Cycling Weekly: Summer Solstice Celebration

This morning we had our Summer Solstice Celebration ride. Nine riders departed at 4.30am, to celebrate what will soon be the hours of darkness whilst they are still light.

We took what is becoming a traditional Solstice-time route up beautifull Wharfedale, west side of the valley on the way out and east side on the return.

Hardly any traffic, except for a close call with a milk wagon as we came up from Walt Disney bridge near Appletreewick on the way home.

As we climbed Burnsall Fell, a superb sunrise to our right over Simon's Seat. Far too many suicide rabbits and pheasants, a couple of owls swooped closely over the peloton to check us out and we startled a deer near Barden Towers which gracefully cleared the dry stone wall into the woods.

Near Grassington on the way back Cacophony's bladder was giving him some gip so he stopped to relieve himself. Cruelly, Earthdreamer and Rogan went to the front and put the hammer down. But after a while conviviality was briefly restored for a re-groupment.

The sharp climbs near The Valley of Desolation exposed cracks in the group, and after a short soft tap through the Cavendish Pavillion to regroup there followed a bit of a blast the last few miles into Ilkley. 7.10am and time to celebrate the drawing in of the days with a brew at Costa Coffee.

Sadly this year, goats and virgins were absent from the celebration.

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"TODAY, WE RIDE"