A fact, a conversation and a bike adventure....put the kettle on.....you'll be here a while!

Photo of the Day
09.07.07
Sky yesterday.....
when we set out in our leathers

Sky yesterday
coming home in our wet leathers!

Saturday
"Lets head North!" said Jon...so we went out on the motorbike, wearing our wet weather gear as we expected to get wet!
We weren't disappointed! LOL!
We called into Wickes to check on some window sizes foe the new shed, which is now onto course number 5 at the end of Week3.
The black clouds were ahead, North and so we headed in the direction of the blue sky which happened to take us to Whitby. As we approached the town centre a great fortune took place! The traffic lights turned Red! Fortunate???? Well, as we stopped Jon turned to speak to me and when he lifted up his visor there was a huge bee right next to his eye! I shouted out to him "Jon there's a huge bee next to your eye!" Without a moment of hesitation Jon pulled his helmet off, there in the middle of the traffic and knocked off the bee! Phew! We drove round to the square. We had lunch of soup and roll at the Whistlestop Cafe and met up with some biking friends.







I had decided to cook Tuna steaks for dinner so we drove round to my favourite fishmongers, The Whitby Catch.
Whitby was heaving and with no parking, well no legal parking just disabled spaces and loading bays...which were full, yes of people who were not disabled or loading! I noticed this as we went round the block...and also noticed a couple of traffic wardens, I smiled!
Jon dropped me off and went round the block a couple of times before picking me up. By this time I had the fish, with ice in a carrier....which would not fit under the seat so I stuffed the carier inside my bike jacket! It was a very big package and I was very uncomfortable on the journey home!

I had the urge to dig up our potatoes which brought about a small selection of new potatoes.



We had them as a starter...they were out of this world! I drizzled(can't you tell I watch all the cookery programmes!) some olive oil & pepper over them and together with some salad leaves they tasted absolutely wonderful. We had pan fried Tuna and veg.....gorgeous!

The sun was glorious this morning so I headed to the beach with Wilma!
We had the beach to ourselves and had a fantastic time.









As we headed back to the car I noticed something in the distance.
At first I thought it was just the fishermen driving down to the boats, but they carried on...I counted 8! At the top of the road I caught up with them and took the photos.








When we arrived home we got ready to go out on the bike!

The conversation went something like this....
Jon " Leathers then?"
Me "OK!"
Jon " Well it is a lovely day and I am sick of getting wet!"
Me "Me too, yes leathers will be fine!"

It wasn't cold and we set off, with our leathers on!
Our neighbour called out to say they were going out on the bike, so we arranged to meet them at Rosedale Abbey, on the moors.




We drove over the moors, avoiding the major roads and following instead the winding picturesque lanes.
The heather is starting to colour and in August the moors will be covered in a wonderful carpet of purple.
I always think of Alfred Noyes poem the Highwayman.....

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.




As we were driving through the countryside I asked Jon to stop so I could take a photo of the surroundings.




"That's funny, I was just thinking the same" said Jon!





I became aware of the fantastic feeling that this is on our doorstep.......and the sea as well, captured only an hour before!


At Rosedale Abbey we had our lunch.






At 1.30 we left as the sky was looking black.
We headed towards York but once again we hit the rain.
We turned right, heading towards Helmsely and drove the 20 miles through the rain. It wasn't too bad.

OK Fact! Apricots are a laxative! I mentioned to Jon as we drove through the rain..
"I know!" he replied...
"I do.......now! " was my answer.....I had eaten a bowl for my breakfast!

We arrived in Helmesley and there was Jon and Trish, our neighbours.
They had text'd us, bu there are no signals in some parts of the moors.
We decided to ride home together as the weather was looking very iffy!
We drove over Blakey Ridge, stopping off at Hutton-le-Hole for a cup of tea.

We continued over the moors and it was then I realised the leathers had been a bad idea!
The sky looked absolutely black and I could see the rain heading towards us.

It is quite unnerving to be on a motorbike when it starts to rain as you can hear the pittar patter of the rain bouncing off your crash helmet!

It started...and got louder and louder and louder!
It was so heavy it was actually hurting me as it hit the front of my bike kacket!
As we drove through Castelton I realised it was enormous hailstones, not rain.
Jon pointed at them bouncing on the road!
We drove home, through the hailstones...and then the thunder and lightning started!
At one point I caught a glimpse of John and Trish in Jon's mirror. It was like something from a TV advert....the huge black cloud was just above them!

We arrived home and now the leathers are drying out, as are our boots, gloves and helmets....again!


This was the scene from our drive.







What a Day eh!
In fact a fantastic weekend all in all!

Will have to tell the basque story another time!
Watch this space! LOL!