The Lincolnshire Fens...

[Roger Barker]

This morning, sitting on the "sea bank" (no sea, just a bank), in the relentless Fenland breeze,
looking at the flat, featureless landscape stretching to infinity in all directions (as best I
could, given that my eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop spray "blow"),
I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling in the UK...

--
Roger Barker roger@peaksys.co.uk Boston, UK

[Mr R@T \ -Lsqco]

"Roger Barker" <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote in message news:wI6$8KAcPFZ$Ew7i@peaksys.co.uk...

> eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop spray "blow"), I nominated the
> Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling in the UK...
>
Ack! Having never been up there I can't comment on the terrain - but I would bet that stuff being
sprayed around can't be good for your bike.

Alex

[Simon Mason]

"Roger Barker" <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote in message news:wI6$8KAcPFZ$Ew7i@peaksys.co.uk...
> This morning, sitting on the "sea bank" (no sea, just a bank), in the relentless Fenland
> breeze, looking at the flat, featureless landscape stretching to infinity in all directions (as
> best I could, given that my eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop
> spray "blow"), I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling
> in the UK...

The Goole - Thorne area is worse. It's a featureless peat bog with, for added variety, in nearby
Ousefleet, the only OS 1km square in the UK with no features in it at all.
--
Simon Mason Anlaby East Yorkshire. 53°44'N 0°26'W http://www.simonmason.karoo.net (http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/)

[Marc]

Roger Barker <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote:

> I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling in the UK...

I offer the Somerset levels! Miles upon miles of pedalling into an eternal headwind even on the
sunniest day :-(

[Andrew]

"Roger Barker" <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote in message news:wI6$8KAcPFZ$Ew7i@peaksys.co.uk...
> This morning, sitting on the "sea bank" (no sea, just a bank), in the relentless Fenland
> breeze, looking at the flat, featureless landscape stretching to infinity in all directions (as
> best I could, given that my eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop
> spray "blow"), I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling
> in the UK...
>
> --
> Roger Barker roger@peaksys.co.uk Boston, UK

You have my sympathy. A friend used to live near Boston & I thought it was a grim place. With
crappy Lincolnshire drivers to boot (e.g. long straight road, see for miles, look left, look right,
see you coming, look left, look right, your still coming, nothing else behind you, And then still
pull out on you).

--
Andrew

"Look laddie, if you're in the penalty area and aren't quite sure what to do with the ball, just
stick it in the net and we'll discuss all your options afterwards."

[Simon Brooke]

Roger Barker <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> writes:

> This morning, sitting on the "sea bank" (no sea, just a bank), in the relentless Fenland
> breeze, looking at the flat, featureless landscape stretching to infinity in all directions (as
> best I could, given that my eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop
> spray "blow"), I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling
> in the UK...

That's the bit that G*d wipes his **** on, isn't it?

Come north, young man, we have much nicer places up here.

--
simon@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; of 90+ years of protection, but a cure for cancer, only 14? -- user 'Tackhead', in /.
discussion of copyright law, 22/05/02

[Simon Mason]

"andrew" <andrewcarver@NOSPAMTAhotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> You have my sympathy. A friend used to live near Boston & I thought it was
a
> grim place. With crappy Lincolnshire drivers to boot (e.g. long straight road, see for miles, look
> left, look right, see you coming, look left,
look
> right, your still coming, nothing else behind you, And then still pull out on you).

It doesn't seem to put the Bostonians off their cycling though.

Cycle to work data from census. 1 Cambridge 28.2 % 2 York 19.0 % 3 Oxford 17.4 % 4 Boston 15.5 % 5
Gosport 15.1 % 6 Kingston upon Hull 14.1 % 7Waveney 12.5 % 8 Crewe & Nantwich 11.9 %

--
Simon Mason Anlaby East Yorkshire. 53°44'N 0°26'W http://www.simonmason.karoo.net (http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/)

[Terry]

> "blow"), I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling in
> the UK...

You can be miserable anywhere. In june I went all around Bourne to Ely and thought it brilliant to
have no hills for a while.

That spray sounds bad though. I suppose you have wrap around safety glasses with a bit of foam tape
along the top edge. Not cool perhaps but even 007 might prefer it to sulphuric acid in the eyes.No
wonder they can only get Russians to work in the fields.

TerryJ

[-Lsqnot Respond]

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:41:16 +0100, Roger Barker <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote:

>This morning, sitting on the "sea bank" (no sea, just a bank), in the relentless Fenland breeze,
>looking at the flat, featureless landscape stretching to infinity in all directions (as best I
>could, given that my eyes were stinging from the effects of weak sulphuric acid crop spray "blow"),
>I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying place for cycling in the UK...

Seconded.

Spent much of my youth cycling in the Cambridgeshire & Lincs Fens. Went back for a reminder and did
the Peterborough 'Green Wheel' cycle route with my brother earlier this year.

It snowed. The headwind I rememebered from 15 years ago had not diminished. And the local
'architecture' had not improved. Isolated scrap yards or houses surrounded by 10 ft high chain link
fences and wild alsations.

I do, however, rather like the bleakness of the Fens in Winter.

Didn't John Betjeman claim that Boston Stump was such a spectacular builing that it was worth
cycling 40 miles in a headwind to visit? It's on my 'must do' list to see if he is correct or
whether it is simply that arriving anywhere after 40 miles of Fenland headwind is sheer joy.

[Roger Barker]

In article <lo6dmv0qmlnmpj6as004odfgf41tvfa52k@4ax.com>, [Not Responding]
<not_responding@dev.null.invalid> writes
>On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:41:16 +0100, Roger Barker <roger@peaksysNOSPAM.co.uk> wrote:
[snip]
>I nominated the Lincolnshire Fens as the most soul-destroying
>>place for cycling in the UK...
>
>Seconded.
>
[snip]
>
>Didn't John Betjeman claim that Boston Stump was such a spectacular builing that it was worth
>cycling 40 miles in a headwind to visit?

I think it's only spectacular because it's about the only thing that sticks up above the total
flatness of the surrounding area. It was probably more spectacular before the hospital was built,
which is a multi-storey building and also visible from a long way away. (Some of us who aren't
native to the area might say that the best view of the Stump is over your shoulder as you cycle away
from the town...)

>It's on my 'must do' list to see if he is correct or whether it is simply that arriving anywhere
>after 40 miles of Fenland headwind is sheer joy.

Until you set off home, and find that the on-shore breeze has suddenly become an off-shore breeze...

--
Roger Barker roger@peaksys.co.uk Boston, UK