Eight of us left the Cornhill this morning on a mission to find the Specialities Tea Rooms in Stisted; subject of a full page feature in Cycling Plus by Roger St Pierre.
Tristan, Dean, Ben, Hugh, Mark, Paul, Steve N and I set off at quite a lick. Tristan seemed to be hellbent on getting there before the scones cooled down, and his (long) turns on the front were real conversation coolers. Steve said his goodbyes at Glemsford as we headed towards Foxearth and Long Melford. On through Sudbury we sped and left at the foot of Ballingdon Hill and into the lanes to Lamarsh and Pebmarsh. As we continued to rattle along in the mid 20s Tristan showed no signs of flagging. Dean did his thing too and was no doubt just getting into his stride. As we turned left for a little bit of main road into Halstead, Tristan and Dean distanced themselves from us mere mortals. Never fear, Ben pointed his Lightspeed in their direction and off we went. Even with the burden of fatherhood, Ben is still capable of ripping along at 31mph. We were soon in Halstead - roll on the tea rooms! A friendly Italian helped us find the most direct route through Halstead - ciao! ciao! 

Down a few more lanes and there we were in the delightful village of Stisted (38 miles from Bury). Rolling into the drive of Specialities, we were met by Sean, the owner. He showed us where to stash our bikes around the side of the building. His wife Carole popped her head out of a side door and said if we didn't want to stack the bikes up we could move round the building to find more space: a good first impression. Sean then led us on a conducted tour of the cakes. And what cakes (and tarts)! There must have been eight to 10 types, plus a basket of just-out-the-oven large scones and Sean's homemade energy bars. As we sat outside, opposite the only other customer: Gerald Long (longtime member of the WSW and recent End2Ender), other groups of cyclists rolled up. The tea was served in BIG pots (with hot water brought out as and when required, Peter), followed by the cake orders.

Cyclists' heaven? You bet. Superb service, fantastic food, reasonable prices (£2.80 for tea and a scone with homemade jam, which included a 10% discount for cyclists), all in a lovely setting. What's not to like? In my humble opinion, one of the best watering holes within a club-run's reach. But don't go next week, they're on holiday. 

The route home was more direct (about 31 miles) as Paul had an appointment with a man from Sky. From Long Melford six of us opted for the B1066 while Paul ploughed down the main road - bet he was home before us. 78 miles on the computer by the time I got home. Quite a long ride, but well worth the effort.

Justin

PS A nice spot to take your partners, but if you want the 10% discount, better wear Lycra.

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