Spilsby

Cycling UK Louth Ride to Spilsby

Sunday 6th June 2021.

Last week, some club members had suggested a ride to Spilsby and so a route was devised that would give the opportunity of a morning refreshment stop and a chat and catch up at South Ormsby (helpful too for those wanting a shorter ride and a route home from here). With the Old School Tea and Coffee Shop not opening until 11 am, there would be a slightly later departure from the Meridian Leisure Centre in Louth of 09.45 am.

The forecast had suggested the chance of some rain or showers for the afternoon but Ride Leader Tim Newbery, Chris Owen and Mike Gray had all hoped for a dry day. John Ambler had messaged that he had a mechanical issue with his bike and would meet up at South Ormsby and we were also hoping to meet up with Reg Bagshaw.

Departing Louth we followed the route through Little Cawthorpe and Muckton and indeed it wasn't long before Reg greeted us and he joined the group. Reg was sporting new cycling shoes which he was testing out. (Hope they passed the test Reg).

Onwards through South Thoresby, we crossed over the Bluestone Heath Road and carried on past Calceby before a left hand turn took us to the Old School House at South Ormsby. We were delighted to see Alan Hockham waiting for us although he had been in residence for quite a while, having ridden from home in very good time. The cafe even opened up a little early for us which was helpful. Within a few minutes, John Ambler also appeared with Graham and Jessie Crowder also in tow. Graham and Jessie used to ride regularly with the group but moved to Scotland about 25 years ago. Great to see them again. An unexpected pleasure.

Teas, coffees and flapjacks having been consumed, Mike would head for home along the Bluestone Heath Road whilst Reg would take a more direct route back to Grimoldby. Chris would opt for a ride home via Swaby. That would leave Tim, Alan, John, Graham and Jessie to continue on the day out to Spilsby. Ahead of us was the biggest climb of the day; Brinkhill. Short but sharp. With a few rest breaks it was then fairly plain sailing to Harrington, Aswardy, Raithby and on into Spilsby.

With the town’s cafes all closed on a Sunday and with Graham and Jessie having brought along a picnic lunch, it was a dash to the supermarket for Tim and John so that we could all enjoy lunch sitting by the famous statue of Sir John Franklin. This statue was built in 1861. It is inscribed "Sir John Franklin, Discoverer of the North West Passage. Born at Spilsby April 1786, died in the Arctic regions, June 1847". Franklin joined the navy aged 15. He fought in the battle of Trafalgar but is best known for his surveys of the Arctic. He mapped over 3000 miles of the coastline of North Canada. His final journey to find the North West Passage ended in failure with the loss of two ships 129 men.

By now skies were darkening and showers loomed on the horizon. It would be fortuitous to escape at least one downpour. Alan departed for a route home via Gunby the remainder headed north east towards Skendleby. We were delighted to see brightening skies once more and by the time we had travelled through Alford en route for our afternoon refreshment stop at Woodthorpe, warm sunshine made for very pleasant conditions with temperatures a couple of degrees higher than expected at 20 degrees Celsius. Graham very kindly bough a round of drinks and the beer went down very well.

A final leg back through the Carltons, we bade farewell to Jessie and Graham at Stewton. Returning to Louth at 4.30 pm we had covered 44 miles. Many thanks to all for their company and chat and hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride (whichever route).

Next week, ‘Wren Farm Desserts’ at Hogsthorpe is a possibility.