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NEWARK NOTES from the Secretary

July 2003

Once again it grieves me to be the bearer of bad news. As many of you will know by now, Tony Marriott was tragically killed in an accident while out cycling on June 19th. He will be greatly missed. (A full obituary will appear shortly on the website)

To get back to more pleasurable matters, a large contingent from Newark section descended upon Kings Lynn in mid May. The weather-men had predicted dire things; heavy showers and strong southerly winds. A light drizzle greeted us as we met at the Ossington, though the rain soon cleared to a grey, but still windy, day. Things got slightly better wind-wise as we turned eastwards later, only for the rain to start up, thankfully only briefly, as we left Morrisons' café in Spalding after a rather late lunch break. We arrived in Lynn later than planned, and descended on the local Wetherspoons looking for the good value grub those establishments usually provide, but found it full of Saturday night revellers 16 deep at the bar. Try again! Fortunately, alternative eateries were found to replenish 85 miles worth of effort.

The following day, we decided to visit Hunstanton, so, aided by the still southerly wind, we set off via Castle Rising and Sandringham, where we spent 15 minutes sheltering from a heavy (gross understatement - ed) shower under a tree to find out we were only a mile from a good, if busy, tea shoppe. We reached our destination from Heacham, where we were advised to ignore the "No Cycling" signs and carry on along the prom. The signs should perhaps have read "no pedalling" as for the next two miles we made 15 to 18 mph without turning a crank! After an excellent lunch at the Marine Hotel in Hunstanton, we dreaded the return journey, but fortunately it wasn't too bad, the inland route we picked - more by luck than judgement - having plenty of hedges to shield us from the wind.

The first of June was uncomfortably hot and sticky and just the weather for a visit to the Grainstore in Oakham. The next weekend I joined the Saturday ride for a trip to Lincoln to inspect the new cycle path over the Foss Dyke. Some more intrepid members had followed the route a year or so ago; then, after the end of the Sustrans path beyond Skellingthorpe, further progress involved humping the bikes up the embankment of the by-pass, crossing the road bridge and then climbing back down the other side. Now there is a nicely graded path up and down both sides and a fenced-off, if narrow, path over the bridge. The path comes down by the Pyewipe Inn (no, we didn't stop for a pint!) and then joins the existing one alongside the Foss Dyke to Brayford Pool. A most enjoyable ride and one that may well feature in our Rural Rides next year.

Which brings me nicely to our first Rural Ride of this year, led by Stuart Barber, who took no less than 30 riders to Gunthorpe Bridge and back. Was this a freak or does it bode well for the success of the rest of the RR program?

The next Sunday saw another pub destination, this time purely in the interests of research, of course. As you may know, the cider house at Brandy Wharf has changed hands and we wanted to see if the new owners had altered anything. I'm pleased to report, that apart from extensions to the car park, little has changed. If anything, the range of ciders available is even greater. Strangely, though, for an establishment notorious for attracting trikes, recumbents and other, er, unusual machines, I appeared to have been the only visitor to have arrived by non-motorised transport.

The longest day already, Pete R and myself again made the trip to York for the rally, managing, as we often seem to do, to find a headwind both ways. We didn't see too many from Notts this time, did we miss you or did everybody else give it a miss this year? One thing that will remain in my memory is the mother of all thunderstorms which enlivened everyone's journey to the Minster for the service on Sunday. Oh, and the route instructions for the Saturday ride which missed a turn and sent a hundred or so riders along an almost unridable farm path. Good job it was another dry day!

To end this time, it is now 20 years since the current incarnation of the Newark section was started. By way of celebration, we revived the Bill Anderson Ride, which had lapsed in recent years. We had hoped to re-trace our first such ride but the note book that was kept at the time has gone missing (any clues at to its whereabouts most welcome) so Ray Clarke led us on a route following the spirit of the earlier rides, down to the Vale of Belvoir. A good (by Newark standards) turnout, glorious weather and plenty of leisurely stops, oh, and some cycling too, ensured an enjoyable day out.

Mike Graham

Page updated 02 Jul 2003