Another ride with fish & chips and beer

Setting off to the coast on a sunny Bank Holiday Saturday doesn't sound the most sensible thing to do, and indeed the traffic was heavy going up the M1. My sat nav diverted me off in what appeared to be the wrong direction at Garforth, but to my surprise I ended up joining the A64 at Tadcaster. Traffic was heavy here too, but always moving, and after turning off onto the A166 there was a further hold up at Stamford Bridge. After this it settled down, and I got to the Wold Top Brewery a quarter of an hour after registrations had opened. I signed in, picked up my camping token (they knew I'd attended last year's event for some reason), set up my tent and put my wheels onto the bike. At this point I found my back wheel seemed to be rubbing in the brake, but there was no time to sort it out before the start.

We set off just after one on a very warm day, with not a cloud in the sky. Whereas last year's event had an easterly wind helping us out on the outward leg, this year we had to content with a niggly headwind, making it hard going in places on the undulating Wolds roads. As usual the countryside was magical, with lots of green fields, hedges and trees in blossom. 

The road climbed steadily for the first fifteen miles, culminating in a high point before a nice 10% descent of Cowcliff Hill brought us to North Grimston, where we joined the B1248 for a while before turning off down Cordike Lane. Here I stopped to tighten my rear skewer which looked open - didn't want my wheel to come loose at speed downhill! We went through Langton which had a huge wall of a hedge, then through Eddlethorpe and down a 14% descent into Kirkham, past the Abbey and over a lovely stone bridge, from which a group of lads were jumping into the River Derwent. Over the bridge and across the railway, the road rose sharply at around 10% for a short lung-busting stretch, with a glorious scent of wild garlic, after which we turned off towards Crambe and along Riders Lane to re-cross the railway. At the end of the lane we turned left to head back for home (and the food stop of course!). We crossed the Derwent again at Howsham Bridge to look forward to five miles of climbing, at times up to 14%. We went past Ryedale Vineyards (who knew there was a vineyard in t'north?) and past the Jolly Farmer Inn, where a couple of the riders had decided to stop for a beer break. 

We reached the high point at Aldro Plantation, and then started a fabulous descent through glorious countryside, passing a herd of Highland Cattle (with calves feeding), sheep and lambs, flowering gorse and blossoming trees which ended all too soon at the welcome food stop at Thixendale.

Here I had a coffee and various goodies, a rest and bit of a stretch, before setting off again for the last twenty five miles. We followed a gently descending lane for four miles, which had the occasional rough stretch with potholes to catch the unwary, and I passed a couple of water bottles on the road which had obviously been jettisoned from bottle cages without the owners noticing! After a short climb into Fimber, we turned left on the B1251 for a nice downhill towards Sledmere, and after crossing the B1248 Beverley Road resumed normal climbing up towards Sledmere. 

We passed Sledmere Pomnik and Wagoners Memorial, and Sledmere House and then turned onto the Yorkshire Wolds Way at Croome Road for five miles of mostly downhill rising. It had become a little cloudy by now, which was better for rising, and with the wind at my back I was making good progress. Eventually we reached the Main Road at Helperthorpe and turned right back towards the brewery. Now we could have stayed on this road and retraced our route to the brewery, but the lovely people who designed the route clearly thought we needed some more climbing, so shortly after Weaverthorpe we turned off and headed up White Sprunt Hill (not sure what a sprunt is), turning right at the end onto the B1253. Crossing the B1249 Scarborough Road near the East Riding Cemetery we were treated to four and a half miles of descending, including a 10% drop into Wold Newton. Here we crossed the Main Road again and paid for the downhill fun by enduring a mile long climb at up to 9%, then a short, sharp descent into Fordon. Here we turned right onto the road to the brewery, and the final, cruel, climb up the brewery driveway at up to 12%. 

Ride done, I signed back in, dropped the bike off back at the tent and went back for my fish and chips, and a pint. 

The clouds hadn't lifted, and so I wasn't expecting a sunset like I'd experienced the previous year, however as the evening wore on a gap appeared on the horizon, and I was able to sit and watch the sun disappear behind the Wolds for the day. It was the perfect way to end another very enjoyable Sundown 60 ride.