Day 5 saw the Knights moving base camp from San Gimignano to Sienna some 40km to the south east. Passing back through Colle di Val d’Elsa then calling into Monteriggioni at the halfway point. The 2nd part of the day took in Il Ceppo and San Martino before arriving at Sienna. Another warm hilly day with light head winds so I’m sure the sight of that swimming pool was very welcome.
Tour Di Tuscany Day 4
From the “new” base camp at San Gimignano the Knights set off for a slightly shorter 42km circular route. Initially heading south towards Castel San Gimignano where they were faced with the “highlight” of the day, a 14km climb over several Monte including La Bertesca, Colle Cavina, Poggio Porrione to the highest point on the Poggio Cornocchio. A final “clamber” over Poggio Pitte brought the crew back to base camp and some well earned refreshments.
Tour Di Tuscany Day 3
20th June 2023 – Another hot and hilly ride today covering a distance of 60km with 1000m climbing. On this occasion the Knights headed west, first to Castellina in Chianti before a little jaunt north to Sicelle. Resuming the westward tour passing through San Donato in Poggio and Barberino Val d’Elsa followed by a short recovery section south to Poggibonsi, eventually finishing in San Gimignano.
Tour Di Tuscany Day 2
19th June 2023 A slightly shorter 36km ride today, however with just over 1000m climbing it was another tough day in the saddle. The increasing humidity would also play a factor. From “base camp” in Radda in Chianti the crew followed a clockwise route through Massa Sabbioni and Cavriglia before returning along the Montevarchi.
Tour Di Tuscany
Day 1, 18-June 2023 Florence to Radda
Today’s ride covered a distance of around 54km. Departing from Florence over the river Arno via the Ponte di San Niccolò. Weather was a pleasant 24°C but with a high humidity making it seem much hotter. The light wind from the south did nothing to keep the Knights cool as the gradient started to climb fairly quickly. Initially heading south along the Via di Tizzano tracking the course of the river Ema to Grassina and Capannuccia.
On the next leg the gradient began to kick up a bit more as the Knights turned onto the Via di Castel Ruggero which then led into Meleto. It was a steady climb averaging 4% but with several steep ramps hitting double figures. There was no let up after turning onto the Via del Palagiane where they were faced with another 5% slog for about 1.5km. The climbing continued as the Knights made their way south to Chiocchio and Spedaluzzo. Finally there was now a chance to recover as they headed down to Le Bolle then stopping at Greti for a well earned rest.
The final leg of the journey continued southwards passing through Greve in Chianti. The gradients continued to present a challenge as the group “sweated” their way to Panzano before a little respite with a 5.1km downhill run into Lucarelli. The final 10km leading to Radda in Chianti was then mainly uphill once more.
Tuesday 13th June 2023
The Long and The Short of It
🎶You tak’ the long road and I’ll tak’ the short road, and I’ll be in Farmshop afore ye🎶. Fresh back from his exploits at “training camp” and hedging his bets Raymond announced two different route options. One short and one a bit longer to his favourite cafe stop. “We’ll decide who wants to go which way when we get to Skipsea Brough” he suggested. The weather was kind, light winds and a smattering of sunshine not too hot, perfect for cycling. Seems many others had the same thought as we had a good turnout at Market Cross.
Our fifteen strong group set off to wend their way through the town traffic and traffic lights eventually reaching Weel Bridge. From there we cruised alongside the Hull river, where we only encountered the occasional passing car before bringing our gang into Tickton. Crossing the road at Tickton Grange, we were joined by Chad. Continuing along the cycle path to Whitecross roundabout the pace remained a steady 16-17mph. Raymond’s “training camp” must have done him the world of good. 🤔
From the roundabout, the pace picked up a little more 18, 19, 20mph as we raced through “Brands Hatch”. Boy, that’s some serious training Ray’s been having. Once we’d reached the relatively quieter road to Bewholme, the pace eased off a little but still managed to maintain 17 mph through to Dunnington and up to Skipsea Brough. “Right folks, who wants to go via Beeford and who wants to go via Ulrome?” enquired Raymond as we stopped at the junction near Skipsea Brough. The general consensus was that we were all enjoying the ride and the clement weather so we’ll all “tak’ the long road”. “Ulrome it is then”.
Following the road through Skipsea, we joined the main coast road from Hornsea to Lisset. Once again the pace remained brisk with a light following wind. After crossing the main Bridlington road, things calmed down somewhat as we adopted the more normal “Friday sedate” pace to Gransmoor then left to Great Kelk and Foston-on-the-Wolds. The calm didn’t last long though. Once we hit the road to Wansford, the pace picked up again led initially by Mark and Pugwash maintaining a reasonable 20mph until Karl and Martin overtook and upped the pace to 24-25mph. “Right I’ll have some of that” thought pugwash as we both tucked on their wheel. Needless to say that split the group somewhat.
After the “mad dash” things eased off once more as we cruised into Skerne. Determined to reestablish a semblance of order, Raymond led from the front as we continued at a normal “Friday pace” to Hutton Cranswick for a well earned cafe stop. While walking our bikes round to the outdoor seating area, Matt lost his balance and tried to grab a nearby wooden box to steady himself. Unfortunately the side of the box was not properly secured causing him to crash land on the ground in an ungainly fashion. To add to his embarrassment, his faux-pas was witnessed by two passing young girls who giggled at the spectacle. Luckily, only his pride was injured.
Following our refreshments, it was time to make our way home. Mounting the bikes to restart the ride there was a chorus of groans as tired muscles were forced to resume action. “Ooh, aah, ouch, I’ve siezed up” said someone as we set off towards Bracken. At least the pace home would be a bit more genteel as the efforts of the first 30 miles began to take effect.
Our way home followed our usual route through South Dalton to Etton and Cherry Burton. As we regrouped at the junction in Cherry Burton, the chatter and banter among the group kept us all entertained with nobody willing to begin the final leg home until Matty piped up “Come on, we can chatter while we pedal”. Spurred on by the “call to arms”, Karl made the first move and set off to cross the road accompanied by a warning SHOUT from Matt “CAR LEFT” which sent us all into giggles as we realised that he could also have meant “KARL LEFT”.
Overall it was an excellent ride over a good route with great company and great “craich”. Covering around 50 miles from Beverley and back or little extra for those living in the Eastern “sticks” and a special shout out to Mark who completed a massive century ride by riding in from Driffield and back as well.
Game Of Thrones Season 2023
The 2023 season is still young but many Knights have been out and “nailed their colours to the mast” in a bid to be “crowned” champion. In the battle for Stoneknowle Hill we have Colin setting the early benchmark with a time 6:18 beating Iain and Pugwash into 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the “Charge of Burton Gates” Michael took full advantage of a helpful wind and set a blistering pace completing the course in only 44s to give a speed of 51.8km/hr (32.4mph). You can almost see the scorch marks he left behind as set fire to the tarmac. Currently in 2nd place is Barry with a very respectable time of 48sec by Colin and Heather both on 58s.
Meanwhile over on the Little Weighton “race track” you can see the tumbleweed rolling around the course as very few Knights have made an attempt so far. Perhaps now the weather is a little more conducive there will be many more taking part. Setting the early benchmark here we have Tom with a time of 22:55 knocking Colin into 2nd place with 24:16 and 3rd place going to Michael on 25:55.
Hebridean Way Day 4
Stornoway to Butt of Lewis
Today was the final 56 mile leg of our journey, leaving Stornoway to reach the Butt of Lewis the most northerly point on the island. Once there, we had two options. For those who were up for it they could cycle back to Stornoway or make use of the laid on transport. Andy V, Mike, Matt and Helen decided to go the whole hog and set off early while the rest left shortly after. Disappointingly the morning was rather damp but did clear up as the day went on.
The first section saw us heading west along the Pentland road starting with a steady incline averaging 1-2% over 4 miles. The day was dull with a moderate breeze from the south. After only 12 miles we came to the Callanish Stones where we stopped for some sight seeing and a coffee break.
Mike posted a beautiful ‘picture’ of the Callanish Stones and tried to claim he was up early enough to catch the sunrise, however he was very soon rumbled when the same ‘picture’ was spotted in the visitor centre. Just as we were about to leave, Simon noticed he had a puncture. Fortunately for him AndyB happily served as ‘domestique’ and set about replacing the inner tube for him. When it came to inflating the tyre, Andy opted for the manual approach, but as his hand pumped up and down like a piston on overdrive, it led to some rather lewd comments.
Having ‘communed with nature’ at the Stones, it was now time to focus on the final leg of our epic journey. Joy oh joy, the wind was mostly from behind. The road ran along the North West edge of the island and was gently undulating giving enough momentum on the downhills to cruise to the top of the next ramp. On reaching Barvas our small group stopped briefly to stock up on any food we were carrying.
Continuing north through Borve we eventually arrived at Port of Ness. However this was not the end as we turned onto a single track road leading to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse some 2-3 miles further on. Around half way there we came across the ‘leading bunch’ already making their way back. None of us envied their task of the 56 mile route back into a head wind and cheered them on the way as they passed by. Shortly after, we also reached our target so the celebrations could begin.
With an hour or so to spare for the ‘pickup’ we arranged to meet at the Breakwater cafe in Port of Ness where we all enjoyed a lovely lunch before the transfer back to Stornoway. Later in the evening we all gathered at the Boathouse restaurant to celebrate and reminisce about our great achievement before returning to the hotel and a little sing-song in the lounge before bed.
All in all it was a wonderful experience in excellent company, creating memories which will last a lifetime and we were somewhat fortunate with the weather mostly in our favour. All too soon it was time for the return ferry to Ullapool where we were then transported back to Oban. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this such an enjoyable trip. Hope to see you all again soon.
Hebridean Way Day 3
Part 1 Lochmaddy to Beneray
First objective for the day was to reach the ferry terminal on Beneray Island in good time. It was only 11 miles and with a following wind but the next ferry was not until 2 hours later thus we all set off relatively early. The morning was cloudy and dry with a moderate breeze from the south-south-east.
Heading northwest from Lochmaddy with the wind filling the ‘spinnaker’ we made quick progress as we retraced our steps from the previous day to Minish and Blashaval before turning north to reach the Beneray causeway and the ferry terminal.
Part 2 Leverburgh to Stornoway
Landing at Leverburgh we loaded the bags onto the taxi and set off to tackle the 56 mile route to Stornoway starting with the ominous looking climb to Rodel. This took us to our southernmost point of the island before heading northeast on narrow single track roads. The terrain was rather rugged with granite type rock covered sparsely with wild grass interspersed with occasional glimpses of the sea. The road to Manish zig-zagged and undulated with tight bends and the narrowness of the road along with the amount of gravel in the centre, made manoeuvring round the corners a little tricky not to mention the number of sheep wandering across the road.
The plan for today was to lunch in Tarbert where we were to be joined by Matthew’s wife Catherine. On arrival we stopped so he could find out where she was. It turned out that there has been a mix up in communication and she wasn’t arriving until the following day. Meanwhile Neil had been completing ‘laps’ in the local fire station forecourt. It must have given him ESP as he announced that everything was closed in Tarbert and we should carry on and find something along the way. “D’ye nae ken laddie, we dinnae wurk on the sabbath”. Less than convinced, Matthew pleaded “What if we don’t find anything open?”. Despite his protestations we continued, eventually coming across the Arisaig Filling station where we discovered an outside tap so at least we could top up water bottles.
As the time went on and the gradient headed upwards into the clouds making the temperature feel rather cold. Turns out what separates Harris from Lewis is a lumpy mountainous region. Once over the top our little band stopped briefly at Clisham car park and chance to use up any energy bars we had. “I get hangry when I don’t get to eat” declared Mr Grumpy fixing Neil with a withering stare.
After leaving the car park the terrain was a bit more undulating skirting the edge of Loch Seaforth from Scaladale to Balallan and offering some stunning scenery. With the wind mostly on the ‘ starboard quarter’ our progress was relatively swift. Which was fortunate as we were beginning to feel like a hungry bear emerging from hibernation. Luckily our small group were able to check in immediately to the Crown Hotel and made straight for the bar. “Any food available?” we enquired. “Sorry the kitchen is closed but there’s free peanuts”. Well beggars can’t be choosers.
While we rehydrated, Simon had found a curry house nearby which (a) was open and (b) didn’t need booking so off we went in search of well earned sustenance. The service didn’t fill us with confidence but the curry was well worth the wait. As an added bonus, Simon picked up the ‘tab’ and wouldn’t let us settle up so a huge thank you Simon.