Norfolk Cafe Cycle Tour Sportive 6 (34 miles via The Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant, Yaxham)

Note Mill Cafe is now closed down

Yesterday saw the 6th Norfolk Cafe Cycle Tour sportive take place. Due to injury, apathy and foreign holidays the trip was whittled down to only 4 riders registering at race HQ.

One of the riders was Dr Hans who had been very disappointed with the quality of the first aid kit taken on the last sportive, particularly as it lacked any gauze, and he insisted on checking it had all the first aid essentials before we were allowed to set off. The kit was laid out and his approval given.

First aid kit getting the medical thumbs up, including two pink tablets no one was sure about

So under a grey and drizzly sky we set off on the ride out to The Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant at Yaxham which had performed very well on my previous visit back in January (see Is there such a thing as a free lunch). We hadn't gone far when we realised no one had remembered to pick up the first aid kit after it's inspection so if there was a medical emergency today Dr Hans would have to improvise on equipment. I decided not to tell him in case he made us go back for it.

On the navigation front I had finally read up on how my sat nav was meant to work and it was now operating correctly. We therefore arrived at the Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant near Yaxham with out further incident.

Sportive entrants with bikes parked up in outside seating area of the Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant

On arrival we parked our bikes and as it was still a bit cold and grey we decided to sit inside. The Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant has a number of indoor and outdoor seating areas to choose from and on this occasion we went for the leather sofa seating area. Before we sat down we checked out the cakes, of which there was only a small but tempting selection. Dr Hans and Little George (Son) opted for rocky road while myself and Chris (wife) went for the white chocolate and raspberry sponge cake. Little George also had a cheese scone and I was pleased to see it was warmed up and stuck to the advice from the scone rhyme; "Cheese scone hot, fruit scone not".

Drinks and cakes on the coffee table in the leather sofa seating area

The hot chocolates and coffees were all very good and scored well. The cakes were also excellent and I thought the bit of rocky road I tried was the finest I had had despite not being a supporter of the marshmallow. Last time I came I had not been a big fan of the cheese scone but George reported that it was now very tasty. When I had totted up today's ratings the Mill Cafe Bar and Restaurant had come out with practically the same overall score as on the last visit and maintained it's place in my cafe top 10.

With drinks and cakes consumed we had to set off home. On the way back I took the opportunity of consulting Dr Hans on my bunged up ear, due to three swimming sessions last week. He advised I put olive oil in it for a few days which I will do but as added innovation I will put vinegar in the other ear in case I come across a salad that needs dressing.

It was another successful Norfolk Cafe Cycle Tour Sportive and everyone said that they were already looking forward to the next one on October 18th. All welcome.

Updated scores for The Mill Cafe Bar based on 2 visits.

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
8.0	8.0	6.5	7.38	7.5	7.48

This is map of the route
Click here to download 34 miles Norwich Yaxham loop GPX file for your GPS