May 10, 2012 to May 14, 2012
Lincoln and Newark
a few days spent doing little
Hanging out with my daughter and baby Charlie takes up a day, and my son is there, down from York.
Friday
It's another lazy day, hanging out in Ruby's house. For some fresh air, we walk down the village street to a charity shop, to see what they have... Ruby buys a silk dress and some velvet curtains to use as a backdrop for a display, plus an an Ordinance Survey map of Saxilby and the nearby area. Scaled at 1:25,000, it's only 10p (about 3 US cents). They have a few others and I get one scaled at 1:50,000 of the Lake District area for the same price. They cost about 7 pounds in the shops.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
My first wife drives down from York as she does most weekends to see Ruby and her grandson and it's nice to see her again - catching up on what our old friends are up to. In the afternoon, our 34-year-old son Roy who is staying at his grandmother's house a few of miles away cycles over on his speedy Boardman bike. It's the first time we've all been together in well over 20 years without it being a wedding or whatever.
Showers sweep over and Roy and I set off once it's dry to ride to Lincoln together, up to my friend Dave's house where I opt to stay for a while. It rains again when we get out into the countryside, although there's a lot of blue sky above us. We find shelter just as it stops, but our clothes soon dry out in the wind and sun.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Saturday
The forecast is a bit vague, but the sky isn't too bad in the morning and Newark is only about 20 miles away. With it being May, rhododendrons line the narrow road that cuts through Stapleford Woods would usually be in flower, but we've heard the cool weather has delayed all that.
Roy and I cruise down from Dave's place, through the historic part of Lincoln and continue south. The suburb of North Hykeham comes and goes, but it takes a while to get out into the countryside from Lincoln's urban development. The country road isn't too bad, but is busier than I imagined it'd be.
Newark is across the county border, in Nottinghamshire. It's a place I used to go by train in my teens as I liked the music played in a pub on Thursday nights. Not much has changed since then.
The square has market stalls selling the usual stuff, but Starbucks has arrived. However, Roy and I get coffees from a vendor and sit in the sun where we can keep an eye on our bikes while we eat our bacon and mushroom baguettes.
Rather than double back, we return to Lincoln on the west side of the main road - the A 46. We have to ride along the busy artery for a mile or so before coming to the turnoff for Collingham, a village where my old friends Maggie and Pete live. We pop in for a chat and get treated to a chilled bottle of Sol, which goes down well sat outside on the patio.
Sunday
The 57th Lincoln Grand Prix starts at 10:30 and Ruby and her hubby Alan drive up to Dave's and we then all walk down to where the racers will come up before heading out to the rural part of the 8-mile circuit. We've no idea who is involved, but the riders have split up pretty quickly with a group of about 10 breaking away and the black flag is raised after just two laps to signal that the slower riders are too far back - the broom wagon sweeping them up.
At 3:00, Roy joins me and my old friend Tig in watching the 'Super Sunday'' football games on large screens in a town centre pub called Walkabout, an Australian theme bar that caters to sports fans who must have hearing problems - the TV volume is at nightclub level. After the games it's a relief to get outside.
Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 2,752 km (1,709 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |