This was the first Wakey MAG ride out of the year and with a turnout of seven riders on five bikes made it an official ride-out and scores us all valuable points for the end of season trophies.
We met in the Redbeck as usual and waited a decent length of time to see if anyone else would show up which no one else did. So we then debated where to go as it was rather cold, in fact probably the coldest Wakey MAG ride-out in living memory. I know as individual's we have all experienced colder conditions for example I'm sure Clare's experience on the Daft Way Up was colder as undoubtedly Mark's adventures on The Elephant Rally was much colder as he remarked to everyone within earshot, but there is no denying it was pretty cold. Now I can withstand being cold I can also put up with being wet but not both at the same time and so a shorter ride-out than the one advertised was suggested.
Martin checked the Met forecast on his phone and declared that Lincolnshire could be wet and it may be more prudent to stay in Yorkshire. Being the idiot that I am and not learning anything from my past attempts at leading a ride-out, I volunteered to lead our merry band to the picturesque town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire.
As it happened I already had a route entered into my Sat Nav and so it was agreed that is where we would go as we would be there and back for about lunchtime. So off we went through Normanton and as there were no learners with us I decided on a quick sprint up the M62 and A1M which breaks our ride-out rules but who cares certainly none of the participants except maybe Mark who said his rev counter was bouncing off the limiter trying to keep up.
Once off the motorway I decided to play a trick on the following pack and headed for Squires cafe at Newthorpe, they all thought they were going to get a cup of coffee and a sit down but just before getting there I did a U turn and then deliberately took the wrong turn at the next roundabout. How I laughed at the bemusement on their faces and their hand signals which was a rapid jerking of the wrist. But you can't have a Wakey MAG ride out without a couple of wrong turns so I threw them in to keep up the tradition.
Once back on the right track I headed through Micklefield to Aberford and picked up the Great North Road which runs parallel to the A1M all the way to Wetherby, Boroughbridge and Thirsk. This is a fantastic fast straight road with no traffic lights just a few roundabouts and best of all hardly any traffic. We were able to utilise our warp engines for once rather than bimble about on impulse power and I saw figures on my speedo never seen before on any previous ride-outs what joy.
Turning off the A168 we headed towards Asenby and on through the quaint village of Topcliffe nestled on the banks of the River Swale before entering Thirsk and parking up in the market square car park where we disembarked and headed for the nearest cafe of which there are many to choose from. Thirsk caters for motorcyclist and provides free dedicated parking but on this occasion all the motorbike places were occupied by a fleet of hairdryers so we just had to park whever we could.
On being refuelled with coffee and taking a quick toilet break we didn't waste any time before getting back on the bikes and heading south down the A19 to pick up the A64 and made our way home. I intended calling at Squires but on passing the car park it was absolutely rammed with other bikes and I remembered it was the Easter Egg run so I decided not to bother and went home to get warm.
I believe we made the right decision to change the destination on this occasion due to the adverse weather conditions and everyone else seemed to agree. Hopefully the next ride-out wherever it's going will be somewhat warmer.
Ride safe
Mick Culpan