July 2, 2022
Lincoln Loop
Last spin with Dave
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There are just a few days left before I depart and there's the Covid test to get sorted, which is proving to be a headache. After going around in a circle, I've concluded it'll be best to get it done at a place located at the train station in Manchester, then stay in a hotel before going to the airport early the next morning. The test result only takes a couple of hours there, unlike the local pharmacy, which quotes a vague 'within 48 hours'. However, if I should test positive, a nightmare begins and will involve buying a new return air ticket and extending my UK stay. The cost and aggravation is not soemthing I want to contemplate.
To take my mind off all that, it strikes me as a good idea to do the local ride that I did last week, which has got Dave's curiosity. We decide to do it on what will basically be our last chance to go for a spin. The farm track on the southern side of Washingborough is one he's seen as he's driven past its entrance, but he'd assumed it was a dead-end.
Armed with my 5-quid, second-hand Lumix and light Gorillapod, we set off late in the morning under a sky which seems to promise a decent sort of day. Th eold carradice saddlebag is on the bike, but it needs posting after getting sold on eBay.
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We soon get to the start of the lane and follow that to its end and begin bouncing along the wheel ruts of the farm track. Dave knows the guy who has converted the barn at Cliff Farm into a home and says he's loaded. The farm is where the paved surface ends and a rough track begins.
The track rises slightly up to Washingborough Top Farm in a few zigzags and we get a great view of the surrounding Linclnshire countryside. Fields of wheat line the route and the cathedral is on the horizon to our north, a few miles away. There's nobody around.
After another ten minutes or so we cross over the busy B1188 that links Lincoln with the village of Branston and then head down a second lane that goes to Ashfield House. This fine Georgian pad is obscured by bushes and trees, but after rounding a bend, there is a small gap in the tall hedge and I squeeze through and sureptitously take a snap of the front elevation, with a lake in the foreground and a little further along there's a rowing boat moored on the far bank. Dave fantasizes about buying the place.
After going through the concrete yard of Westfield Farm, we reach the small new bridge that takes us to the endge of Bracebridge Heath. It's possible Ruby and Dave's daughter are offoloading stuff at the studio there, so we decide to make a quick detour and check. They're not, so it's a case of just zooming down the escarpment, with the South Common on our right, to the very bottom of Lincoln's High Street.
At this end of town the businesses are a mixture of of shops selling car parts, hair salons, pizza and pasta places, kebab shops and convenience stores. Once across the railway tracks, about five minutes or so north, it's the proper pedestrianized section with more upmarket retailers, but we head past the train station to Sincil Street and stop at a coffee shop for refreshments and a sit-down. It's a first for Dave, and there's a table free outside, so we sit there and watch the world go by for a while
We end up going to the top of the High Street and walking up The Straight, a cobbled street which connects to Steep Hill, which lives up to its name. This is the historic part of Lincoln, with antique shops and nice cafes and restaurants.
However, we head directly to a pub in the shadow of the castle called The Strugglers, as it's a great traditional place that I used to frequent many years ago. Its name comes from the way condemned prisoners would struggle as they were led past on ther way to public hanging at a nearby gallows.
As we sit with our pints, I'm very concious that this is something I'll miss when back in Taiwan.
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2 years ago
Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 1,258 km (781 miles)
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