Game Of Thrones July 2024

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My Lords & Ladies, welcome to the latest news on the “battle” for the EasterRiding “Triple Crown”. Sir Michael has his hands firmly gripped on the “Sprint” crown since April, “whipping” his steed into a sweaty lather to set a fantastic “olympian” target time of 52 secs giving an average speed of 60.1 km/hr. Coming close on his heels though Sir Chad set an equally impressive time of 55 secs giving him a speed of 56.8 km/hr. But hold onto your saddles my trusty nobles, who is that racing out of the stables to grab third place with a time of 59 sec? Why it’s Sir Jim, proving that age is no barrier, galloping along at 52.9 km/hr.

Meanwhile over in the challenge for the “High Castle” 17 knights have so far taken up the gauntlet. Sir Graham must have thought he’d set an unassailable lead but his hold on the “crown” didn’t last long however as just ten days later Sir Sean set the bar even higher with an impressive time of 5:37m. Creeping up behind those two is Sir Pugwash cantering up the hill to take third place. Fortunately for those three they are all in different “categories”.

The “battle” of the two heavyweights Sir Sean and Sir Graham continues on the “Shark’s Tooth” time trial course where only five knights have so far “taken to the field”.

Though these valiant riders have set an impressive pace, the challenge is open to all members of our cycling club. Now is the time to summon your inner warrior and forge ahead, riding your noble steed with vigor, determination and skill. Awards will be made for the leading rider in each of the following categories; Men Under 40, 40-60, 60-70, 70+, Ladies 40-60, 60-70, will receive a trophy to be held for one year.

Ride to Castle Howard

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Seven Knights met for a long and hilly ride to Castle Howard. The route took in the climb up to Huggate followed by a drop down to Thixendale. Rising out of the valley towards Leavening we continued westerly into the wind to Barton-le-Willows before looping northwards to Castle Howard.

Our return route took in Malton, Settrington, West Lutton and Driffield then home. It was a tough but wonderful day out with 1350m of climbing covering 135km.

The Cats at the Fiddle

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In the absence of Raymond, this Friday’s ride was organised by top cat ‘Jenks’. “Meet at Walkington pond 10am for ride ‘over the hills and not too far away'”. Nine ‘cats’ arrived to bask in the morning sunshine in the bus shelter by the pond. Eventually it was time to ‘play’ and the ‘clowder’ set off in search of the ‘fiddle’.

To begin the days adventure, the ‘cats’ sidled up Kirk Lane in search of the high ground at the top of Bluestone Bottom. Continuing upwards, the ‘cats’ reached High Hunsley along Westoby Lane. Next up was a super wizz down into North Newbald putting smiles on the faces of the ‘cats’ as they ‘creamed’ it downhill. Soon it was time to start climbing again as the group set off to tackle Stoneknowle Hill.

After reaching High Gardham there was a brief “paws” as the ‘cats’ took time to admire the view before “licking” downhill to Low Gardham towards Etton. It was back to climbing as we turned towards Holme-on-the-Wolds, fortunately assisted by a slight following wind. The final leg saw the ‘cats’ sidling along the Middleton road before turning into the wind towards Goodmanham and the Fiddle Drill Cafe.

Suitably refreshed, the ‘cats’ began to return home. With the wind now behind, progress was relatively swift as they ‘slinked’ (is that a word?) along the Spring road. On reaching Etton West wood DaveH decided to ‘pounce’ and came ‘screeching’ past everyone like he was a cat in chase of a mouse. Caught up in the fervour of the chase, SteveG jumped on his tail following him like a GC contender protecting his time gap.

As we regrouped, Matt noted we were still one cat short. “Where’s Jonathan?” he asked. “Perhaps he’s got ‘stranded'” suggested one cat ‘amewsingly’. Eventually we realised he hadn’t left the cafe with us when someone suggested he’d gone to the loo while we’d set off. After waiting a while with no sign of him, Brian decided to return in search. As the rest waited and waited we began to think we’d lost Brian as well. With the hot sun burning down we decided it was too hot to hang around and continued on home through Etton and Cherry Burton.

🎶Nice ‘n’ Breezy…🎶

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Ships are queasy, it’s Raymond’s ride of joy🎶 Ha ha got you…. Bet you thought it was one of those naughty rugby songs. Well hello peeps, sorry its been a while since the last blog. It’s been a bit busy on the “Black Pig” of late.

Captain Greybeard “hoisted the flags” calling the “fleet” to action. “Meet at Market Cross 0945”. “There be treasure in the Eastern seas for which the citizens need relieving” he advised. The excitement was palpable as the “captains” gathered at the appointed hour…..but “Who’s the jester on a race bike, dressed in t-shirt and sweat pants sporting a can of Tesco’s finest…?” At least he kept us entertained before moving off to his next “target”.

The “fleet set sail” navigating their way through the “Straits of Beverley” heading eastwards via Weel Bridge to Tickton. After traversing the “A1035 rapids” progress was steady with the North westerly wind until reaching Routh. At this point, the “fleet tacked” southwards under full “press of sail” on Meaux Road until turning onto the Kidhill “strait”. On reaching Skirlaugh, captain Greybeard relinquished control of the fleet declaring “I’ve reached the limit of my charts. You’ll have to navigate your own way from now.”

The next leg saw the fleet on the “port tack” through Rise to Withernwick and on to Cowlam. At this point, the fleet split up into the separate groups to tackle the breezy head wind on the main road through Mappleton to Hornsea with the “Clipper Ships” in the lead convoy followed by the “Cruisers” and the “Battle Ships” bringing up the rear.

Arriving at the Floral Hall the “captains” began their “raid on the local treasures”. “Ooh I’ve worked up a right thirst” declared Ian, our newest “ship off the blocks” as he decided to start a new trend by raiding the beer fridge. “A BEER!?” queried some “But the sun is still well above the yardarm! Well that makes a change from the ‘rum ration'”.

As we returned to our “ships” we were greeted by a light spray over the bow prompting some to don sou’westers ready for an anticipated downpour which failed to materialise. After navigating our way out of Hornsea we turned North into the wind towards Bewholme. Michael took up the “flagship” position with everyone else happy to trail in his “wake” as we sailed close-hauled on the port tack.

Turning onto a broad reach, the pace picked up with Chris in front as the blue fleet skimmed along the “reach” like a Kingfisher seeking a new hunting ground. Brandesburton soon “hauled into view” where after regrouping the fleet continued onwards to Leven and back to home port of Beverley to complete another successful raid ride.

Game of Thrones 2024

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The “battle” for superiority is already well under way despite the inclement weather of recent months.

KOM Challenge – Steep Hill to Comberdale

In the “Hall of the Mountain Goats” we have a tremendous face-off between two matched contenders with Sir Sean throwing down the initial gauntlet posting a time of 5:50. Matching the same time was Sir Graham, but as he prefers to remain incognito his achievement doesn’t show on the leaderboard.

Sprint Challenge – BK Sprint 2024

It’s hot at the top with Sir Michael determined to claim the “Green Pants” award by spurring his mighty steed onwards to post an impressive speed. A few seconds behind in 2nd place we have Sir Chad, leaving the rest to fight for the scraps.

Time Trial – Shark’s Tooth

Not much action on the “Shark’s Tooth” with much of the year missed due to road works on sections of the route. Now the route is clear it’s game on once more. Good luck everyone.

Solstice Ride 2024

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Thursday 20th June the Knights held their annual solstice ride from Beverley to Hornsea and back stopping off at Berts Pizzeria at Brandesburton. With almost perfect cycling conditions we had a good turn out.

Setting out from Market Cross the pace was high right from the go. The route we followed took us firstly to Tickton and Routh where we picked up Meaux Lane and onto Kidhill Lane. After arriving at Long Riston we continued along to Mappleton reaching the coast road into Hornsea.

Following a brief stop for photographs it was off again to Bewholme arriving in Brandesburton on time 8pm.

A Winters Tale… In June?

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Well the forecasters were at it again, filling us with gloom and doom and trying to rain on our parade. What to wear with such a mixed forecast would have been on everyone’s mind before setting out. Some Knights arrived dressed for summer…. it is over half way through June after all, others dressed for autumnal weather while Neil must have been feeling the chill with winter gloves and jacket.

We’re going that way Puggy!
Honest I’m not cold!
Say that again!

Our planned route today was to stay local in case the threatened rain put in an appearance. Initially we set off along the Molescroft road towards Cherry Burton before turning back to Bishop Burton. It was a welcome change coming to “Granny’s Hump” at the beginning of the ride instead of near the end. By the time we reached the main road though, Neil realised he’d overdressed and decided to return home to change and then join us later. From Bishop Burton the rest of the group headed past the pond and along Dale Gate to reach Walkington heads leading us into North Newbald.

Our route then took us to South Newbald and Hotham before ending up in North Cave. Finally the wind was now behind us, we continued to South Cave. At this point, two knights James and Graham decided to add extra miles and left the group to head off towards Gilberdyke while Puggy, Matty and Heather set off to tackle this year’s KOM challenge up Beverley Road.

Waiting at the top cheering encouragement was Neil along with Mrs Puggy. “Can’t stop” cried Puggy “My garmin says I’m not at the end yet” before continuing past the junction. After regrouping Neil asked “I thought the segment ended at the junction”. “Well yes so did I, but my garmin had other ideas” replied Puggy. “It better have ended at the junction” said Heather as she scowled threateningly in Puggy’s direction making him feel somewhat protective of the “wedding tackle area”. Her demeanour was not improved when Matty suggested with an impish grin “You can always go back down and do it again”. Luckily all was well as it turned out Puggy’s garmin was showing the wrong segment.

After zooming down to Raywell then along Eppleworth road we arrived at the Sails cafe at Skidby. With the sun still shining we opted to sit outside. Eventually the cakes began to arrive but with no sign of our drinks. Neil must have begun to feel restless and trooped inside to “gee things along”. The drinks did then arrive but minus Neil’s. 😂 A little later some darker clouds appeared in the sky making us wonder if we should move to a table inside. However Puggy looked around at the sky and predicted that the sun would return shortly. Sure enough, we were soon bathed once again in sunshine, however any bubble of smuggishness he may have felt was soon burst as Neil pointed out “Hey Puggy, you’ve got your socks on inside out”. On that note it was time to head home to end another enjoyable ride with great company.

Knights Landing

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“Weather looking good tomorrow” announced ‘Squadron Leader’ Raymond “Perfect for a ‘low level’ assault on the beaches of the Eastern front. ‘Take off’ will begin at 0945 from Market Cross.”

A total of fourteen Knights gathered ‘on the runway’ at the appointed hour to be greeted with grey skies and a light breeze. “Jings it’s cauld” was the general consensus as the temperature gauges barely registered double figures. Our refuelling point was the next topic to be discussed with the ‘Mere Cafe’ being cited as an option.

When the ‘green light’ was given the ‘echelon’ set off through Beverley. There was not too much ‘turbulence’ in the area so passage to Weel Bridge proceeded smoothly. Our eastwards ‘flight’ was assisted with a light southwesterly wind as the phalanx of Knights passed through Tickton and along the ‘flight path’ to White Cross roundabout. At this point the ‘Squadron’ ‘banked left’ towards Leven and Brandesburton eventually reaching the road to Catfoss.

At this point it was decided due the number of ‘pilots’, to change our refuelling stop to the Floral Hall. ‘Banking left’ again took the Squad to Dunnington and northwards to Skipsea Brough. After swinging round to the south, we faced our first ‘taste’ of head winds as each ‘pilot’ tried to maintain position in the slipstream of the one in front. Arriving in Hornsea we were confronted by a local ‘barrage’ of cars and traffic lights impeding our progress until a quick thinking Neil suggested a left turn on to Mount Pleasant giving us an open road to our destination on Hornsea beach.

After refuelling it was time for the return ‘flight’. The first leg took the ‘Echelon’ further south towards Cowden before turning west directly into a now strengthening wind. While some fired up the turbo chargers others tucked in the slipstream as best they could until reaching Withernwick. The next segment led the Knights ‘echelon’ to Rise and Skirlaugh. From there we continued along Kidhill Lane

On reaching the Meaux Road, there was a brief respite from the adverse wind as we turned North towards Routh before returning ‘to base’ following our outward route to complete another successful ‘mission’. 1

Mallorca – Knights Abroad

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This year’s foreign adventure saw seven Knights heading to the popular cycling destination of Mallorca. Day one consisted of a shortish 43km route but included over 1000m of climbing as they set out from “base camp” in Port de Pollenca to the most northerly point of Cape Formentor and back.

On day 2 the group awoke to find perfect cycling conditions and followed a circular route of 83km heading along the coast through Alcúdia to Can Picafort before turning inland to Santa Margalida for a spot of lunch. The return leg took them back through Muro, Sa Pebla and Campanet.

Day 3 was a tough day in the saddle with 105km route including 1771m of climbing including the infamous Sa Colabra. The first “warm up” climb came at Col de Femenia, a 7.2km climb averaging almost 6%. After fortifying themselves with lunch at Lluc, the group set off to tackle the iconic climb, a mecca for many cyclists from around the world.

Day 4 was a short recovery day ride with lunch at Pollensa.

Day 5 was a flattish ride south west through Campanet to Inca before returning North East through Sa Pobla and Alcúdia.

Day 6 was a short spin to Pollenca before returning home to wet and miserable conditions at home.

Sojourn to the South Side

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This Friday was pencilled in as an “Away Day” with a chance to ride in an area we don’t normally visit. On this occasion we decided to meet at the Humber Bridge car park before heading “o’er the water”. Six Knights took up the challenge for a sixty miler down to Caistor and back however Michael and Graham decided to add a few extra miles by cycling to and from the meet point. Chapeau 🎩 guys for your century rides.

The day began with a slight fog but soon cleared to leave some lovely sunshine. While waiting for Jon to appear we took the opportunity to admire Chads new bike. As Chad reeled off the bullet points, Michael began to salivate. Eventually Chad offered him the chance to have a trial run. “I thought you’d never ask” he said excitedly as he climbed aboard and began cycling round the car park. He was like a kid opening a Xmas present with a grin from ear to ear while Chad started to worry he’d never get his bike back.

Meanwhile, as we continued to wait for Jon, he was actually waiting for us in another area of the car park but as the 10am deadline approached he suddenly appeared looking for us. After crossing the bridge we made our way through Barton-upon-Humber to pick up the Horkstow road with a gentle climb of around 5km averaging first 1.2%.

The final section of this road features a very steep downhill run with twists, turns and gravel. We were so concentrated on avoiding any mishaps that we missed our turn onto Middlegate Lane. When we gathered at the bottom, Michael asked “Did you not see that junction?” Looking blankly at him, “Junction? What junction?” we responded. Having realised our error we decided to continue on the main road through Horkstow to Saxby. At this point, Michael suggested we take the next left which would bring us back on track. Unfortunately this turned out to be Saxby Hill, a short but very steep 9% climb.

The next part of the route took us over very pleasant slightly undulating roads south east towards Melton Ross, Croxton and Kirmington before skirting round Humberside Airport to Grasby then arriving in Caistor. Our cafe of choice was the Rock Foundation sitting on top of the hill outside Caistor with fantastic views of the surrounding area. As our drinks were brought to our table, one lady (the local version of the governess from the Chase) began to complain. “Why didn’t you say you all wanted tea?” she asked indignantly “I could have made you a big pot”. “Oh is there a shortage of teapots?” asked one brave knight. “There will be if there’s anymore like you” she claimed before muttering “MEN!” as she returned inside. We tried our best not to laugh until Pug suggested “Perhaps we should put our helmets back on!” “Don’t look at me” said Michael “She’s already had a go at me”. Still we had no complaints over the food.

While we were at the cafe Melvin, who’d been having trouble with his electronic gears, was unable to continue and arranged to be picked up by his wife. The first leg of the return journey took us a short way along the rather busy Riby road so it was a relief when we turned off to Fonaby Top. Thereafter we had lovely long slightly downhill run to Great Limber, Brocklesby and Ulceby.

After following the roads around Thornton Abbey we were cruising along the road towards Barrow with Jon on the front when suddenly he spotted a cyclist up ahead. Well that was like red rag to a bull. Immediately his demeanour changed as his head dropped and the pace increased as we all thought “We know what he’s doing”. Unfortunately for him he was not aware of the impending right turn to Goxhill. With the wind in his ears and the ‘bit between his teeth’ he failed to hear the shouts from behind as he continued the ‘chase’ like a greyhound after the hare, forcing Michael to chase after him to bring him back to the fold.

The final leg of the route took us through Barrow-upon-Humber and back into Barton before returning over the Bridge. It turned out to be an extremely pleasant day out with light winds and sunshine along some great cycling territory.