What heatwave. (Babaco Cafe, Watton)

Babaco Cafe,

Watton,

Recommended

Opening times Tue-Sat 9:30-4:00 

Yesterday the TV weather lady told me that today would be the start of a heatwave. This was excellent news as I was due to go on a cafe cycle ride with cycling guest Big George. He had heard the news too so it was no surprise that when he turned up at Crusader Towers he, like me, had shorts on for the first time this year. However this turned out not to be such a great idea for one of us.

First outside outing for my legs this year

The plan for today was built around some cycle cafe reconnaissance. I needed a cafe in the Watton area for the forthcoming overnight spring sportive that I have organised. I will have 10 cycling guests with me for that ride and they will be expecting a decent cafe stop.

As well as getting out my summer cycling kit I had also put summer wheels plus new tyres on to my bike. Big George had to put on summer tyres but in his case some very worn ones from last year. Incidentally you may remember Big George is Scottish, I mean nothing by this from a 'get every last fibre of your tyre used before replacing them' point of view, just saying for your information. Inevitably a puncture soon occurred. 

Big George mending the puncture on his threadbare tyres

Big George claimed it was not his worn out tyre that was the problem but the fact I made him cycle through an unusual pond feature we had found in the middle of the road a few minutes earlier.

Pond in road

As always I checked my records which show that my last cafe cycle puncture on a ride was a year ago (30th April 2017) whereas my cycling guests have now had seven in this time. I think we all know what will happen on my next ride.

With puncture repaired we continued to our Target destination Babaco Cafe on Watton High street. There was as yet no sign of a heatwave and we had been kept cool by a very strong wind so we decided not to make the most of the continental style outdoor seating area that had been provided.

Outside Babaco in the continental style seating area

Inside we sat at the window breakfast bar so we could keep an eye on the bikes. While Big George did this I checked out the cakes which had a varied selection but not many slices of each on display. However I did spot some brownie which I opted for in order to test it out for Brownie of the Year (#BOTY).

Cake selection

Big George had a cappuccino and a cheese, onion and tomato toastie. As a cheese, onion and tomato toastie is not cake then Big George played no further part in any cake reviewing activities at the Babaco Cafe.

When our refreshments arrived Big George thought his coffee was a good one and scored well. My Hot Chocolate was about average and scored appropriately and the brownie was pretty good. Check out my thing of the year page on the cake crusader website to see if it has made the current potential finalist list.

Today's refreshments

Babaco had passed its audition and I will be happy to pop in with my Spring sportive cycling guests in a couple of weeks where I'm sure cafe rating mayhem will occur.

It was now I discovered I had made a mistake wearing shorts as not only was the promised heatwave a myth leaving me with cold legs but as I unlocked my bike I knocked it over and the big cog ripped big chunks out of my unprotected limbs. Thanks a lot TV weather lady.

My shredded leg

As today's ride was over 50 miles and the wind had been a tough one then Big George started to flag over the last few miles. All that kept him going was the thought of a nice hot bubble bath for when he got home and as a special reward for cycling so hard he was not only going to have his normal scented candles but sprinkle on a few rose petals as well. Although I promised not to tell anyone and destroy his tough scotsman image.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6	7	6.4	7.2	6.5	6.62

Route

Click here to download 55 mile Norwich Watton loop GPX file for your GPS

Switch it on and off. (Kiah Homebakes, Hemsby)

Kiah Homebakes,

Hemsby,

Opening times Mon-Wed 10-2:30,

Thur-Sat 9:30-3:00

Listening to the news this morning it seemed like things were getting serious between Mr Trump and Mr Putin and that it could soon turn nasty with the end of humankind possibly just around the corner. But I can't let a little thing like that distract me from my own mission as I had planned a cycle ride with Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) out to the coast. However it soon became clear that I too may be seen as a threat to the super powers.

Just after we set off from Hard to Please House it appeared that I had been the subject of a cyber attack when completely unexpectedly my Di2 electronic gears went dead and I was stuck in a single gear. I was flamoxied as they had never stopped working before (except on the two occasions were I accidently cut the cable). I confirmed that the battery was charged and that all the cables and connectors were in place but still no joy. Fortunately I used to work in IT so knew what the best approach was so I disconnected and reconnected the battery to turn the gears on and off again and the cyber terrorists had been thwarted (for now).

Despite starting from Hard to Please House I had planned today's route rather than leave it to Andrews old school paper map approach. I knew this would not go down well so was prepared when  Andrew constantly complained about the direction I was going in claiming he won't have gone that way at every junction. It wasn't for many miles when we were far enough away from his house so that he knew no better and we could get back to discussing matters of the day.

We eventually hit the coast road and I was pleased to see they had finally got round to putting the sails back on Horsey Mill.

Horsey Mill with sails on top rather than in pieces by the side

From here it wasn't far to todays cafe which was Kiah Homebakes on Hemsby high street.

Outside Kiah Homebakes which is bigger inside than it looks

We had done nearly 30 miles so were in need of a break. I was therefore pleased to see a good cake selection with 4 big sponges and plenty of traybakes. I awarded a good effective cake selection (ECS) score.

A wide cake selection to chose from

I went for a chocolate sponge and Andrew a chocolate oat slice plus a cappuccino.. 

Our refreshments soon arrived although we both found the drinks a bit disappointing. However the cake and oat slice were both very good and just what was needed to get our energy levels back up (you can always rely on cake) making this a very pleasant stop.

Todays cake and drink offering

Re-energised we were off again but I soon had my second cyber attack of the day as this time the cycle Sat Nav stopped showing the route and we with no paper map we were now stranded out in the wilds off Norfolk. I feared it might not be World War 3 that did for us but hyperthermia and starvation. Fortunately before either of them kicked in I was able to use my IT expertise again and by skillfully switching my Garmin 1000 on and off I miraculous resolved the problem and we were on our way.

Despite it once again being cold and damp it had been another excellent ride. Next week I have 3 more rides planned when hopefully the weather would have warmed up and maybe a few layers can be discarded. I have also invited Mr Putin and Mr Trump to come along to sort their problems out as I know anything can be resolved out on a bike ride, especially if cake is involved.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
5.3	4	7.2	7.5	6.0	6.0

Route

Click her to download 52 mile Aylsham Hemsby loop gpx file to your GPS

What no art. (Thornham Deli, Thornham)

Thornham Deli,

Thornham,

Opening times Everyday 8:30-17:00,

Highly Recommended 

Today I was going to attempt to combine culture with cycling by popping into Damien Hirst's (who is an artist) exhibition during today's cafe cycle ride. Big George was my cycling guest and informed me that he is not only a rugby loving Scotsman but a bit of a culture vulture as well, apparently.

To make todays adventure possible we would be starting from Fakenham then doing a 50 mile loop to take in Damien's stuff at Houghton Hall followed by a stop at Thornham Deli (which incidentally was recommended to me by a cyclist wearing wellies, but that's another story.)

We arrived at Fakenham town centre car park to discover that 6 hours of pay and display would cost us £3.80. Unlike the typical rugby loving scottish stereotype Big George immediately offered to chip in. He dug into his pocket and offered me a Euro and a 5p piece. I accepted the generous 5p contribution, purchased our pay and display and we were off.

One of the many views available to us in North West Norfolk (hope you like sky)

Houghton Hall was well sign posted and only a few miles into our ride. On the way we discussed the latest news of our student sons (2 each) who were back from university. We agreed how when we were at Uni we went to more lectures, did more work and got up before lunchtime (probably) unlike the youth of today blah, blah, blah, rant, rant, rant, aren't old people great etc etc. 

When we arrived at Houghton Hall we discovered that it was not only students but Artists how can't be bothered to get up in the morning as Damien didn't open up until 11.00am and it was currently only 10. I did spot some cows in the grounds so took a photo of them in case they were concrete, stuffed or pickled ones and an exhibit (they weren't).

A possible exhibit of concrete cows at Houghton Hall

With Art now off today's agenda we had to refocus on the cafe part of the mission and sped on to Thornham with the wind behind. Unfortunately for the last section we had to turn into a strong gale. It is always difficult to chat when cycling into the wind with anyone and as I normally can't understand anything Big George says, as he speaks in Scotch, then conversation became impossible until we arrived at Thornham Deli.

At Thornham Deli 

Even though it was only 11:30 the deli was packed and we were lucky to get a table. While Big George kept guad of our seats I went to check out the cake selection, which was an excellent one with everything a good effective cake selection (ECS) should have, including brownie to check out for Brownie of the year #BOTY.

Today's cake selection

I was informed that everything in the ECS was made on site. I naturally selecting the brownie. Big George ordered a cappuccino and ham sandwich. As a ham sandwich is not cake he took no further part in any cake reviewing activities during our visit.

Our drinks arrived and were both top drawer scoring well in their relative hot drink categories

Cakes and drinks and Big Georges phone (which is neither a cake or a drink)

The brownie was excellent too and easily made it into my current top 8 contenders for the brownie off in December. I even took another piece home for Mrs Crusader and the parasites to taste and confirm it's high quality. (for a full list of the current top 8 brownies, with photos, go to the new cake crusader website)

Excellent brownie

Thornham Deli had proved to be a high quality stop, making up for the lack of modern art on today's ride. I highly recommended a visit but it appears to be busy venue at peak times although they do do take away coffee and cake as well.

The way back was into the wind and fairly hilly so, probably due to lack of cake, Big George fell behind. As I waited longer and longer at each junction I could easily have read a book or even written one. Which reminds me I have recently written a book which is available at Amazon or on Kindle (click here for details) and from next week will be stocked at Jarrolds in Norwich.

Cover of the sort of book I would have had time to write while waiting for Big George

We eventually made it back to the car park where I decide that it was probably a good job that the art exhibition had been closed as due to the speed we returned at our pay and display would have certainly run out although I'm sure Big George would have chipped in another 5p towards any fine..

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.9	7.5	8.3	8.1	7.0	7.76

Route

Click here to downlaod 54 mile Fakenham Hunstanton Loop gpx file for your GPS

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

Missing the Jungle. (Jungle Cafe, Beccles)

Jungle Cafe,

Beccles,

Opening times Every day 10-4:00,

Highly Recommended 

I was already missing the tropical experience of cycling in India so to help ease me back into cold, wet and windy cycling I had chosen to go to the Jungle cafe near Beccles for yesterday's cafe cycle ride. I hoped the potential of sitting amongst palm trees would help my acclimatisation.

Big George was today's cycling guest and as always most of the outward journey was spent discussing important matters of the day such as the different things we had recently added to spice up our porridge. That morning I had gone for pineapple chunks to get me in the jungle mood (it was a mistake).

It was an extremely windy ride down to Beccles so progress was slow. Things were delayed further when Big George decided he was a bit too warm so wanted to remove the sleeves from his new convertible jacket in order to put it into gilet mode. It was like a scene from the generation game as Big George struggled with zips and pockets to get it set up and by the time he had done it the sun had gone in and we were cold again.

Big George struggles to convert his jacket to a gilet

After another few miles we found the Jungle cafe at the Urban Jungle garden centre on the A145. 

Outside Jungle cafe near Beccles

Fellow cycle cafe experts will know that there is a second Jungle Cafe just outside Norwich which I have been to several times. The set up of this one is the same with the tables set amongst tropical plants.

Our choice of table amongst the Jungle plants

The cake selection was good and I was pleased to be able to also have some brownie to check out as part of brownie of the year #BOTY. You can find out the current potential finalists (with pictures) on the thing of the year page on my new website. You will have to go there to see if this one is in the running. (click here)

Cake selection including Brownies

They don't have a fancy coffee machine at Jungle cafes but instead you can choose your  bean to have in a cafeteria. As Big George wanted a cappuccino it wasn't to his liking but he had a Guatemalan bean and some hot milk as the next best thing.

Our cakes and drinks in a jungle setting

I went for Ginger cake with my hot chocolate which came with mini marshmallows on the side. I thought the hot chocolate was excellent and probably the best this year. The ginger cake was good too. As it was Big Georges turn to pay he was not happy as it was one of the more expensive cafes I have taken him to.

I enjoyed having my drink and cake it a slightly different environment so like the other Jungle cafe I would recommend a visit.

I think I'm now ready to move on from all the jungle based action of the last few weeks and as my next adventure is in the Pyrenees I will be looking for some patisserie style venues for my next few rides.

Scores (based on 3 visits)

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.8	6.57	7.47	7.50	7.90	7.45

Route

Click link to down load 50 mile Norwich Beccles loop gpx file for your gps