#RideFestive5 Day 3

Cycling UK #ridefestive5

Woodthorpe 29th December 2022

A ‘Wednesday Wander’ had morphed into a ‘Thursday Trundle’ around the local lanes due to inclement weather on the Wednesday, whilst still being part of Cycling UK #ridefestive5 challenge to stay active over the holiday season (27th-31st December). There’s also the chance of winning a £50 Amazon voucher for taking part!

Waking up to a very scenic sunrise and brilliant sunshine, it was all systems go for our ride to Woodthorpe. Meeting up with Ride Leader Tim Newbery at Louth’s Meridian Leisure Centre were Paul Linder, John Rickett, Neil Parnham and Cycling UK Lincoln’s Andy Townhill. Welcome aboard Andy. We were expecting to meet up with Steve Croton at The Queen’s Head Inn.

Following Stewton Lane to Manby Road, it wasn’t long before we were enjoying the zig zag routing of Furze Lane at Legbourne Furze. An interesting origin of the name with Legbourne meaning boggy stream; læcc (Old English) A bog and burna (Old English) A stream, whilst Furze is an old name for gorse.

Steve was waiting for us as scheduled and a very respectable group of six continued into a combination of a stiff headwind and crosswind, gusts forecast to be as high as 37 mph (RAF Station reports would later confirm). Our route would take us through the Carlton’s to Gayton Top and then through Withern to the café at Woodthorpe. We encountered a few dog walkers and cyclists but the gusty conditions may have put others off from venturing outside. We were of course delighted to meet up with Reg Bagshaw at ‘Woody’s’ who had braved the winds to meet up with us.

Following refreshments and with numbers having swelled to seven, an enjoyable ride was had with the attractive Rye Lane taking us through Greenfield and Mother Woods to Claythorpe and Aby.

A right hand turn at South Thoresby (where we bade farewell to Steve) the route crossing the Great Eau at Belleau Bridge finally afforded us the pleasure of a back wind, the unseen force never the less making a distinctive moaning, rusting and ‘whooshing’ sound through the tree lined lanes.

A bit of a push on the pedals was required to ascend to Meagram Top, today’s highest altitude of 58 m. Thereafter a straightforward ride along the boundary of the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to Muckton and Little Cawthorpe.

Reg would now depart for home whist the remainder continued on to Louth, Paul taking the opportunity of a visit to the Garden Centre. Arrived back at the Leisure Centre at a little after 1 pm. Today’s route 25 miles.

Many thanks to all for an enjoyable day out and especially to our special guest, Andy.