choose which calendars you wish to subscribe to. The table below gives the iCalendar URL of each calendar.

iCalendar URLs for CTC Cambridge calendars.
These are given as hyperlinks. Don't follow these links: instead, you need to copy the link and supply it to your chosen calendar program. To add one of the following calendars to your own Google calendar, follow these steps.
Tuesday Senior Cyclists' rides http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/94lcvnop9bot32lsi3ksusemtc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Wednesday evening rides http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/r1lfdqn6fuemr17b55lb9tsn8g%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Thursday rides http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/94lcvnop9bot32lsi3ksusemtc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Saturday introductory rides http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/d7l6tql22novfpucsbk9ovncus%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Sunday all-day rides (including longer rides) http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/ejpajo6er5a16uf3npmj7iqp88%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Sunday afternoon rides http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/vgi3pog5rem3jbpaicu5b5tpd8%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Right to ride

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The CTC "Ride to Ride" network is an organisation for liaison with local authorities and the Highways Agency regarding cycling matters.

CTC's national office deals with national matters regarding Parliament and Government.

Accredited "Right to ride" officers 2009:

Local matters are dealt with by local "right to ride" officers. These are CTC members appointed by CTC national office to cover specific local authority areas. The "right to ride" officers for Cambridgeshire are as follows:

Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire District Council:
Mike Stapleton (County officer), 01763 221405 (m.stapletonctc@ntlworld.com)

Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Council:
George Rich, 01223 357511 (geobrich@tiscali.co.uk)

Huntingdonshire District Council:
Peter Quest, 01480 380735 (peterquest@ntlworld.com)

East Cambridghire District Council:
Vacant

Fenland District Council:
Bob Billingham, 01223 412926 (rg_bill@msn.com)

South Cambridgeshire cycleway consultation: August 2009

For more information about these schemes see the County Council website.

Trumpington to Hauxton Mill: CTC comments and recommendations

Fen Ditton to Horningsea cycleway: CTC comments and recommendations

Histon cycleway improvements: CTC comments and recommendations

Milton P&R to Impington cycleway: CTC comments and recommendations

Babraham Road cycleway: CTC objections and recommendations

Other recent campaigning:

Sept 2008: Notes from a meeting to discuss and demonstrate projects for Cambridge Cycling Demonstration City.

Objections to Northstowe Planning Application

Objection to the Development of the Mereham Settlement

Contact us

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General

For general queries, contact the club secretary, Nigel Deakin (secretary at ctc-cambridge dot org dot uk or phone 01223 311073). See our policy on unsolicited advertising below.

Our rides

For queries about the Saturday and Sunday rides, and rides in general, contact the runs secretary, Joseph Sugg (joesugg72 at yahoo dot co dot uk or phone 01223 476786).

For queries about the Tuesday rides (Senior Cyclists) contact Peter Rowell (ellis at ellis-rowell dot co dot uk or phone 01954 210692).

For queries about the Thursday rides contact Greta Lumbers (phone 01223 872327).

Membership

Membership is maintained by CTC nationally. Find out how to join here.

This website

For comments on this website and blog: contact the webmaster, Nigel Deakin (secretary at ctc-cambridge dot org dot uk)

Policy on unsolicited advertising

We are always interested in hearing from possible mid-morning, lunch and late-afternoon tea stops in the local countryside around Cambridge. If we decide to visit we'll add a link to our website.

Whilst our members may well be interested in commercial cycling holidays, it isn't the role of CTC Cambridge to get involved in publicising them. So please don't ask us to forward adverts for cycling holidays to our members; we won't. And please don't ask us to add links to hotels and tour operators to our links page; we won't.

About us

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CTC Cambridge (Cambridge Cyclists' Touring Club) is a member group of CTC, the UK's National Cycling Organisation.

To contact us, see the contact us page.

Membership is handled nationally. Find out how to join here.

CTC Cambridge Committee 2010

President: George Rich
Vice President: Vic Skelton

Chair: George Rich
Secretary: Nigel Deakin
Treasurer: Geoff Nichols
Runs secretary: Joseph Sugg

Assistant Secretary: Bob Billingham (welfare officer)
Assistant Runs secretary: Greta Lumbers
Membership secretary, Registration Officer and Promotions Officer: Clive Peace
Assistant Membership secretary: Phil Lee

Mike Stapleton
Tom Howes
Ian Wright
Eva Aldritt
Julia Hochbach

Honorary Auditor: Bob Norman

Next rides (to 6 Aug)

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Sunday 1st Aug: Car-Assisted Ride. Phone Adrian for more details Leader: Adrian Lee.

Sunday 1st Aug: Sunday all-day ride. Meet at 9.00am at Brookside. Coffee is at Clavering Lakes, Fishing Lodge. Lunch is at Green Tye, Prince of Wales. Tea is at 4.30pm at Hare Street Cafe. Note early tea time Leader: Geoff Nicholas.

Sunday 1st Aug: Sunday afternoon ride. Meet at 2.15pm at Brookside. Tea is at 4.30pm at Hare Street Cafe. Note early Tea time Leader: Ian Driver.

Tuesday 3rd Aug: Senior Cyclists group. Meet at 9.30am at Trumpington P&R. Coffee is at Bring your own. Lunch is at Orwell, The Chequers. Leader: George Rich.

Wednesday 4th Aug: Wednesday evening ride. Meet at 7.00pm at Brookside. Stop about 21:00 at The Little Rose, Haslingfield. Bring lights. These informal rides have no leader.

Thursday 5th Aug: Thursday ride. Meet at 9.30am at 50 Jopling Way, Hauxton. Coffee is at Bring your own. Lunch is at Green Tye, Prince of Wales. Leader: Greta Lumbers.

End of Site Feed

2007-07-29T23:38:00.002+01:00

If you are reading this then you're almost certainly doing so because you're subscribed to or viewing the site feed.

So you may like to know that I'll be turning off the site feeds (Atom and RSS) for the main part of the CTC Cambridge website in the near future.

This does not affect the feeds for the blog. These will remain as before.

The main part of the CTC website contains only about a dozen pages, and is almost completely static. The front page and one or two other pages are updated automatically by an external process: these updates do not always seem to show in the site feed. So the site feed serves little purpose and may well be confusing. So I'm planning to turn it off shortly and remove the link.

Nigel 29 July 2010