Is This Friday?

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I’m not sure what “juice” Raymond was on but in his “call to arms” he posed the question “is next Friday tomorrow or is tomorrow this Friday?” Perhaps he’d been reading the latest from the books of Phil O’Sophy. 🤔 Colin was first to take the bait declaring that “if tomorrow is ‘next’ Friday then ‘this’ Friday doesn’t exist”.

Whatever you want to call it ‘this’ Friday saw a great turnout at Walkington pond for a sunny, windy hilly ride to Goodmanham. “I don’t want to hear any complaints about Middlehowe road” declared Raymond before we set off towards High Hunsley. Turning onto the much maligned road, the condition of the road surface was the least of our concerns as we headed directly into the wind. At some points it felt as if we’d just entered a wind tunnel so it was a relief to reach the junction at Whin Lane where we “bumped” into a “bevy of beauties” heading the opposite way. Not that I’m biased in any way…🫡🥰

There was then some respite as we headed downhill on Burgate to North Newbald but still with the wind whistling in our ears. On turning back onto Beverley road the silence was almost deafening and extremely welcome as we tackled the climb up Stoneknowle hill.

After regrouping we continued on to Gardham and Etton with the wind now giving a gentle “shove” on our backs. By the time we reached Etton it was felt we were running a little late to arrive at the cafe in time for our reservation so decided to change the route by proceeding via Kiplingcotes instead of Holme-on-the-Wolds. Either way it was going to be tough into a head wind.

On arrival at the Fiddle Drill we were joined by Colin and Jim who’d followed their own route. When we were all suitably refreshed the now fourteen strong “Order” of Knights set off to return home. Fortunately the wind was generally behind as we headed for Holme-on-the-Wolds.

“Ooh, this is a great chance to have a go at the club sprint” suggested Neil. “We’ll set off in 20s intervals so there is no drafting”. Neil led the way as we departed from the Kiplingcotes junction in dribs and drabs and with varying degrees of enthusiasm for the ‘challenge’ ahead. Well done Neil for setting the initial benchmark for the year. Game on….

Things calmed down after that as we had an easy run into Holme-on-the-Wolds before making our way home through South Dalton and Etton. Despite the wind it was a very pleasant day out in great company.

Desperately Seeking Sunshine

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You remember that big orange ball that appears in the sky 🌞 bringing warmth and happiness. Yes?… well you could be forgiven if not, as in our little neck of the woods, we’ve been shrouded for days…even weeks with a dull grey blanket of cloud. Some Knights even headed off abroad in the search for the “golden snitch” while the rest of us continue to shiver at home praying for some respite from the freezing damp conditions. With the “heating” turned off, the temperatures have stubbornly refused to rise much above freezing curtailing the attendance at our regular club rides.

There has been a number of intrepid Knights who have ventured out over the last couple of weeks but most of us have been in hibernation, like brown bears 🐻 waiting for the spring, avoiding any chance of “dicing on ice”, preferring to find solace and self-flagellation on a turbo-trainer in our “pain cave”. Today however our prayers were answered and the temperature soared to a balmy 15⁰c. Unfortunately “someone” must have thought it was a bit too hot and turned the fan on full blast. The wind turbines have been spinning round like whirling dervishes creating enough energy to power a rocket 🚀.

“The wind is just about on my max threshold” declared Michael 💪 “but I’m willing to give it a go” hoping to encourage others along. I suppose you do need someone to hide behind when the going gets tough. Not to be outdone, Colin decided to join in the “fun” (can’t have others racking up the miles without him). “Have you any last wishes Colin?” enquired Jim with tongue firmly in cheek. Perhaps he wanted Colin to gift him his bike in the event of the wind scooping him across the Styx. With the forecast giving wind speeds of 24mph gusting to 40mph there were no other “takers”.

Undeterred by all the doom laden warnings ⚠️ 🌬 the two set out from Market Cross straight into the teeth of the wind as they made their way south to Elloughton. They had some respite and assistance over the next leg when they headed westerly through North Cave to North Cliffe before turning towards Bielby. Instead of continuing to Allerthorpe they had a change of plan and turned to Hayton, Burnby then Londesborough before stopping off at the Fiddle Drill in Goodmanham.

After spending 3½ hours in the saddle they managed to cover around 50 miles although not without incident. Turns out Michael is determined to retain his 👑 as the Puncture King by suffering yet another flat. He did manage to impress Colin with his prowess in changing the inner tube. To be fair, he’s had plenty practice!! 😂 What was most impressive though, was the way Michael removed the thorn by sinking his teeth into the tyre like a man relishing a juicy steak 🥩 before spitting out the gristle. What’s more, he managed to put the tyre back on without levers (the power of the thumb 👍). All that time on YouTube has not been wasted then!

Hopefully I’ll see you all out on the road soon.

Xmas Tapas Ride

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Well talk about a “jammy sandwich”, no nothing to do with the tapas, but the weather. It turned out to be a cool but sunny day sandwiched between two slices of soggy wet and windy days. Ten Knights took advantage and turned out for the start of this Friday’s ride to the Fiddle Drill at Goodmanham for Xmas Tapas.

After setting off we headed to South Dalton with Heather 😬 leading the way. “Straight on here Heather! ….. Left turn here Heather!” shouted Russ encouragingly from behind. Once we’d regrouped after passing through the gates into Dalton park, Neil zoomed off ahead. “Where’s he going?” queried someone. “Photo Op time” came the reply but as Neil disappeared around a bend in the road we began to wonder how we’d know when he was ready. Not to worry though, just as we were about to mount up there was a mighty roar from the distance.

On leaving the park, we turned left towards Kiplingcotes where by luck or by design we were joined by Colin, just in time for the climb up Arras hill and over to Sancton. Regrouping at the bottom of the hill, we waited for an opportunity to dodge the traffic to get to Houghton lane which then took us to Cliffe Road. “Left here to North Cliffe then right to Harswell and Everingham” advised Neil, however by the time we reached Market Weighton road it was felt that there wasn’t enough time to complete the intended route and still arrive on time at FD. Michael and Colin left the group at this point going to Allerthorpe instead while the rest headed for Pocklington along the busy A614 with Stephen peeling off home via Market Weighton. By the time we arrived at the Fiddle Drill we had five minutes to spare and the group was now down to six. Even a picture of the tapas was not enough to encourage others to join us except for Sean and wife Gillian who’d made their own way to the cafe.

Although Jim didn’t partake in the tapas he decided to join us for his version of “Dine & Dash” except he did a forgetful “Tea & Flee” instead. While five of us tucked into our wonderful tapas plate, Neil had decided to ‘share’ one with Heather, however as we struggled to finish ours, we found his beady eyes swivelling in our direction. “Are you not going to eat that?” he enquired before swooping in vulture like, mopping up some of the left overs.

After a very enjoyable Xmas Tapas it was nearly 1.5hrs before we were ready to set off home again. “Which way are we going back?” asked somebody and with general approval the reply was “Shortest and quickest” which in this case was along the Kiplingcotes valley to Etton. Many thanks to the staff at the Fiddle Drill for making such a festive table.

Misty Morning Mountains

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🎶Misty mornin’, don’t see no sun, I know you’re out there somewhere having fun🎶 Yes it’s that season again of “mists and mellow fruitfulness”. Just as we thought we’d have a nice dry day, we awoke to drab grey skies, wet roads and a blanket of mist. Still, the Knights were undeterred with a “baker’s dozen” turning out at the starting point at Etton for what Raymond had described as one for the “mountain goats”.

The first “mountain” of the day came shortly after the start as we headed upwards through South Dalton to Holme-on-the-Wolds before wending our way to Middleton-on-the-Wolds to begin everyone’s favourite climb to Huggate.

On reaching North Dalton two of our number, DJ and Raymond, decided to return home and left the remainder to continue the original route.

Leaving Huggate behind we headed towards Warter. Part way along the road, a shout came from behind “Car Back!!!” Unfortunately that didn’t really describe what was approaching or stern. Turned out to be a huge 🚚 almost completely filling the width of the road and appeared to have little patience about getting past our group as it tried to squeeze by at the slightest opportunity despite the poor condition of the road surface and lack of space to pull in.

Following a breathtaking downhill into Warter we regrouped before heading for the next “mountain” along Bailey Lane. “This next hill is a bit steep isn’t it?” enquired Helen trepidatiously. “Noooooo not at all” we all assured her with tongues firmly in cheek. After gathering at the top having huffed and puffed our way, climbing sections varying in gradient from 6-12% there were some sighs of relief. “Well that wasn’t so bad was it?” commented someone. The climbing then continued, though on a gentler gradient, until reaching Nunburnholme top. There was then a brief respite as we headed downhill to Londesborough before tackling the final two climbs to the Fiddle Drill cafe at Goodmanham.

For the homeward journey we continued to climb from Goodmanham to the top of Kiplingcotes. At the top of the hill we noted a lot of cars parked up at the side of the road. Turned out to be a hunt meeting. As we zoomed downhill we could hear the sounds of the hunting horn blasting in the field nearby. It was soooo tempting to start shouting “tally ho” however the imminent approach of some pack hounds crossing the road focused our attention more appropriately. The final leg of our journey then took us home along the usual route through Etton and Cherry Burton.

Masters of the Fairways

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The day opened with with a light sou’westerly wind and a grey blanket of cloud blocking out any spring sunshine and the warmth that might have come with it. Still, with no rain in the forecast it encouraged a great turn out. Only decision to be made was “Shorts or Longs, Summer bike or Winter bike?….🤔

As is traditional with the ‘Masters’, the ‘veterans’ take the ‘honour’ and lead the ‘field’ off on the ‘first tee’. The first ‘hole’ was a ‘par 4’ right hand dogleg taking us from Etton uphill to Holme-on-the-Wolds. ‘All square’ after the first, the second was a long straight ‘par 5’ with a number of undulations which managed to stretch the ‘field’ out as we approached the twisting snake-like ‘par 4 third’ leading us into Middleton-on-the-Wolds.

Next up was the ‘par 3 fourth’, a short up and down through the village. Some confusion reigned at the start of the ‘par 4 fifth’ when some ‘competitors’ misread their ‘course notes’ and tried to miss out the next section of the ‘course’ by turning onto Warter road instead of continuing to North Dalton.

Setting off on the ‘par 3 sixth’, a long straight heading directly into wind on the Dale road towards Warter. On reaching the ‘par 4 – 7th tee’ the terrain took another upward turn as the various groups climbed towards the highest part of the course at Nunburnholme top.

Next up was the ‘par 5 8th hole’ taking the ‘competitors’ from Nunburnholme top downhill through Londesborough with a sting in the tail climb of Intake Hill towards the end.

The ‘par 4 ninth’ meandered further downhill towards Market Weighton before a dogleg left heading to Goodmanham and the climb up to the ‘half-way house’ at Fiddle Drill cafe.

Following refreshments the ‘groups’ set off for the ‘back nine’. The ‘par 4 tenth’ continued the climb upwards along Crossgate. As we approached ‘Amen Corner’ and the ’11th Tee’ heaving in great gulps of air, a waft of “eau-de-manure” drifted across from the neighbouring field tantalising our olfactory nerves. “Ooh the joys of the countryside!” (either that or someone was letting rip 🤭)

At the 12th Tee a few competitors abandoned to find their own way home while the remaining ‘players’ tackled the fast downhill run along Kiplingcotes Race Course. The 13th was a short ‘par 5’ featuring a 5% average climb at the beginning followed by a short dip and another climb before the long straight ‘par 4 14th’ bringing the competitors back towards Etton.

The ‘par 5 15th’ led back through Etton village with a dogleg right and a short climb over the old railway line and into Cherry Burton. The next stage to tackle was the fearsome ‘par 3 16th’ with the infamous “Granny’s Hump”, a short climb averaging 5.2% but touching 9% briefly.

Once the ‘players’ managed to get over the ‘road crossing’ the ’17th’ was a relatively easy ‘par 4’ taking us back towards Manor House. The final ‘par 4’ 18th saw the ‘players’ taking various routes back to their own ‘clubhouse’ to end another extremely enjoyable ride around the East Riding.

Fiddly Wind Hilly Drill

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“Forecast looks good” proclaimed Raymond “Meet at Walkington 10am for a hilly ride which includes a ‘Fiddle’. Route to follow”. “Ooh I love a mystery tour”. DJ was first to respond “Ding Dong I’m free!” Matty followed up with “Yes, I’m on the Fiddle!” though I’m not sure he meant that literally. Seadog then piped in with “I’m up for a bit of drilling”. Ooh er missus, not sure we want to know what you sailors get up to.

Fourteen Knights turned out to be greeted with a blanket of lovely spring sunshine. Things were going really well…. but then we had to mount up. It wasn’t long before we were heading directly into the wind along Middlehowe Road. A gentle incline up to High Hunsley but with the westerly wind it felt like wading through treacle, though not as pleasant. Conversation was somewhat staccato as the wind snatched away words and instead filled the ears with a cacophony of sound.

After a brief respite we headed off to North Newbald. Still into the wind but at least it was now mostly downhill. “Regroup at the village green” Raymond had advised however that message seemed to fall on deaf ears as the ‘leading group’ took the shortcut down Townend Lane to wait near the local school instead.

Setting off once more it felt like bliss with the wind now on our backs giving us a gentle push along as we approached Stoneknowle hill. Any thoughts of PBs were soon quashed however, as we came face to face with a massive tractor with escort straddling the road, forcing us to pull into a nearby lay-by. At Gardham top we crossed the main A1079 with one of our group ‘earning’ a blast of the horn from one entitled miffed driver. “How dare you cross in front of me!”

With everyone safely across, it was time for another downhill run followed by a wind assisted blast towards Etton. Our next challenge was the climb up to Holme-on-the-Wolds. With the wind now on our left flank it was not so much of a hindrance unless we passed a gap in the hedgerow. It was a different story when we turned into the Middleton road as we were once again exposed to the full force. The only hiding place was on the back wheel of the rider in front and just pray that you could ‘hold the wheel’.

The final run in to the Fiddle Drill cafe was an ‘up and over’ Cross Gate with the wind now on the starboard bow. The leading group consisted of Michael, Colin and Matty with Pugwash hanging on their tails. I suspect there was a bit of an undeclared race going on between Michael and Colin with neither willing to be the first to ‘ease off’. There was one advantage being in the lead group though… first dibs at the cafe.

The journey back was somewhat easier with the wind generally assisting as we returned via Kiplingcotes, Etton and Cherry Burton. It was great to see so many members turn out to take advantage of the dry weather and making it a very enjoyable ride. Looking forward to our next outing.

The Fantastic Four

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The Fantastic 4 set out to explore the unknown dimensions of life in the frozen wastes. The Thing arrived early for a change (2 mins) and the Invisible Man only just appeared in time. We set off along Middlehowe Road at a good pace passing two hardened runners turning out to be Mrs Fantastic and friend. The Human Torch found it tough to get ignited so the others had to slow for him. The ride to Fiddle Drill was quite fast paced and there were some icy moments, which slowed the pace. Mr Fantastic had to forgo the repast as he had more inventions to create back at base. The Thing and Invisible Man ate well but the Human Torch tried to set things alight with the flapjack. Invisible Man made his meal disappear quickly. The Thing then made a remarkable complaint about the Invisible Man making him wait at the start as he was so late! Methinks just jealous that it was the first time anyone had arrived after The Thing in history! We managed to get back from the icy realms safe and well, having enjoyed sunny aspects.

Cast James Gilbert, Colin Garvin, Michael Kerrigan, Matt Meade. Can you guess their characters?

Let The Sun Shine

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🎶Let the sun shine in 🎶. This Friday’s ride was blessed with a brief respite between the many showers and storms of recent weeks to present us with almost perfect cycling conditions. Thirteen Knights turned out for the start at Walkington Pond to take advantage of the wall to wall sunshine and light winds to ride out to the Fiddle Drill at Goodmanham.

Our route took us initially to South Cave taking on the climbs of Bluestone Bottoms and Comberdale Hill along the way. Next up was a quick blast over to North Cave and onto the Cliffe Road leading into Market Weighton. After wending out way through town traffic we came to our next challenge with the climb to the Fiddle Drill where we were joined by SteveG.

For the route home, we continued to climb up Cross Gate until reaching the Kiplingcotes Race Course road where Mike and Steve left the group while the rest continued to Middleton-on-the-Wolds….. Well I say the rest, but Iain and Martin decided to leave shortly after by turning off to Lund while a few others also went their own way. By the time we reached the Kilnwick road the group was down to seven.

Approaching the Bracken junction we spotted two cyclists up ahead. “That’s Iain and Martin” cried someone “Why didn’t they stay with us?” we wondered. From Bracken we followed our usual route back to South Dalton, Etton and Cherry Burton to end another very enjoyable ride.

Tour of Er….

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Ding! East Riding?… “Tis the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” according to Keats. “And lo it came to pass” as we woke to a fine mist coating the rising sun like a shimmering negligee….oh excuse me where was I? Following in the wake of the Tour of Britain visit to our area, Raymond decided for this Friday’s ride we needed to “showcase” some of the hills the tour could have done. “Meet at Etton 10am prompt for a lumpy ride” he suggested.

Well it seems that it’s not just the season of mists etc but the season of “tardiness” as four of our attendees shouted out “I’m running late see you en-route”. Our first “objective” was the climb up to Holme-on-the-Wolds. The “peloton” set off at the usual Friday “genteel” pace. There was not much wind to speak of and the sun remained stubbornly behind the morning mists making it almost perfect weather for cycling.

On our way to Middleton-on-the-Wolds on the Goodmanham road the “peloton” was spread across the road dodging pot-holes and rough surfaces when with a moments inattention Raymond found himself off-road on the grass verge like Tom Pidcock making an overtaking manoeuvre. “Ooh are you alright?” we asked. By the time he’d returned to “terrà-Firma” and his “heart had left his mouth” he was able to assure us that all was well.

Next climb on the “agenda” was the lumpy rollercoaster to North Dalton followed by everyone’s favourite, the long drag up to Huggate. Once we’d all recovered from our efforts the next section to Warter was mostly a joyful downhill. After regrouping in Warter, we set off up Bailey Lane to Nunburnholme top. “Ooh are we going up Nunburnholme Hill?” asked Jim excitedly. Well sorry to disappoint you but….. No! Instead we have a “little kicker” averaging 6% over 1 mile starting with a 10% ramp followed by a gentle drag uphill to the top of Nunburnholme Hill.

From there we have a brief respite as we had downhill to Londesborough before the next climb up Intake Hill eventually leading towards Market Weighton before our final climb up to Goodmanham and the cafe stop at the Fiddle Drill.

The season of mellow fruitfulness also includes the pesky attention of wasps. We were thus entertained by Mark’s defence of his fruit scone during our lunch as well as some fruity banter. Soon enough it was time to complete our journey home. After continuing the climb along Crossgates we turned down Kiplingcotes Race Course before eventually returning via Etton and Cherry Burton and the final little “kicker” of “Granny’s Hump”. An excellent route enjoyed by all and enhanced by some lovely weather conditions.