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Well, sorry for the radio silence! That sounds LOVELY. I have particularly good associations with forum rides to Cambridge.
Unfortunately, I can't make that weekend, I'm in the Proper North hopefully, doing something with Clarion and going raving.
However I urge you to keep bumping the ride, start a list... Will get interest going in both the pending rides.
Thanks! I look forward to doing this route at some point.
Skülly
Ok, well how about the weekend of 18th/19th September? Fairly advanced, but that's when I could next do. Feel free to do it without me sooner if there's a burning desire for northern riding, though.
There's a little no through road bit just off Gordon Road a couple of hundred metres along from the start of the route that we could meet at. I'm not one for silly o'clock starts, how does 8:30/9am sound?
Route file here: https://microcosm.app/out/45Hxi
General description - take what I've found to be the most pleasant route out of North London avoiding horseshit bridge, then a pleasant undulating ride through Little Berkhamstead, before some premium gravel in Broxbourne Woods and a turn north to head up and well away from the Big Smoke. From there things get wilder with at least one ford, some gates to manoeuvre over/around and on into the quiet lanes and countryside of Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire. Roman roads abound, not too much in the way of bastard hills, although I have deliberately included one less bastard-y one as it was rather nice and had a good long descent the other side, views of Duxford and then a quiet wind into Cambridge.
Lunch stop - recommend The Brewery Tap in Furneux Pelham. Big garden, plenty of bikes there when I stopped by, friendly staff and good grub. (Strongly recommend not going down The Street from there. Absolutely destroyed by green laners. I got about 200m down it and met two guys on motocross bikes who had given up after the water reached their mid-thigh.)
Ending in Cambridge pub (TBC). Recommendations welcome. The route does actually end at the station, but can be amended easily once we know of a pub.
I'm no cat racer, so I did it in about 5.5 hours riding time/7 hours all told. Mix of surfaces was probably 15% gravel / 55% off road & farm tracks / 30% nice quiet roads. Don't remember there being any unpleasant busy roads.