Ace Cafe to High Beech to Finchingfield

ACE CAFÉ to HIGH BEECH (Bert’s tea hut) to FINCHINGFIELD.

I have planned a European tour for this year and need to get some decent mileage under my belt before heading off. I like my normal rides, but sometimes I get fed up with the planning and leading.

I had joined a forum about a year ago called “Londonbikers.com”.  Every now and again I like to have a read and look at what others are up to, but I have never been on one of their rides. I was having a look at the ride out section and saw a ride leaving the Ace Café heading to High Beach (Bert’s tea hut) then on to Finchingfield. It was 125cc (learner) friendly so I thought “why not give it a go”. A few messages back and forth to the organiser and my brother and I had a 10 o’clock rendezvous at the Ace Café for Sunday morning.

I didn’t want to do a full blown big bike day as I have heard rumours that some are just a little too risky, unless you’re into that sort of thing. Each to their own. I wanted a nice gentle, enjoyable ride, getting used to riding in a large group, and getting some distance under the tyres.

 

 

Sunday morning arrived and for the time of year it was a lovely morning with distant white clouds dotted in a pale blue spring sky. We set off early, did the monotonous ride down the motorway to the Ace, fuelled up across the road then pulled in to the car park to wait for our group. I had no idea who we would be riding with, just that the guy leading the ride rides a white CBR 600 RR. I hadn’t worried about the lack of information until we pulled up and the car park was full of bikes, so many in fact that bikes were also parking on the other side of the road.

I parked my bike and walked down to speak to my brother, when quite by chance a white CBR 600 RR pulled into an empty parking space. I asked if he was from London bikers, to which he replied he was. Soon introductions were being made and a plan was hatched. There was time for tea, a bite to eat and an explanation of the corner man system before heading out.

The first part of the ride was around the North Circular, the A406, then through the suburbs of North London and finally into Epping Forest. This too be honest was not the best part of the ride. The traffic around the North Circular was busy and fast flowing and the group soon became fragmented. I soon became stuck somewhere in the middle of the group, with the faster more confident riders making headway while the less confident, slower riders falling behind. I decided that with the flow of traffic and the amount of speed cameras around the North Circular it was best to slow the speed. I had also lost my brother, and while I didn’t mind losing the rest of the group I couldn’t lose my brother, I never had and wasn’t about to start. I have also found that you should always ride to your own ability and speed, keeping up can and has caused accidents.  Several riders passed me then in my mirror I could once again see my brother.

The corner man system was working well, with every corner clearly marked by a rider. We finally reassembled at Gunpowder Park, Waltham Abbey, Essex. Once it was clear that everyone had regrouped and that the tail gunner had given the all clear to proceed, we headed off once more to the first official stop for the day which was High Beech (Bert’s tea hut). The lanes here were narrow and winding, the trees giving shade. There were several wet spots that kept you alert but the riding was much better than that of the motorways and towns.

 

Soon we were at the tea hut where we had time for a chat, a cuppa and to meet a few more riders wanting to join the group. The weather was lovely, bright clear skies and the forest was once again coming awake after its long winter’s sleep. The brown baron skeletal limbs now giving birth to fresh green shoots and leafs. Drinking tea means that there is the need for some relief so a short several hundred yard ride found us at the local public conveniences, which meant that the rest of the ride could proceed with no interruption.

After a head count we were once again on our way, leaving the forest we entered open countryside, the fields green with freshly shooting crop or yellow with full flowering rape plants and occasionally brown freshly ploughed fields dotted the landscape. We followed these country roads riding into, and then leaving villages which lined its way. The roads weaved their way around the natural lay of the countryside with gentle climbs and descents. At one of the larger villages we stopped so that some of the group could refuel and grab a snack if required. While we waited several bike groups of different sizes passed in either direction.

 

This was now the last road section before Finchingfield, our destination for the day.  There was more road now than village and with that came more twists and bends. The roads were great, just the sort I like to ride, fast straights with a good helping of tight bends. The faster riders who were marking the corners would soon wiz past once relieved from their duty by the tail gunner. It was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves, however as I came around a particular tight corner I noticed everyone had stopped.  Finding a safe place to stop I pulled up to see what was going on. It then became apparent that one of the group had become a little too confident and had over cooked one of the corners and had come off the road. He was ok, although a little shaken which is more than can be said for his bike, which had some considerable cosmetic damage.

Once everything had been sorted out and recovery was on its way, he insisted that we carried on. Something I must admit I was uncomfortable with, but he reassured us everything that could have been done was done. Once again we were on our way but the accident had put a sombre tone to our day, it also sobered some of the quicker riders. Soon we arrived at Finchingfield a lovely little village near Saffron Walden. Here we stopped for lunch and a drink; although I say lunch it was now mid-afternoon. We enjoyed the lovely weather, the bikes and some of the different cars that turned up. It was nice to lay on the village green and just chill out.

With the afternoon turning into early evening we decided it was time to leave and head home, so we rode to the next village and fuelled up. It was here we left the group, letting everyone know we were off, so they didn’t come looking for us. I knew that they would follow a similar route home, which would mean that we would then have a forty five motorway ride, something I wanted to avoid. So I set my Garmin to avoid motorways and we headed home. A trip that took us through some more of our country’s beautiful and stunning countryside. We arrived home at about 5.30pm just in time for a lovely prepared Sunday roast.