Boxing Day - Ride

Steve and I rode from near Ripon today heading towards Hawes - a similar route to last time. Great Day!


It's getting warm - 4degrees - we stop to take a layer or two off before we head up the very rocky pass at the otherside of the reservoir

Steve riding across the top of the reservoir


Steve cracks the bog and comes out victorious


Looking down on the fall side of the reservoir wall - amazing Victorian architecture

Happy Christmas Everybody

Wishing all our friends and family a very Happy Christmas

May your celebrations be merry, your heart be light, your Christmas happy and your season bright.

Wishing you good friends, good times and good cheer, our warmest wishes throughout the new year.

Cows?

Doris and I were woken early this morning by a knock at the front door alerting us to the fact that there was a heard of cows in our front garden! (not good news as we have just finished ‘ground forcing’ it).

They had escaped from a field about ¼ of a mile away, walked down a main road and somehow nine of them ended up in our street.

Amongst them was a Bull – seems he’d brought his wives out to play!

These pictures show the cows outside our neighbours house – luckily there is a piece of land between our 2 houses which is ‘waste’ land and we managed to ‘hold’ them here until the farmer arrived.

The 'first' boy's trip

Steve Mann, Trevor Birkbeck and I headed out on our first trip as a group. Setting off from Ripon going to Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales and back - via a little bit of tarmac and a lot of rocks, mud and water – taking in the beautiful sites of the Dales including old Roman Roads and Victorian architecture in shape of dams.

............ Trevor does not fall off his bike he just ejects himself at regular intervals! He doesn’t do bad for an OAP though. He’s 64 and hope I will be up for it at his age – I salute you Sir Bonkers.


Steve and Trevor - planning the route


The bikes at Spring Hall ready for the off


The 'bog' tries to eat Trevor once more


Stopped by Mandy the local plod on top of t'moor - are all the bikes legal?


The river tries to eat Trevor - egged on by Steve


- the river wins - it takes 3 of us to pull the bike out! My new boots are now full of water


We finally make Hawes and have Giant Yorkshire Puddings filled with sausages and onion gravy, washed down by 2 big pots of Yorkshire Tea - grand as owt!

A 'mini' adventure

I head out on my own today on a 'mini' adventure on to the North York Moors. Starting off at a flying site The Hole of Horcum, a site where one of the first World Hang Gliding Championships was held.

A Green Lane (off road track) runs into a 'big' forest which is about a 40 minute ride - another 20 minutes through the forest along the fire roads and then a muddy climb to the top of the ridge, then out onto the open Moor. Breathtaking views looking down to Robin Hoods Bay are soon followed by a hard slog down deeply rutted tracks full of water and my God, it was cold.

Winter?

How I hate winter - no flying to look forward to for a good few months. Anyone who knows me well will know this is true.

The road bike came out of the garage at the weekend, first time in ages.


So what's my winter hobbie going to be? What will keep Caroline off suicide watch (as she calls the winter months)? Last year I had a go at kayaking but its not for me and the ‘boat’ currently has over 60 ‘watchers’ on ebay so I’m sure to get my money back (fingers crossed).

I’m hopefully going to get my kicks from Enduro riding. I bought a not so new KTM to do up at the weekend with the aim of competing with Trevor Birkbeck and Steve Mann (Trevor's bike is on order and Steve is on the lookout for a bargain). I've spent the last 3 days stripping it down and rebuilding it. I think it’s a good buy and is going to scare me but we will see!



I NEED a bigger garage.

Guga's Worlds 2007 Film

Wave everywhere

This is the sky over my home City of York today...........

 

(taken with crappy camera phone)

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

Oh, I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll along the prom, prom, prom,
While the brass band plays tiddleyompompom!

Amazing wave out to sea at Scarborough

 

 

I spent parts of both days this weekend at the East Coast for different reasons.

Saturday I went aero towing at Caunton, Nr Newark with Malcolm Brown, Gary Wirdnam, Nick Pain and the ‘Scousers’ (Shedsy Shields, Carl Wallbank and Bob Little) also Tom and the airfield manager Andy Buchan. Bob Delahay was our tug pilot for the day - cheers Bob.

3 Combats and a Cheeta!

 

I had an enjoyable flight to Skegness. Flying over the heart of the city of Lincoln looking down at the cathederal and ancient castle with its walls still intact. I wonder if anyone was looking up at us floating around in almost silence? The vis was so good it was just like flying in Google earth! I would have had some great photos but my camera was wedged in my harness pocket! Dho!!

We had weak 100fpm climbs to start and a base of 4000'asl and set a goal to Scarborough but as we got into the flight and headed north the sky went to complete overcast so cross wind to Skegness was called and we followed the sun – I landed in a strawberry field but unfortunately the season is over:-( Fish, chips and mushy peas swilled down with a couple of pints of bitter watching the very wild wildlife walk/waddle past. Perfect:-)) Skegness must be the caravan capital of the UK. All you can see along the coast for miles are little aluminium boxes all clustered together.

Thanks to Malcolm’s wife, Nicola I had a great retrieve back to the airfield – thank you Nicola - sorry about my camelbak leaking in your car boot - it was only water:(

The flight - you can see on the tracklog where we changed direction and where all the climbs were taking us down wind into the cack

Lincoln Cathedral

 

 

A Cathedral garden shed!

 

Sunday saw Caroline and I head off to Scarborough which during Victorian times was one of the resorts to go to with one, if not the biggest hotel in the world and a Spa to die for. There is only one thing you can eat when at the coast .... fish, chips, mushy peas, bread and butter for chip butties and a pot of tea to wash it all down.......and Ice Cream

 

Tried to hitch a ride with Doctor Who

 

Anyone for a Donkey ride

 

 

 

The wave nearly caught us. Scarborough Castle with the sunset lighting it up looking from the Spa sipping a pint of real ale

 

Rainbow's end

 

 

A pic of the good old pleasure cruiser Coronia – built in 1935 and licensed to carry 200 passengers. With the outbreak of the second world war she changed her occupation, name and colour. As HM Tender WATCHFUL she becane the base ship for the fleet and was repainted in battleship grey – on 29 May 1940 she was called to help evacuate troops from Dunkirk. After a refit in Scotland in 1975, she eventually sailed for Gibraltar in 1985 and provided trips around the bay. At the end of 1991 she was ready to make the voyage back north to Scarborough from where she continues to make coastal cruises.

 

The cliff top was home to the Holbeck Hall Hotel until it slipped into the sea in 1993.