A Traditional Day
For the first time in just over two years of living in Cambridge, I have experienced some of the more traditional features of the area. Saturday was supposed to be a day of shopping for clothing, which I wasn't really keen on, so I was happy when my friend invited me along to watch the Cambridge bumps (one traditional event). Little did I realise that I would be subjected to a more common tradition on the same day, until the Friday night when it was discussed that we would be CYCLING around Cambridge, since we would be needing to use bicycles to get to the BUMPs.
Now I don't mind cycling but I have never really cycled in traffic and would rather cycle on the pavements (a general no-no in the UK). So Saturday morning saw me apprehensively cycling DOWNHILL towards town with my friend in the lead. Thank goodness her bike (which I was borrowing) had good brakes. I was nervous to say the least and a bit wobbly as I haven't cycled for about a year now and have lost my natural balance (for cycling anyway). I survived the journey into town though and despite there being cars around I managed to deal with those pretty well too. It was the BIG RED BUS following me at one stage which was freaking me out though but I managed to stay in front and not get run over; yay for side roads.
The shopping was semi-successful but I won't go into detail as this wasn't really that exciting. After the shopping we (now joined by another friend) headed down river to find a spot to watch the bumps. This journey took us through town down busy busy roads (FREAK OUT!!!!) and then into quieter areas where I felt I could enjoy the cycle. After dumping the bikes at a pub by the river side we proceeded to walk for about half an hour (or more) along the river towards the starting point for the bumps, until we found a good spot to sit and watch the activities.
Now for those who do not know what bumps are... here is an explanation (as far as my understanding goes). Bumps are rowing races with a slightly different take on things. Instead of the crews racing next to each other (which would require a very wide river/lake), the crews race in line down the river. All boats set off at the same time but start off in a grid-like fashion (similar to how the GrandPrix races cars are set up at the start of their races - I think, although I didn't actually get to see the start of the races). The point of the race is really to try and bump into the crew/boat ahead of you in the gird and also to try avoid being bumped by the crew behind you. If you bump or are bumped, you have to rapidly move to the riverbank to avoid getting in the way of the other racing teams who will continue racing until all teams have bumped or are bumped, or the boats cross the finish line. While at the side, the crew/boat that did the bumping will be given branches and leaves from the nearby willow tree which are then placed into the crew's hair and this shows that they were victorious in their challenge. The bumped team just sit there all grumpy! Once the "race" is over, all the teams return their boats to the various club houses but have to pass all the crowds who will cheer or boo or clap politely depending on their feelings with regards the passing boat. All great fun really.
While the races are on, one has to be aware of the bank parties that belong to the crews. The bank parties are generally made up of the coach and some supporting members. They tend to be on bikes too and have to try keep up with the rowers, so tend to have to cycle pretty fast while yelling (and looking) at the crew racing. This is can be a dangerous thing though as there are crowds all down the tow-path so the potential for an accident is pretty high. The way around this though is for the bank party to yell various calls to clear the tow-path and warn observers of their arrival (and quick departure). Yells include "Tow-path" (very informative - NOT!) and "Move please" (polite lot here). But generally you can hear the bank party approaching during the race due to their comments being yelled at the crew (whether the crew hear these yells or not I haven't confirmed yet). This yelling of comments proved very amusing at one stage when the crew for Jesus College went rowing past and the coach (bank party) were yelling "COME ON, JESUS!". No one was disputing that call, whether they were supporters of Jesus College or not. When the bank party moved on, what was left behind them was a rather amused crowd chuckling quietly!
So, we were there to support Darwin College, specifically the crew which was being captained by my friend's husband. They did very well on the day and managed to bump the team ahead of them, thus landing up at the top of their division. They however had to race again in the next division but unfortunately didn't manage to bump again. Their final position was therefore at the top of their original division (fourth I think). Well done Darwin!! Apparently their other teams did pretty well too, so congratultions to them too.
After watching the races, we headed back to the other side of Cambridge (on bike again) with a pitstop to pick up a big bunch of flowers from a local market stall, and thus ended my TRADITIONAL DAY! And what a great day it was!
Now I don't mind cycling but I have never really cycled in traffic and would rather cycle on the pavements (a general no-no in the UK). So Saturday morning saw me apprehensively cycling DOWNHILL towards town with my friend in the lead. Thank goodness her bike (which I was borrowing) had good brakes. I was nervous to say the least and a bit wobbly as I haven't cycled for about a year now and have lost my natural balance (for cycling anyway). I survived the journey into town though and despite there being cars around I managed to deal with those pretty well too. It was the BIG RED BUS following me at one stage which was freaking me out though but I managed to stay in front and not get run over; yay for side roads.
The shopping was semi-successful but I won't go into detail as this wasn't really that exciting. After the shopping we (now joined by another friend) headed down river to find a spot to watch the bumps. This journey took us through town down busy busy roads (FREAK OUT!!!!) and then into quieter areas where I felt I could enjoy the cycle. After dumping the bikes at a pub by the river side we proceeded to walk for about half an hour (or more) along the river towards the starting point for the bumps, until we found a good spot to sit and watch the activities.
Now for those who do not know what bumps are... here is an explanation (as far as my understanding goes). Bumps are rowing races with a slightly different take on things. Instead of the crews racing next to each other (which would require a very wide river/lake), the crews race in line down the river. All boats set off at the same time but start off in a grid-like fashion (similar to how the GrandPrix races cars are set up at the start of their races - I think, although I didn't actually get to see the start of the races). The point of the race is really to try and bump into the crew/boat ahead of you in the gird and also to try avoid being bumped by the crew behind you. If you bump or are bumped, you have to rapidly move to the riverbank to avoid getting in the way of the other racing teams who will continue racing until all teams have bumped or are bumped, or the boats cross the finish line. While at the side, the crew/boat that did the bumping will be given branches and leaves from the nearby willow tree which are then placed into the crew's hair and this shows that they were victorious in their challenge. The bumped team just sit there all grumpy! Once the "race" is over, all the teams return their boats to the various club houses but have to pass all the crowds who will cheer or boo or clap politely depending on their feelings with regards the passing boat. All great fun really.
While the races are on, one has to be aware of the bank parties that belong to the crews. The bank parties are generally made up of the coach and some supporting members. They tend to be on bikes too and have to try keep up with the rowers, so tend to have to cycle pretty fast while yelling (and looking) at the crew racing. This is can be a dangerous thing though as there are crowds all down the tow-path so the potential for an accident is pretty high. The way around this though is for the bank party to yell various calls to clear the tow-path and warn observers of their arrival (and quick departure). Yells include "Tow-path" (very informative - NOT!) and "Move please" (polite lot here). But generally you can hear the bank party approaching during the race due to their comments being yelled at the crew (whether the crew hear these yells or not I haven't confirmed yet). This yelling of comments proved very amusing at one stage when the crew for Jesus College went rowing past and the coach (bank party) were yelling "COME ON, JESUS!". No one was disputing that call, whether they were supporters of Jesus College or not. When the bank party moved on, what was left behind them was a rather amused crowd chuckling quietly!
So, we were there to support Darwin College, specifically the crew which was being captained by my friend's husband. They did very well on the day and managed to bump the team ahead of them, thus landing up at the top of their division. They however had to race again in the next division but unfortunately didn't manage to bump again. Their final position was therefore at the top of their original division (fourth I think). Well done Darwin!! Apparently their other teams did pretty well too, so congratultions to them too.
After watching the races, we headed back to the other side of Cambridge (on bike again) with a pitstop to pick up a big bunch of flowers from a local market stall, and thus ended my TRADITIONAL DAY! And what a great day it was!
posted by CJ | 7:53 AM
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