Routemaster Ray was quick ‘off the blocks’ this week trying to ‘rustle up’ riders for Fridays trip to the Farm Shop at Hutton Cranswick for the presentation of the ‘Cafe of the Year 2025’ award. It was a good turnout with a dozen Knights appearing at the start at Tickton Grange. Despite ‘feeling’ the chill of the cool easterly wind and the drabness of the grey skies the group ‘felt’ in high spirits and keen to set off.

Shortly after the start, our nostrils were assailed with the aroma of freshly cooking meat from the burger van in the nearby carpark. With nobody tempted to stop, the group continued along the cyclepath towards Routh then up to the Whitecross roundabout. Todays route was mostly flat leading us out initially through Leven and Brandesburton. While heading towards Dunnington our ‘vision’ was surrounded with white and pink blossom of the cherry and apple trees together with the newly sprouting green leaves against the background of the bright yellow of the rape seed in the fields creating a cornucopia of colours making up for lack of sunshine.

On ‘touching’ Skipsea Brough we turned back inland with the wind now gently assisting from behind. After passing through Beeford we returned to the quiet peaceful rural road leading to the pretty village of Foston-on-the-Wolds. By the time we emerged again onto the Wansford road we were a little behind schedule. “Heather booked the table for 1130” advised Neil trying to instil a ‘sense’ of urgency. At this point the group split into two with the leading six, ‘smelling the coffee’, continuing at a brisker pace while the ‘grupetto’ arrived shortly after.

At the cafe counter, our eyes were agog at the delicious treats on display. While some resisted temptation opting for a more ‘sensible’ choice of fare, others indulged their sweet tooth. The table service seemed quicker than normal, in fact Russel’s latte arrived at the table before he’d sat down. All too soon, it was time to return home, however there was still the matter of the presentation.

Our route home followed the usual path through Bracken to South Dalton and Etton giving us all time to reflect on another great ride.

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to this months running of the Hutton Cranswick Hurdles. It was touch and go whether todays meet would go ahead, however the early morning rain fizzled out leaving the course wet but rideable. It’s approaching 10am and the jockeys and their mounts are assembling at the start line by the Light Dragoon in Etton. Hold on, here’s one jockey arriving with his head almost hanging on his mounts head. Looks like Iain. “Well that was ***** hard going” he said in some sort of Anglo Saxon vernacular referring to the head wind he faced on the way to the start.

And they’re off! Raymond makes a quick getaway for an early lead as the riders approach the first hurdle in the climb up to Holme-on-the-Wolds. Luckily the wind is slightly behind and all the riders make it safely over.

Rounding the next turn, the riders were faced with an adverse wind heading along the ‘back straight’ towards the Goodmanham road hurdle where the riders can build up momentum on the slight downhill before trying to maintain the impetus for the short climb that follows. Once all the riders were safely over the obstacle they arrived at the Middleton-on-the-Wolds turn.

It was not long before the riders were confronted by the next few hurdles on the way to North Dalton. Finally, on reaching the ‘top end of the course’, with a following wind there was a bunch sprint along the main road to Bainton. It was here that the ‘chase’ came to a brief halt as the riders (except for Kamikaze Matty) had to wait for a break in the constant stream of traffic before crossing the A164.

The ‘chase’ then continued along the Neswick straight to Southburn leading the riders to Hutton Balk and the final dash to Hutton Cranswick Farm Shop where the riders were ‘fed and watered’ ready for the return leg.

After a short break, it was time to face the head winds on the way home. While the main bunch took the Bracken route, Michael and Colin however decided to take their mounts a different way home through Skerne and Wansford. There was no hiding from the wind as the riders set off along the initial section of Burnbutts lane. Fortunately it was not long before they found some shelter with the hedgerows.

Heading down Bracken lane the ‘chase’ was exposed once again but at least this section was downhill eventually leading along Mere lane before facing the next ‘hurdle’ of South Dalton Ramp. There was then a brief respite as the riders returned to Etton almost freewheeling with the wind on our backs to the penultimate ‘hurdle’ Etton ramp. The riders then all ‘bunched’ together along the Cherry Burton ‘straight’ girding their loins ready for the final challenge. You could almost hear the strains of Frank Sinatra 🎶and now the end is near, it’s time to face the final hurdle 🎶 😁 Yes it’s everyone’s favourite “Grannies Hump” not a difficult climb in the scheme of things but as usual it comes just when the legs are getting tired.

The ‘course’ was rather damp and quite muddy in places but at least the riders stayed dry with the sun trying to poke through the clouds towards the end. Another very enjoyable day out…. though I suppose I’ll have to clean my mount before the next outing.

The clouds were rolling away and the wind easing down when Noah’s wife bellowed down from her lofty perch “Right you animals! The floods are receding and it’s time to get you back to the farm(shop) . Assemble at the bottom of the gangplank in Etton at 10am sharp and we’ll follow the ‘usual’ route over Bracken”.

And lo, it came to pass, twelve ‘animals’ gathered for the start of the ‘procession’. Just as the ‘anaconda’ slithered in unannounced and trying to make himself inconspicuous, “Wait a minute” cried Noah’s wife “I count thirteen, but I’ve only reserved twelve places at the ‘trough'”. However at that moment the ‘flying fox’ saved a ‘corporal Jones’ moment by declaring he’d not be stopping, so no need to amend the booking.

The ‘animals’ set off two by two with Noah’s wife leading the way while the rest were happy to tail along behind at a leisurely pace. On reaching South Dalton, the great ‘silverback’, beating his pedals like Phil Collins on the drums, sailed on past the turn to Mere Lane until a chorus of shouts brought him back into the fold. “I thought we were going to Holme-on-the-Wolds” he explained sheepishly. With order restored, the ‘animals’ continued east until reaching Bracken lane. “Ooh that’s a cold wind” they all agreed as they turned North to pass Bracken farm.

On reaching the junction of Burnbutts Lane there was an attempted ‘escape’ when the ‘stallion’ made a bolt for it racing down towards Southburn. It seems that the ‘usual‘ route is not the same for everyone. “Where’s he going?” enquired Noah’s wife. While the ‘giraffe’ went chasing after the runaway, the ‘animals’ outlined the alternative route . “Well he can go that way if he wants, we’re going this way” said Noah’s wife indignantly.

Arriving at the Farm(shop) the ‘animals’ were greeted by a ‘smorgasbord’ of goodies of biblical proportions ready for our delectation. While chomping merrily a discussion regarding the return route ensued. “There’s two options” declared Noah as we began to leave the ‘trough’. “Back into the wind to Huggate or round by Watton” he declared before adding “I’m going by Watton”. In the end three ‘animals’ decided to venture further out to Huggate while the rest followed Noah.

It wasn’t long before another ‘escape’ attempt was made. This time it was Noah’s wife who was about to take the turn off to Skerne instead of straight on to Watton. On reaching the main road, the ‘animals’ split into two groups of four for the short dash to the Kilnwick junction. Just as we started to turn left towards Lockington, Noah’s wife commented with a puzzled look “Why are we going left? I thought we were going to Brandesburton for Ray”………Nurse!

After Lockington we returned to Bracken lane to follow our ‘usual’ route home via South Dalton, Etton and Cherry Burton. Back in the ‘ark’, all the animals agreed it had been a very pleasant day out despite the cool northwesterly wind.

🎶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.