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.
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.