Yorkshire Mucky Lane Riders 10 October 2018
Ten people gathered in the village of Whixley between Harrogate and York in warm Autumn sunshine that stayed with us for the whole of our ride. We had folk from a number of places in Yorkshire and were glad to be able to welcome a couple of new members.
The ride was planned as an easy outing of 21 miles through mostly flat or gently undulating terrain - a change for those used to the hillier parts of Yorkshire. The spirit was very much that of a rambling club on wheels – definitely not hard core mountain biking.
We set off up quiet lanes and were soon on tracks and bridleways heading towards the Courtyard Café at Rabbit Hill, just half an hour away. During that time Peter T manged to get two punctures. Is that a record? As what seemed to be half North Yorkshire’s traffic police were having a break there (or skiving from duty!) we thought it safe to leave our bikes unlocked there.
It was there that George realised that he didn’t have his wallet with him and went back over the route to look for it. In fact he’d not taken it out of his car and was able to rejoin us for the latter part of the day.
Onward then to Knaresborough by more lanes and tracks for lunch at The Old ticket Office Coffee Shop and Bistro on Knaresborough Railway Station. There we were able to sit outside in the warmth watching the trains arrive and depart and enjoy the historic surroundings of the station itself and the town.
Our route back to Whixley took us over a length of bridleway that Peter T and I had found to be totally overgrown on a recce two months earlier. After filling in a form on line for the public rights of way people at County Hall and following it up with some telephone calls, we had actually managed to have it cleared in time for our ride. This was really welcome as it saved us having do it ourselves for a part of the ride where needed to go on to avoid a very busy main road.
After only a couple of minor offs (with soft landings during the ride), we arrived safely back to go our various ways having enjoyed a glorious day’s weather in agreeable company.
Peter Fay