One of the nearest pieces of coast to Cambridge is due east at Dunwich. And the route over there, by motorcycle is mostly picturesque and twisty – apart from the first 45 miles or so on the A14. From Stowupland the A1120 takes you through lovely villages to the coast road from where it is a short hop over to Dunwich, Southwold, Sizewell, Aldeburgh.

The cafe by Dunwich beach is one of my favourite places to go. It couldn’t be accused of beauty and the cafe is not a hot spot for the middle-classes. But you can buy a pot of tea and a cream scone for £3.75 – or you could have a huge plate of fish and chips if you prefer. Most people do. It is 75 miles each way and four and a half hours on the bike in total.

Belinda by the sea:

Today I took a ride over to the Adventure Bike Shop in Acton – not the Acton in West London where I used to work as a Health Visitor but in Suffolk, about 42 miles away from where I live. I had been meaning to replace my rather smelly and dinged Arai Tour X3. The Nexx XD1 is about £100 cheaper than a new Arai and has some up to date features – some plates to attach camera mounts (to save me glueing them on to the outside of the lid) and a clever sun visor. It feels much lighter than my Arai and coupled with buying a size large (size M wouldn’t even fit over my head) it feels less reassuring when on. I need to move my Bluetooth kit over to it and I will try it on the bike.

Lid

I zoomed over there to catch it before it closed (see Shot from Adze). Being offered a cup of tea the moment you step inside the shop always puts me in the mood to not walk out without supporting them. 

How good that the sun is shining today. It shone on a short and sometimes speedy ride (not quite a three figure speed yet) over to St Neots to a spot by the river where you can have a fish and chip lunch if you want or just a coffee and chocolate bar, park easily and enjoy the soothing site of the sunshine on water. 

After last week’s flat battery event – the first time in a few years of keeping a bike uncharged throughout the winter and an eye-opener to how much the alarm and other processes drains a couple-of-years-old battery – I returned with a fully charged up battery to connect up and ride in 5 degrees of an early March morning.

Below is everywhere I’ve ridden in the last 4 months. I ought to get out more often.

Tomorrow is going to be raining all day. Today is sunny but with an icy wind, an altogether better prospect for getting out on my slightly neglected bike. I wanted to go up to St Ives to see if there is somewhere nice in that old town to get a coffee and pass some time. I headed off into the mysterious (and I always think of it as swampy and neglected) region due north of Cambridge heading through Cottenham, Swavesey (even sounds weird) and Over (there are cruel jokes about Swavesey people devised by Over dwellers), Rampton (sounds like the name of a high security prison for mad offenders) but for a mysterious reason decided to head in another direction instead of find St Ives. The sun was bright but dazzling. The whole trip was 42 miles and the temperature a chilly 7 degrees.