After the recent Government announcements all group rides are cancelled until further notice. We may all be well, but as a nation we are being encouraged to avoid ‘non essential contact with others’. We can still head out individually and share our stories online. Hopefully things will return to normal sooner rather than later. Until then keep well and keep safe.

A meeting of the COBRA (Crows Of Beverley Ride Again) was convened at Manor House to discuss the latest developments in the virus outbreak. There had been a report that a group of 19 corvids attacked a pristine lawn, turning it into a quagmire. Spokesman for the crows, Germy Corvid, suggested it was not the crows to blame and pointed the finger at the Extention Rabble.

Chief crow, Raymond, called for a fly out to the Eastern front, where reports of a “murder” had taken place. Don’t know about him, but the rest of us could murder a bacon sarnie. Captain Pugwash suggested the route for today’s journey to Ulrome. Eleven crows set off towards Etton. Seadog decided to show the strength in his wings and flew off on a lonely solo until regrouping at South Dalton.

Crossing the main road towards Bracken, Matty decided to reprise his role as copper on point duty to guide the rest of the crows safely across the junction. Given some of his antics on previous rides when crossing busy roads, it was no wonder the following crows were a little apprehensive about his enthusiastic encouragement to cross.

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At the top of Bracken, the wind came firmly behind allowing the crows to fly with hardly a flap of a wing. On reaching Cranswick, Neil and Heather returned to roost but not before delaying the Captain in a futile search among his feathers for the phone number of the cafe.

The remaining nine crows continued to Skerne and Wansford. This time it was the turn of Matty to leave the flock as he returned to the rookery via North Frodingham while the remainder turned through Foston-on-the-Wolds. At this point we had intended to phone ahead to warn the cafe of our arrival but with a slightly depleted number Raymond decided there was no need.

The flock continued to soar on the wind as we flew our way through Kelk, Gransmoor and Lisset now accompanied by a light sprinkle of showers, before the final leg into Ulrome. The Granary was a welcome sight as we rushed for shelter in the “Great Hall” where the crows assembled around the long central table.

As we arrived, the restaurant was already busy with lunch time patrons, so service was slower than we’d expected. When it came time to pay, the girl suggested we should have called ahead to warn of our arrival….. cue red faced Raymond!

Heading back to roost, the sun had made a welcome return and as an added bonus the wind had changed direction and would now be helping our flight home. The early pace was taken up by Chad as we made our way to Skipsea then Bewholme before reaching Brandesburton.

On the way into Leven, we noted that Steve’s tail feathers looked a bit limp forcing him to stop and make repairs, much to the chagrin of Chad who was now only a few minutes from home.

On the final leg, Mark set the pace as we made our way on the cycle path alongside an extremely busy main road. The end of another wonderful flight. It’s not often we get a circular route with the wind behind for most of the way.

The word was out, a Ginger Cow had been reported as openly wandering about somewhere near Everingham. Time to rustle up the cowhands to head out there and check the quality of the “meat”. Eight cowhands mounted their steeds to follow the trail to the west, passing through the one-horse town of Etton before making our way to Goodmanham and Market Weighton.

Heading up to the high ground towards Goodmanham, the cowhands were left wondering if it was the right decision as we came under attack by a forceful wind. A little further along the trail, greenhorn Ricky the kid’s steed suffered a thrown shoe. Unfortunately for him, he’d forgotten to pack his saddle bag and had no means to effect repairs, so had to rely on supplies from the other cowhands.

At Market Weighton, “Lone Rider” Andy returned home to attend a prior engagement while the rest continued to Londesborough. Taking the trail to Burnby the cowhands found the normally rough dirt track had been replaced by a lovely smooth surface. After the wonderful downhill ride, we headed for Hayton then towards Everingham where the Ginger Cow cafe sign came into view to provide a welcome break from the head wind.

With the steeds safely secured, the cowhands headed to the “camp fire” to place their order. Unluckily for some there had been a “run” on eggs so had to settle for second choices. While waiting for our food to arrive, “Trigger Finger” Neil produced a number of colouring in pages to keep us amused.

I’m sure the additional copies were brought in the hope someone else would join in to make him feel less conspicuous. The game was up however, as there was nearly tears and tantrums when told he could not have a lolly.

On leaving the cafe, it was noted that “Moonshine” James had suffered a wardrobe malfunction. Don’t look Heather “the Feather”…… oh too late. It appears that in order to combat the head wind, he’d decided to engage turbo-charger, assisted by the plate full of beans he’d consumed, and blew a hole in his backside. It made for much amusement on the return journey.

The expected helping wind on the return trail did not fully materialise, as it changed from westerly to South westerly. From Everingham, we turned to Harswell where we felt the first few drops of rain. The black clouds hanging over Beverley did not look promising but luckily the rain moved away ahead of us.

On the Cliffe Road, we headed to Hotham then South Newbald where it was decision time, to Trundle or not to Trundle. Sighs of pain sang out when “Tracker” Pugwash confirmed we’d be taking a “Trundle” up the high road. The final “trail” saw the cowhands taking full advantage of the following wind, galloping down Middlehowe Road towards Walkington.

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On returning home there were many puddles on the road giving evidence of the earlier downpours. Another superb Sunday club ride with a mixture of hills and flats….. and the rain stayed away.

There are forecasts, damn forecasts and statistics, so what were the odds of the sun coming out today. Given the recent inclement weather, the forecast for Sunday looked borderline but with potential 🎶Sunny Afternoon🎶.

With one eye on the weather and mind on rule #9 Pugwash cast a lure to see if anyone was interested in today’s ride. “What about the hurricane!” wasn’t exactly an encouraging first response. 🤔Thank you Michael Fish 🤔. Our own Michael eventually “stepped up to the plate”. A true trojan of the Knights, ready and willing in (almost) any weather, “I’ll be out” he said.

And so it came to pass, only two Knights turned out at Market Cross. With the wind from the North West, we decided to head towards Rachel’s Walnut Cafe at Huggate and enjoy the tail wind on the way home. Taking our usual route we headed out to Middleton-on-the-Wolds via Cherry Burton, Etton and Holme-on-the-Wolds.

The roads were still wet from the overnight drenching and there was the occasional brief few drops that fell from the sky but there was a promising hint of blue to the west. The wind was mostly from the side as we made our way north. This soon changed when we reached Holme-on-the-Wolds and headed along back straight to Middleton-on-the-Wolds. It was just a taster for what was to follow.

The section to North Dalton proved to be a long slog as we headed uphill and into the wind, however it was nothing compared to the section heading upwards to Huggate where we turned directly into the “teeth” of the wind. At times, it felt like we were climbing a 10% mountain. Just as we managed to pick up a little extra speed, the wind gusted once more feeling like a soft finger poking you in the chest. 🌬️”Not so fast sonny boy” 🌬️ Conversation dried up as we concentrated our efforts on keeping the pedals turning, the thought of the return journey spurring is onwards.

It was a huge relief to pull into Walnut Cafe and a chance to recover and rest those weary legs while partaking of the goodies on offer.

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All too soon, it was time to return home, this time with the wind behind. As the speed picked up, the exhilaration increased too as we flew our way down to Tibthorpe then to Kirkburn and Southburn. Ominous dark clouds appeared to be hanging over Beverley as we made our way home over Bracken. Fortunately we managed to get home just before the short hail storm.

🎶Love is in the air🎶 at least a love of cycling as it managed to bring out ten Knights for a ride to Hornsea. Our cafe destination was Lily’s on the seafront, a first visit for the Knights.

Weaving our way through town towards the Weel road, stretched the gang out. Once together again, the pace picked up with the “loving air” lending a helping hand as the initial nine Knights set off to Tickton to join up with Andy.

Crossing the road at Tickton proved difficult with a continuous stream of traffic heading in one direction and a stationary queue in the opposite way. As soon as one way cleared, the opposite side started to move. Fortunately a kindly driver stopped to let us pass safely.

Just after joining the cycle path, we came upon a group of elderly riders heading in the opposite direction. Unfortunately one of the gentlemen lost his balance as he passed by and hit the deck in what seemed to be a slow motion fall. While the “rear echelon” stopped to check he was OK, the lead group having missed the incident, continued onwards.

Heading along the cycle path we found another “helping hand” as the back draft from passing lorries gave a brief “shove” from behind. Once caught up with the lead group, we set off through Leven and Brandesburton before turning towards Bewholme. It was there we stopped to phone in our cafe order. The final section leading into Hornsea proved more of a challenge as we battled the head wind, a precursor of things to come.

On entering the town the “Lanterne Rouge” took a slight short cut to the cafe while the peloton passed through the centre allowing everyone to arrive together. Having preordered, our food and drink was ready almost immediately.

The return journey saw us head along the promenade road and then towards Mappleton and Cowden. Neil took to front initially then peeled off with the intention of creating a chain gang. Mike “the knife” then took over at the front setting a strong pace as he cut through the wind like a hot knife through butter. The peloton soon became strung out behind him.

After regrouping at Cowden, Pugwash jumped to the front to set a somewhat more “genteel” pace, but soon found himself slipping off the back once more. Approaching Withernwick, Pugwash and Russell stopped to allow Seadog to catch up. The shout to the lead group got lost in the wind as they continued their merry way.

When the “Lanterne Rouge” arrived at the next crossroads, there was no sign of the peloton. “Noses are red, fingers are blue, which way did they go, I wish I knew” so we ended up taking the wrong road. We very soon realised the error, however decided to continue onwards before eventually making our way back having added an extra eight miles or so.

“The best laid plans of mice and men….” just about sums up this Friday’s ride. Our proposed destination was the Spotted Duck at Fitling. No sooner had the sun appeared “below the yardarm”, warnings of early morning ice were flying about causing some to cancel rather than risk any chance of black ice.

The forecast however was for sun by midday so a later start time of 1230 was proposed. “Mice!? There’s no mice here in Tickton” claimed our Friday Route Master. “No mice in Beverley” cried Seadog only to be contradicted with Russell saying “Lots of frost in Molescroft”. Having scraped ice off his car windscreen this morning in the freezing fog, Pugwash was happy for a delayed start.

Some Knights could not make the later start and cancelled but it seems however, that not everyone got the “memo” and two Knights turned up at 0930. Left to their own devices, the “Men” set off on a route taking them to Meaux, Long Riston and Catfoss before returning through Brandesburton and Leven.

In the end only three Knights made the 1230 start. The “Mice” then set off on a circular route with a proposed cafe stop at Cranswick Farm shop. Just after we negotiated the “magic roundabout” a flash of blue passed in the opposite direction. Turned out to be Mike darting his way home like a kingfisher diving on it’s prey.

After passing through Leven, Pugwash suddenly got ahead of himself thinking we’d missed the turn to Frodingham, not realising we still had to reach Brandesburton first. Doh! Now a little red faced, we continued on. The “red face” grew even more crimson as Heather took to the front and aided by the following wind, upped the pace until arriving at North Frodingham.

After a brief respite, Russell took over the pace setting as we continued to Wansford and Skerne before arriving at the Farm Shop for a well earned break. Service was a little slower than usual on this occasion as the cafe was almost full.

Leaving the Farm Shop, we found the “🎶sun had put it’s hat on 🎶” and it felt like the temperature had dropped dramatically. Fortunately it was not too far to return home as we followed our usual route over Bracken to South Dalton, Etton and Cherry Burton. A very enjoyable ride with some sunshine, mostly dry roads and wonderful company. Given the forecast for the next few days, it may be a while before we hit the road again.

Well, not quite everyone, some cried off at the last minute. “🎶Should auld acquaintance be forgot🎶” With strains of singing from “o’er the watter” five MEP’s (Most Excellent Pedalers) gathered at Market Cross before setting out to meet up with another five MEP’s at Manor House. Right from the off, Barry hit the front to lead a strong pace over the Westwood, flying up the hill like a Red Arrow on after-burners.

Our first choices for cafe stop were both closed for the winter so we resorted to the Fiddle Drill at Goodmanham. After discussing the route, the MEP’s “gray-v” train set off towards Etton. Once again, keen as mustard, Barry set the initial pace. The south-westerly wind did not feature too much as we made our way north to Holme-on-the-Wolds. It was a different story however when turning to Middleton-on-the-Wolds. There was no hiding unless you managed to keep the wheel of the bike in front.

Turning onto the Warter road, it was time for the long climb up to Nunburnholme top. Coupled with the head wind, rough road surface and mud splatters from farm vehicles, it made the going quite tough. Regrouping at the first junction gave time for some to reflect on the effort required and wonder why we subject ourselves to such punishment. You love it really Ray!

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A final little effort uphill saw us arrive at Nunburnholme top and we were rewarded with a lovely vista across the Wolds. After appreciating the view, it was time to appreciate the downhill run towards Londesborough. Unfortunately the joy soon turned to teeth grinding once more as we clawed our way up Intake Hill. A further effort up the Goodmanham road, we reached our cafe stop and a well earned respite.

The return journey took us along the Spring Road and with the wind now firmly behind us, a quick pace was maintained until reaching Etton. At Cherry Burton, the group split as some headed home along Main Street while the rest continued to Bishop Burton.

After crossing the A1079 we stopped to regroup once more. When Raymond caught up he sounded like he was going to come up with a rather profound statement. Guffaws of laughter ensued however, when he asked for everyone’s honest opinion on Gwyneth Paltrow’s “intimate steaming” regime. How long had he been thinking of that!

The enticement of a new cafe stop, clement weather and a flat ride brought many out this morning as thirteen Knights assembled at Market Cross. Raymond didn’t have the best of starts, having to repair a puncture before we even set off.

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Making our way through town to Weel Bridge the group soon spilt as some got held up by traffic lights while others were somewhat luckier. After regrouping on the Weel road, it was off to Tickton with everyone in a jolly mood, catching up with those not seen in a while.

Our route took us through Leven and Brandesburton before turning towards Bewholme. With such a large group it was thought prudent to phone ahead to warn the cafe of our imminent arrival. Stopping at Bewholme, the best laid plans however do not always pan out as expected. Our illustrious “route Master” had forgotten his phone so we were left without the number for the cafe. Not to be outdone though, Raymond came up with “plan – b”. Borrowing someone else’s phone, he turned into ET and “phoned home” to ask “‘er indoors” to call the cafe on our behalf. Give that man a medal!

Setting off once more, we soon arrived at Skipsea Brough. After passing the historic All Saints Church at Skipsea we turned North towards Ulrome. Our first encounter with the Granary at Rustic Riddle sent us into confusion as we found the doors still shut. “They open at 11am” said Raymond after checking his watch to note it was only 10:55am. Michael, feeling like a bold window cleaner, climbed the stairs to peer through the glass door. “Cooeee!” he cried “we’re here”

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For the return journey, we continued north to Lisset before taking the Gransmoor road. The road surface was a bit wet and mucky along this section. From Gransmoor we turned to Great Kelk then on through Foston-on-the-Wolds. Just before reaching the Frodingham Road we passed another cyclist who’d pulled up at the side of the road. He confirmed he was OK before we proceeded onwards. Raymond however became a little confused and stopped to wait for him thinking it was one of our group. Eventually realising the error of his way he caught up with us again at Frodingham.

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All together again we returned to Brandesburton then Leven before retracing our steps back to Beverley. A very enjoyable ride and a brilliant new cafe. I’m sure we’ll be back soon.

Today’s route was suggested by Cap’t Pugwash. A mixture of hills early on and flat riding later leading to the Cheese Shop cafe at Howden. The seven Knights gathered at Market Cross included Windy Millar recently returning after injury and “Jacob Marley” with his chain making clanking noises as he dragged himself along, a result of previous misdemeanours.

A change to our normal routeing came as we reached the top of the Westwood. Turning down to Walkington, we were joined by Karl, patiently waiting near the traffic lights. Taking the road to Bentley, we eventually turned onto the Risby Road leading to Little Weighton. James decided to leave the group at this point and make his own way home while the rest continued through Rowley and up to Riplingham.

Two final climbs of Lambwell Hill and Elloughton High Road led us to some flatter riding as we made our way to Ellerker. This however, was made slightly more difficult with the generally head wind. On reaching the Cave Level crossing, the barriers were down forcing a short delay as we waited for trains to pass by. Some hilarity ensued regarding train operation. I’m sure no offence was directed at Dave💦🏠!

Shortly after setting off again, we lost touch with Chad who’d had a visit from the ghost of Xmas past resulting in a puncture. While some of us waited up the road, Matt and Dave went back to assist. Repairs complete we continued to Broomfield. The ghost of Xmas present then made an appearance giving Karl a puncture. While Matthew and Dave stayed with him, the rest of us carried on to Faxfleet, Blacktoft, Yokefleet on the way to Howden.

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Seems the “ghosts” were not finished with our group as Matthew had to pull out with damage to his wheel forcing him to call for the “broom wagon”. No doubt there will be some reparations to be made in Mathew’s household.

Taking the main road back towards Gilberdyke, the promised tail wind did not materialise, however the ghost of “Xmas yet to come” did, presenting Michael with a puncture. Repairs completed, we headed to North Cave then Hotham. On reaching South Newbald, the only one interested in Trundlegate was Karl. The rest of us took the easier option of Beverley Road to find our way home.

Christmas celebrations over for another year, it was time to work off any excess consumption. Grey skies greeted the “blues” as six gathered at Market Cross including the “long time no see” Dave 💦🏠. With only a vague outline of where we were heading, we set off to join up with the rest of the “Friday” gang at Manor House bringing our number up to ten.

It was agreed to follow Matt’s initial suggestion of heading towards Goodmanham then decide who wants to go where from there. Knowing which cafes were open might have helped the decision making.

By the time we’d gone through Etton and Holme-on-the-Wolds to the outskirts of Goodmanham we were still no closer to deciding which cafe to head for. Several of the group were needing to be back early so Pugwash suggested skipping the cafe stop and go to Kiplingcotes then up to Sancton and return home via Newbald.

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Matthew left the group to make his own way home while the rest continued to Kiplingcotes. At the bottom of the climb it was decision time again. “Which cafe can we go to?” “Who needs to get home?” When choices had been made a little voice piped up “OK fat boy let’s go.” A sharp intake of breath and a surreptitious look around the group followed. “Whoever can she be referring to Chris?” Taking immediate evading action to disassociate themselves from the comment, Brian, Karl and Dave set off back to Etton while the rest commenced the climb up Kiplingcotes hill.

On reaching Sancton it was our final chance to conjure up a nearby cafe. No rabbits appeared out of the hat so we took the main road back to North Newbald before returning to Beverley harbouring thoughts of the coffee and cakes at home.