Lets find a Cafe (or tearoom)

Lets find a Cafe (or tearoom)

Locations of reviewed cafes

For more information on the Cafes I have visited and the latest cafe cycle news go to http://www.cake-crusader.co.uk/

Cake Crusader Book

There is now a Cake Crusader book available where you can follow my journey from humble local trips to world record attempts and near-death experiences. How did a simple method of keeping track of decent cycling café pit stops turn my life upside down? Track my adventures into Europe, up mountains and right across Great Britain as I become a 'rising star' on social media. Will I prove my critics wrong? Should cheese scones be served hot or cold? Do I really have nothing better to do with his time? A must read for lovers of cycling and cake or anyone wanting to make it big in the virtual world

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Thursday 29 March 2018

More training less sofa dejavu. (Jane's Coffee Corner, East Rudham)

Janes Coffee Corner,
East Rudham,
Opening times Tues-Sat 9:30-3:00,
Recommended 
As I may have mentioned I am planning to ride the length of the Pyrenees in June to help get you in the mood for the Tour de France as I test out the best cafes for the peleton to stop at during the long days in the mountains. I will be taking Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) as my cycling guest. However it looks quite a tough trip as there are 11 major climbs to take on as we average over 60 miles a day. With all the recent bad weather then outdoor riding opportunities have been limited so I thought it was time to up our training. 
Route of the Cake Crusader TDF special in June
A couple of years ago we had had a very pleasant ride out from Hard to Please House (HTPH) in Aylsham to East Rudham which was 58 miles so seemed an ideal choice for our first longer training run. Andrew had performed badly that day and complained of feeling unwell with a virus (I diagnosed it as a severe bout of laziness). It led to a very useful cycling guest cycling top tip.

Cycling guest cycling top tip No 50. To avoid being tired on your cycle rides try getting off your sofa and out on your bike more often.

Since we last went the tea room had been taken over so I would have two dead birds this trip as I planned to include a review of the new offering, Jane's Coffee Corner, as well. 

Things started badly as when I arrived at HTPH I was greeted with the news that Andrew had once again been laid low with a "virus" and had not been out on his bike much recently but resting on the sofa.

This did not bode well and only got worse as we set off in to a typical Norfolk wind (always a into us no matter what direction we were going). However, maybe I was being unfair as Andrew started surprisingly strongly while launching into a series of topical rants. But soon it was clear that he had once again not followed Cycling guest cycling top tip No 50 as he insisted on stopping every few minutes to take photos of 'the lovely spring day', which just seemed like an excuse for another rest!

We rode further and further apart as Andrew stopped for more and more "photos" until we arrived at Jane's Coffee Corner. Which wasn't really in the corner of East Rudham but opposite the common next to the pub.

Outside Sues Coffee Corner 
As in its previous incarnation as well as a cafe it sells antiques. There was also an art class going leading to a good atmosphere and ambiance score.
Oh look another photo of  'a lovely spring day'
But we weren't here for antiques or art so it was straight to the cake selection which was a good one although sadly no brownies for #BOTY. I went for chocolate cake and Andrew carrot cake (in honour of the Easter Bunny who will be out and about this weekend). He decided to have a cup of tea to go with it.
Part of the cake selection featuring a carrot cake
Our drinks and cakes soon arrived and as we tested them I compared the scores with the old cafe that was here. Spookily enough the rating came out the same although this time around our drinks didn't score as highly but the cakes were exceptionally good and got a much higher mark so, as before, I recommended a visit.
Excellent Chocolate and carrot cake
Despite delaying tactics I eventually got Andrew back on his bike for the ride back which was again into the wind. It was clear training needs to go up a notch so I have arranged another long ride for next week which I shall double up with as an opportunity to collect brownie to test from the Holt area. 
Scores 

Hot Choc Quality
Guest Hot Drink Quality
Effective Cake Selection
Cake Quality
Ambiance and Atmosphere
Café Rating
5
7
7.3
8.4
7.1
6.96

Route

Click here to down load 56 mile Alysham East Rudham loop gpx file to your gps



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