After a week of misty weather, we were blessed with clear blue skies and sunshine for our last Sunday ride of 2024. Seven comfort bubble riders and five fast bubble riders set off for the Little Coffee Shop Café at High Melton.
First order of the day, change of route after it was reported that Wilsic lane was a mud bath, Apy lane it was then. The fast bubble, Gary, Matt, Jon, Dan and Graham were off up the road, not to be seen until the café followed at a more sedate pace by the comfort bubble. Jenny, Karen, Diane, Sheryl, Rob, Karl and me, Martin.
Apy lane was the right choice although a few Garmins were unhappy that we’d not taken the planned route but they piped down once we were back on course and heading to Braithwell. From Braithwell it was a short hop to Micklebring with their fantastic Christmas decorations made from old gas cylinders welded together. As good as they looked, probably better not to try emulating them, welding gas cylinders can be fraught with danger, probably up there with making your own fireworks.
We remained together as a group catching up on Christmas gossip, but it was clear we had only borrowed Rob from the fast bubble due to a training blip and he was eager to get off up the road. Turning right in Ravenfield for the descent into Old Ravenfield, Diane’s descending prowess was on show as she breezed past us all chasing Strava medals.
The journey from Ravenfield through Thrybergh and Old Denaby was pleasant and uneventful although Rob had recruited Karl into a little two man break away trying to close the gap on the fast bubble. Mean while there was a mutiny brewing in the comfort bubble with plans being hatched to take a shortcut to the café rather than doing the pointless 9 mile loop. The outcome of this saw Karen & Diane turning right at a junction leaving the famous five to battle on.
Halfway up the climb towards Marr I was thinking perhaps the shortcut may have been a good idea but we soldiered on over the top and down passed windmills to the busy junction with the A635 which is always a challenge to cross safely. The first three of us got a cross and waited for the others to join before setting off again to turn left towards Brodsworth Hall where it became apparently, we’d lost Rob! Karl set off back on a search mission while we tried to make contact via phone. Turns out he’d got stuck in traffic, missed the left turn and his Garmin had recalculated his route to High Melton meaning we were some distance apart.
The decision was taken for Rob to follow his Garmin to the café while we would bin the pointless loop and retrace our path back to the junction and ultimately the café. Here the plans for the day were changed again when we found The Little Coffee Shop to be closed! Don’t believe everything you read on the internet! Fortunately, High Melton is blessed with two cafes’ so we took our business to No16 Coffee House. Not sure what happened to the other 15 but they got it right for No16. Of course, while we arriving the fast bubble were getting ready to depart having already been fed and watered but were able to delay the Grand Depart for a quick photo.
Comfort bubble fed and watered we recruited a passer by to take a photo before setting off with only Sprotborough hairpins and Adrian’s climb up Tofield Road between us and Tickhill, oh and another detour to Apy lane avoiding the planned return leg down Wilsic!
A great ride and a good way to finish 2024.
