Hargrave - Suffolk
Bushel's Babes!
The cycle group are a bunch of like-minded people who take to their cycles most Fridays at 11:00am for a ride of about an hour or 6 miles. The destination is always a hostelry where lunch and a drink are taken before making the arduous journey back to Hargrave.
Don't think we are 'OMIL' (Old Men In Lycra) we don't run to that. We are more 'LOTSW' (Last of the Summer Wine) - we take it in turns to be Compo.
If you enjoy a leisurely cycle ride in a social group, come and join us. Further information can be obtained from Dick on 850358 or Paul on 850416 to find out if we are riding and where we are starting from.
While it was never an intention to start a group, it happened all the same. It all started back in 2008 with Graeme Bushell. Now to position this, Graeme was a tremendous cyclist, not speedy but relentless in his ability to cycle on and on for ever. He had always been a keen cyclist and in days gone by he once cycled all around both islands of New Zealand. Even in 2008 at the age of 86 he was still going strong, thinking nothing of a 50 mile round trip. However Graeme’s wife Jean was a bit worried about him being out on the road on his own and was looking for a like minded person for Graeme to cycle with.
Jean contacted David Willcox (Dick) and he agreed to cycle with Graeme once per week although I don’t think he knew what he was letting himself in for. On one occasion Dick recalls that him and Graeme had cycled all the way to Clare. On the way back they stopped for a break in a gateway where they laid down in the summer sun and both fell asleep waking up some 2 hours or so later. They had some explaining to do when they got back.
Over the next couple of years the word got out that this was a fun thing to do and a number of other joined in. After some consideration it was decided to name the group after it’s founder member so the name ‘Bushell’s Babes’ was born.
Over the next year or so the group grew. The pub lunch had now become mandatory and generally a route was picked that would take us about eight miles to get to the pub and only about three miles home. You don’t want to ride too far having just had a meal washed down with a pint. Often the ride home would include the long hill from The Wash back into the village. We all struggled with that hill except Graeme who was regularly seen vanishing over the horizon with his legs going up and down like pistons while we often had to get off and walk up the hill. Currently anything from 2 to 8 people take part each Friday, weather, availability and lockdown permitting. Why not come and join us?
