Bev’s Memorial Ride Sunday 16th of May 2010
Well; it was a subdued group that met for my first led ride out of this year, it was the most shocking news that we all had received that week. But the thing that I will always remember about the day is the feeling of gratitude that we all felt for knowing Bev, and how he will be missed on our ride outs. I had thought of telling everyone to just follow me and I would ensure that no one was left or missed out; like all of us I was expecting to see Bev and his hi-vis jacket in my mirrors after every junction; but, I knew it wasn’t going to happen today.
I would like to personally thank Tom, for stepping up to the task of doing Bev’s old job of looking after the back end of the group; like Bev, Tom had no idea where I was going he just got on with the task in hand without so much as a murmur; thank you Tom, that was a tremendous tribute to our dear friend Bev.
The ride out didn’t get off to a cracking start as we all expected as I had put my keys somewhere safe and couldn’t bloody find them… Sorry!!!!!!
There were 14 bikes that left Squires for the ride out and we took a ride out through Tadcaster were the bikes had a fill up before we hit the twist bits. After Tadcaster we continued through Boston Spa, with a sharp right over the river Wharfe and out past the countryside past the prison at Thorpe Arch and onto the junction at Whixley Cross roads, I have fond memories of this junction as years ago there used to be an asylum at the cross roads and the loons would shout, wave and generally laugh at us as we cycled past them. On through Whixley we headed out towards St Ethelburgs school and on towards the toll bridge at Aldwark, this is an old bridge that still charges for cars and lorries to use it but not bikes and cycles; I always say thank you to the guys on the bridge and always get a welcome reply (I was going to put a comical word here but my minds gone blank). As we approached the bridge I got the bikes to pull up to the side so that Mark could nip ahead and take a picture of us as we negotiated the wooden bridge. Mark, got the rest of the bikes in but missed the first one (me); still the main thing is that he got most of the rest of us on the bridge, I think it is the first time I have tried to get a picture of the group going over a bridge; I think it is a lot more interesting than just group shots outside a pub sorry Café!!
The road from the bridge took a rather twisty route through the back lanes of north Yorkshire around Crake to get to the mid morning break at Castle Howard; these roads are very good as you get nice long sweeping bends with the opportunity to get a bit of a lick on as you approach a nice bend that suddenly tightens up rather more than you expected resulting in you arse nipping up a bit more than is comfortable. As we approached castle Howard I missed my intended turning and ended up half way along the avenue leading to the car park; this was were I wanted to get my next photo shot of the group cresting one of the many blind summits in line abreast; I don’t think we got the shot I was wanting so we had another go on the way out to Malton.
After the obligatory ice creams and rested legs we set off on the run to Filey; as we left we arranged to get another photo shot of the riders cresting the ridge on the way out of Castle Howard’s grounds. This seemed to go a little better though we need to see the efforts on film to judge if my idea was any good; still nothing ventured and all that. The run from Castle Howard to Malton and then on to Filey is probably about as good as it gets for biking roads, yes you do get a few junctions to negotiate but there are some cracking fast runs on the isolated roads in the Yorkshire Wolds; especially around Octon and out to Filey. The roads run along the tops of the Wolds with visibility from one end of the road to the other so we can get a nice lick along the tops.
The arrival at Filey was a little tame as the café I thought was quite large was in fact only a small part of the campsites offices, my mind aint what it used to be as I’m sure it was all a large café… oh well must do my research better next time and not rely on ‘what I remember’ don’t know about what you lot had to eat but, my grandson Jordan and I had sausage egg and chips which were borderline eatable; anaemic sausage that looked like it was in dire need of a blood transfusion and the chips could have done with a bit more cooking; still the tea was nice!
I had planned to use a similar type of road from Filey back to Fridaythorpe that we had used to get here but the weather turned bloody wet very quickly so I thought better of using gravelled roads for a group in the pouring rain. So, we bypassed this part of the route for a quick blast through Garton on the Wolds to Fridaythorpe. As, we passed Fridaythorpe the weather was improving greatly so I decided to get back onto my homeward route via Millington Woods and Pocklington. The road through Millington is one of my favourites with a fast road through a magnificent valley; just have to watch out for cars coming the other way; best to wait and let them past as at least you have picked the point to stop rather than be forced to pick a point in a hurry. Still no major dramas as we encountered only one prat in a car; it never ceases to amaze me how surprised car drivers are when they see another road user on the road in front of them! XXXXXholes!!
We did however get an opportunity for Mark to take some more snaps at a bit of a hairpin bend in the road; this should produce some good snaps as you can get the guys coming towards you and again as the accelerate away from you; just in case you were wondering, the posts along the road with hoops on them are for travellers to tie up there horses, not each other (you know these country folk have some strange practises).
The run back from there was nice and without further incident, just as how I like it, along through Pocklington towards Wheldrake (did any one spot Frog Hall and Tadpole Cottage?) Answers on a post card! The roads back to Sherburn through Escrick and Cawood are very good and you can really enjoy your bike on these roads; though ‘cos they’re popular with sportsbikes you’ve got to watch out for the plods. Back at Sherburn most of us stopped for a coffee and a leek; but I needed to get the grandson back home as his mum wanted to bath him??? Still, he really enjoyed himself and can’t wait to get a bike like Micks ‘cos he looks awesome with his helmet and bike.
Thank you to you all for turning up and making it an enjoyable day and don’t forget my next run in Derbyshire; it’s not too far but on some great roads and It’s not too far from the cafes.