The mystery of the disappearing overshoe (In-a-spin, Loddon)

In-a-Spin,

Loddon,

Opening times Tue-Fri 10:00-17:00,

Sat 09:00-17:00, Sun 09:00-14:00

Highly Recommended 

Recently Mrs Crusader decided it was about time she had a new bike as her current one was dirty and no longer matched her favourite cycling outfit. It was hard to argue against her rationale so I was tasked with getting her a suitable replacement that matched her criteria (clean and blue).

I had been very happy with my last new bike purchase which I had got from In-a spin near Loddon so we set off their to see if they could satisfy her demanding spec. Not only did they have just the right bike but I discovered they were now doing hot drinks and cake as well. I promised I would return on another day for a cafe cycle ride to do a proper review.

Well, today was that day and I was joined by cycling guest Big George for the trip. Once again it was a cold one, so we layered up before we set off. We hadn't gone far before Big George started to have cleat problems as his shoe kept slipping out of his pedal. I was keen to bring Big George up to speed with details from the recent Marathon that I ran in Gran Canaria and the pedal issues were distracting him from my story. At first I suspected he may have been making up the problem but when he insisted on stopping and removing both his overshoe and shoe, in this weather, I knew it was for real. 

After much huffing, puffing and fiddling we were good to go again and I could at last continue my mile by mile update (restarting from mile 7). I felt I now had his full attention until I got to the bit about the excellent water bottle snatch I performed at the half way drinks station as he suddenly announced that one of his feet was now much colder than the other. On closer inspection it appeared that this was because one foot no longer had an overshoe to help keep the heat in. Despite his claims that he clearly remembered putting it back on the evidence suggested that he must have left it while fiddling with his shoes earlier.

With mismatching feet, temperature wise, we continued to In-a-spin and got there just as I completed telling him about the final mile of my race.

At In-a Spin with equally warm feet

Once inside I immediately headed for the cakes and was impressed by both the number and quality of those on offer so awarded a high effective cake selection (ECS) mark. I went for coffee and walnut cake with my hot chocolate and Big George had an Americano and fruit scone (with raspberry jam).

Excellent cake selection

We sat down in the window seating area and awaited our refreshments. Owner Simon clearly felt obliged to ask how the marathon had gone as I may have mentioned that I was doing it (several times) during the recent bike purchasing activity. Big George went pale at the thought of hearing about it again so immediately suggested he gave a summary while I went to look at the bikes on display.

On my return the cakes and drinks had arrived, the coffee and walnut cake had expertly been placed the correct distance from my serviette, almost as if to make a point. I was lapping up the cycling chat whilst enjoying the bike based atmosphere and ambiance so completely forgot to take the obligatory drinks and cake photograph. It wasn't until I had finished my cake and drink that I noticed my gaff so this was all that was left when I eventually got round to taking a picture.

What was left of cakes and drinks when I finally remembered to take a photo

The drinks were very good with my hot chocolate being a proper Italian one. The coffee and walnut cake was a triumph, just a shame there's no photo. I thoroughly enjoyed my stop at In-a-Spin and would highly recommend a visit especially if you like bicycles or want to see what the cake actually looks like.

It was an uneventful ride back but once I got home I received a text from Big George saying that he had found his missing overshoe which led to today's cycling guest cycling top tip.

Cycling guest cycling top tip no 59. If you have to remove your overshoe during a ride and want to keep both feet equally warm then remember to replace it on the shoe without an overshoe and not on top of the foot that already has one.

Note I returned with a large group of cycling guests in spring 2017 who thought the cake was some of the best they had had thus pushing up the scores further

Scores based on 2 visits

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.0	7.5	7.5	8.25	8.5	7.75

Route

Click here to download Loddon - Norwich loop GPX file to load on to your GPS