Cyclists Touring Club
Newark On Trent Group
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NEWARK NOTES from the Secretary
October 2009 Riding off into the sunset After the disappointing summer weather we were grateful for some fine weekends in September and October. Sunday rides went to Gringley on the Hill, and Brandy Wharf, another old favourite, and the fine weather also favoured the Saturday rides. We’ve often visited Woody’s Top hostel, so when it appeared on the list of DA weekends at the start of the year, I tried to raise some interest among the section. Nobody was prepared to commit themselves so far ahead at the time, something the organiser Jonathan found with the rest of the DA and which resulted in the weekend being brought forward so as not to involve a “Rent-a-hostel”. Closer to the time, no surprise that some of the lads expressed an interest, but by then the DA weekend was fully booked. To avoid disappointment, we arranged our own hostel weekend for the following one, at the National Forest. The three of us who had booked in advance duly went to Woody’s, meeting up with both Notts and Northants members at the hostel, and having a good time. The next weekend, all but two of us, who had decided to take the day off and ride, met up on Friday evening to join the convoy of white vans that’s becoming a new tradition, for the journey to the hostel. There we met up with Nick, who had travelled up by car from Suffolk, for an evening meal and a drink in the local pub. I’d previously visited the hostel on a DA weekend last year, and despite being early in the year, I’d found it warm to the point of almost being over-heated. This year, I found it similarly warm, and as it was unlikely the heating would have been on, perhaps it’s just a very well insulated building. On Saturday, we made a fairly short, but interesting, ride, taking in the visitor centre at Bosworth Battlefild, where we took advantage of the cafe. A few days after we returned, we heard the news that they have decided the centre had been built on the top of the wrong hill! Never mind, it didn’t affect the quality of the food (actually, nothing special). The next day, I joined the foolhardy souls riding back to Newark, whilst the others made a trip to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, an impressive and moving place by all accounts. Strong winds and largely unfulfilled forecasts of heavy rains ushered in October, and whilst the Saturday ride had few takers, Sunday was a lot better and we took a round-about ride to Sherwood Pines, taking in some of the tracks in the forest for some out-of-character off-roading. Two weeks later, another fine day saw us heading for the tea room at Greasley, to find we’d picked the one weekend the proprietors had gone off on holiday. Another place we’ll try to include on another ride in the future;, though we go out in that direction infrequently due to the large number of towns and the inevitable town traffic. Sad news to end with, the death of Barrie Robinson was a blow to many of us. Although other commitments meant he hadn’t ridden with us for a number of years, he was a founder member of what was then the Newark section, and worked tirelessly to ensure its success. Editor permitting, one of us who knew him better will write a more fitting obituary for the next issue. Mike Graham Page updated 04/11/2009 |