Ride leader: John Clark; also there were Mick Lee, Karen Cleminson, Diana Simpson, Nick Kay, Martin Crapper and James Hyde. James was with us for the first time and hopefully not the last.
Sadly some of the riders had trouble with their memories or status, Lady Di and Laura Kenny amongst them!
My weather app said overcast but dry. Him upstairs said overcast and maybe a bit damp. So with a damp road, mist on the glasses and wahoos and Garmin we set off.
East we went before turning right towards and then past Harworth taking care as both damp surface and wet leaves suggested “slippery”. But it wasn’t bad and before long the roads were dry and we were optimistic that we would have a dry ride. We greeted golfers at the Serlby course and were acknowledged in return.
A right and left turn took us though Ranskill and onto Mattersey with loads of chatting and enjoyment of the day. Its what we were there for! It didn’t seem to take long and we were through Mattersey along Eel Pool Road and stopping for a brief history lesson from John - who admitted he picked it up from his previous Red ride on this route. Still it’s good to know there is a chain down the tunnel if you get stuck there in your boat!
It was advertised as a flat ride and so far that seems reasonable BUT. but we went through Wiseton and turned right on the main road towards Gringley. A nice and very misleading downhill ride leading to a steep and long uphill struggle. we made it and regrouped at the first opportunity which was the first turning into Gringley. And from there we wandered through the village to the Misterton road and paused at the main road where in the past the occasional club free wheel competition started. There wasn’t much wind but I had a go anyway and just about freewheeled as far as the turning to Walkeringham.
A quick left and then right helped us avoid the rough bit of road next to the church and we headed off north to who knows where. Well John did, and, having seen the gpx file, I suppose I did but i still managed to feign surprise as we turned left in the middle of West Stockwith and headed towards the barren north. Not quite barren as there was a lot to look at and plenty of time to chat. Somewhere along the road we saw a mass of geese heading in vee formation: no swans though.
Before too long we turned left on Ferry Road and headed into Graiselound. I was ready for a brew but as we headed over the cross roads and past the kids playground of Shepherds Place farm (and coffee shop) it wasn’t to be. But I knew that!
We continued along and into Westwoodside with time going quick by. So at 10.55 we stopped by the pond put the bikes down and paused for 2 minutes at 11 o’clock.
As we set off again we were noticing more cyclist manly going the other way. It was a good day to be out. The roads had dried and the sun was shining. Cove road took us to Idle Bank and a short distance along we turned again towards Wroot. The roads were very quiet, not deserted but quiet enough to enjoy the cycling. once we were along Wroot Road and almost to the junction with Bank End Road a large assorted group of show-offs - sorry faster cyclists - overtook us with a vocal comment from james of “there must be 30 grands worth of bikes there” not nearly of damaging as Lady Di’s comment that between her, Me and Mick we had 200 years behind us. Would have been more but I lied about my age.
We turned right and headed to the magic roundabout (of TVC TT fame) and on past Walkers nurseries turning left at the lights into the mass of roads forming part of the aerodrome site. And within a few minutes we were at the Café.
The Hub on a normal day is a quiet café with plenty of seats and a good selection of drinks and food. The staff were lovely. But this was Remembrance Sunday and it was packed with visitors. There were no complaints about speed but orders got a bit confused. They got their priorities right and my coffee and millionaires shortbread was delivered very quickly. Nick, John and Karen had to wait for their drinks and Nick waited for an extra long time for his bacon bap. The manager suggested we wait for table service next time.
We were a fashionably mixed group. James wore a grey rain jacket which disguised the fact that he was whippet like within. Mick had his favourite yellow wing thingy and Nick had some smart looking black and white kit. The rest of us wore a variety of TVC kit, with Karen tweaking hers with bright blue socks doubling as bike clips!
As we were ready to leave Mick decided he needed to go the shortest route home so we headed along towards Rossington and after some confusion about the shortest route Mick headed towards Bawtry and we all went into Rossington. John’s route would have taken us to Bawtry but when confusion reigns it does a good job. Diana left us and the remainder of the group continued on.
There had been a fair number of other cyclists and a lot of cars but not enough to spoil the ride. We took a
