Boxing Day Ride to Woodthorpe

Boxing Day Ride to Woodthorpe

After the very fine ride on Christmas Day enjoying some pleasant sunshine, all change today which was set to be cold, wet and windy.

Today a ride to Woody's Bar and Restaurant. The venue would be opening up early for us to enjoy a Boxing Day Breakfast.

Reports had been coming in of stormy conditions at Sutton on Sea so it was with great pleasure to have the indefatigable John Rickett meeting up with Tim Newbery at Louth's Meridian Leisure Centre.

It was indeed cold (the mercury registering just 4 degrees), windy and wet. We would see a change in the conditions during our ride ... to cold, windy and very wet!

The outbound leg had the wind in our faces and it was admittedly quite a push into the gusts which approached 35 mph! Character building. Onwards through Stewton and the Carltons, we would meet several dog walkers to enable an exchange of festive greetings.

The last leg to Woodthorpe riding past Strubby airfield was particularly exposed and so it was a relief when we pulled up to Woody's Bar and Restaurant 1 minute ahead of schedule. Doors were open and we were given a warm welcome. The staff had already determined that we wouldn't be coming today (we had pre-booked) and were surprised at our resilience. Many thanks to John for the provision of refreshing mugs of coffee and some rather fine brioche buns stuffed with rashers of bacon.

With pools of water dripping from sodden clothing collecting by our table, it was time to move on. A glance out of the window confirmed that it would be a wet journey home.

The backwind was a blessing and in spite of the rain the ride was manageable. A brief stop for a photo call and an attempt to make the weather look fine (a failure!) and we even crossed paths with a number of horse riders. For some strange reason, we didn't see one other cyclist.

Arriving back in Louth at a little before 1 pm, Tim had covered 26 miles. For John, closer to 34 miles. Thanks John for your company.

Happy Holidays.