An Excellent Ride with Heather.

Still blowing a cold wind off the sea today, but it was cloudless ans sunny, so Heather and I had an early lunch and then, taking  hot cross buns and a flask of drinking chocolate we set off on our bikes.  We wanted to ride through Grainsby Park but not quite so far as the last ride where we rode to Wold Newton.  Instead from the roundabout on Ashby Hill we turned south on Barton Street, the A18.  Normally this ride is somewhat like a race track with motorists in a hurry 'cutting off the corner' to avoid Grimsby and get to the A16 Louth Road.  In this time of lockdown, however, it was much quieter enhance by the fact that the road is closed at Laceby.  So, we were able to cycle along without the polluting irritation of traffic and the risk to life and limb.  The view from the Wold Edge out over the coastal marsh to the Humber Estuary was wide and expansive, the clear air giving superb views.  Fields of oil-seed rape painted the country side with colour contasting strongly with the blue of the sky and green of newly emerging leaves.  In the far distance the wind farm in the North Sea beyond Spurn was clearly visible.

At the top of the hill down to Grainsby we turned off and sped down the swooping descent into the park where we stopped and had the second course of our lunch leaning against a fence basking in the sun.  Lunch over we retraced our steps for half a mile before turning off along the bridleway to Ashby-cum-Fenby.  We thoroughly enjoyed this mile or so of off-road riding, although if we do much more I shall need to deploy my mountain bike.  Imagine our delight however when we came across a ditch whose bank was thick with coswlips, violets and early purple orchids.  There must have been 200 individual orchid; they made a splendid sight.

On reaching the road again we rode through the village before turning back onto the road back home.  Altogether 16 miles.  Brilliant.
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