There aren’t so many cyclemotor-related activities around this time of year, except for this particular and traditional EACC Suffolk Section event: on 4 January the 42nd Mince Pie Run started from Orwell Yacht Club, Ipswich, along with tea, coffee, and mince pies.
Our weather watch running up to the event wasn’t looking promising, with forecasts of freezing conditions and snow across much of the country. There were reports of snowfall in neighbouring counties during the previous day, though Suffolk still seemed OK, so we decided to take a chance and run the event. The Sunday morning seemed surprisingly clear and dry, though bitterly cold. The turn out was obviously compromised somewhat because of the adverse conditions, but we still had some 30 bikes, piloted by hardy souls, circulating the route to the Shipwreck Bar at Shotley Marina. At this halfway stop on this occasion, hot coffee and cocoa proved more popular than the more usual cold beers. The return leg was a straight run back along the main road to warm up again with hot tea, coffee and more mince pies at the Yacht Club. We did operate back-up vehicles around the course, but their salvage services were not required.
The roads proved pretty much dry and clear all day, with the first snow only arriving
The Mince Pie Run is dedicated to the memory of Dave Evans, who was the run’s organiser for twenty years and a collection raised £100 toward Cancer Research UK. Many thanks to all who attended and contributed to the event.
