Cyclists Touring Club
Newark On Trent
Section
|
|
Cyclists Touring Club |
|
[Home]
|
NEWARK NOTES from the Secretary
Anyone would think it was December I left off last time thinking that the best of the autumn weather was past. Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as the Russian winter I also mentioned, but when I totted up my mileage for November (If you read my 15 seconds of fame in “Spotlight” you’ll remember I’m one of those sad people who do this), the totals were well down on what I’d hoped for. Part of this reduction was due to other factors, but a good portion of it was due to the wintry weather that we were subjected to. It wasn’t all stay-at home, though. Early in the month, Steve and I made a foray into a very strong headwind, reaching the café at Gunthorpe just in time to shelter out a shower over a cup of coffee. Deciding to return home by the quickest route, we managed to stay pretty much dry, and were home before the more persistent rain started. The following weekend, I’d wanted to ride to a swapmeet in Doncaster, and with Neil also turning up at the start, we headed off in that direction. All went well until we reached the Markham Moor roundabout. I knew that there were roadworks at this junction, and we saw signs diverting traffic for the A1, but when we reached the roundabout we found it was completely impossible to cross. Not fancying a couple of miles on the A1, coned off to two very narrow lanes without a hard shoulder, we retraced our tracks until we found suitable minor road diversion. Neil turned for home at that point, and I eventually made my swapmeet rather later than planned. The wasted distance due to the roadworks and the alternative route I took home meant I’d done 92 miles by the time I got home, 10 more than planned; a distance I’d not covered for a long time, even if that won’t impress many of you. By early December, we were just starting to think of Christmas, and it was time for our Christmas dinner. Perhaps it wasn’t the best of dates, or perhaps it was the choice of a Saturday evening instead of the traditional Sunday lunch, but numbers were down over recent years. Those who did come enjoyed a good feast, much to my relief after a rather disappointing spread last year. The next day, three of us rode out west, and took a café stop at Sherwood Pines. The powers-that-be had erected a large marquee near the café, Christmas trees for the selling of, and we were amazed by the volume of business they were doing. A seemingly endless stream of families emerged from the marquee carrying trees, rather like those films of ants carrying bits of leaves back to their nests, only rather bigger. When I got back I was suitably inspired to get my artificial tree out of the loft… The weekend before Christmas, the weather improved a bit, and a well attended Saturday ride visited Bleasby, where we were pleasantly surprised, not having used that café for some time. For Sunday, I’d hoped to make it to Belton for the Mince Pie Run, but the after-effects of a cold, and the fact that none of my other co-conspirators felt like it either, meant we settled for a shorter run. Editorial deadlines and my going away for Christmas mean that I’m typing this before Christmas, so I can’t give first hand reports of the rides we’ll hopefully be taking over the holiday period. Plans are afoot for Boxing day and New Year’s day rides, weather permitting, though any notable events will have to wait until the next exciting episode.
Mike Graham Page updated 08/01/2009 |