11 October 2017 

I don’t normally approach strange men in toilets and ask them “Are you George Nutt”? However, I knew George, a former member who had recently rejoined the RSF was coming on our ride. So when I saw an unfamiliar figure in cycling gear crossing the car park on his way to the Gents at our start point in Ripley that was what I did. 

The turn-out of nine people was excellent considering the dire weather forecast. In view of it we decided to adopt a Plan A-minus over our pre-ride cuppa. This involved missing out some of the off-road stretches across potentially very muddy fields – a decision that proved very wise in view of the state of some of the more stone-based tracks we used. 

Our destination was Fountains Abbey which we reached for lunch with minimal wetting. We are not abbey-spotters – our last ride visited two abbeys- but they do have good tea rooms which makes them a draw. 

The rain started to fall albeit not too heavily as we had lunch so we decided to stick to Plan A-minus rather than return by the quickest way to Ripley. No sooner had we set off when the rain started in earnest. But we’d started so we were going to finish. It was a shame really because the lanes and bridle tracks would have been a delight in good weather. Definitely a ride worth doing again in better conditions. So thanks to Peter and Peter for organising the ride and to everyone else who turned up to make a grand day out despite the weather. 

The cafe in Ripley is highly recommended as a warm refuge before and after a ride. It opens from 0930 to 1600 in October.
As an aside, Nick Rogers who was on the ride and will be taking over from Jane and me as Mucky Lane Riders Sec when we give up after next year, is also a Carleton resident like us. So does this mean that Carleton with a population of just over eleven hundred has the greatest number of RSF members per head of population? 

Neville Cohen 

Sorry, no photos, no-one had a camera due to dire weather forecast!