This article was published in 2002, in Newsletter 45.
It was raining. We could have stayed in the pub all afternoon, but we didn’t. Matthew Williams of Norwich Cycling Campaign (NCC) was desperate to show us The Bollard.
After lunch, fifteen riders set out on Route 1 of the National Cycle Network, passing the oldest surviving public concrete urinal, an obstacle course of 60s and 70s urban planning and another obstacle course of 80s and 90s cycling facilities.
The trail brought us to the low wooden post obstructing the cycle path that has come to symbolise the difficulties faced by NCC. Although clearly not a cycling city on par with Cambridge, levels of cycling in Norwich are well above the national average and deserve a higher level of provision than we experienced.
We hope to reciprocate the warm hospitality when NCC are invited to visit Cambridge in the New Year. We enjoyed using the new, direct Anglia Railways route which made the journey so easy. Thanks to NCC for showing us the cycling routes of their city, and for the loan of four cycles for the trip.
The next leisurely ride is to Haslingfield on 8 December.