Back to The Dales

John and I made another trip to Yorkshire last weekend, and got in some useful miles and very worthwhile hills over the course of two and a half days. John's wife Sian and their two dogs were with us and we were staying with a family friend, so some socialising was in our schedule, too.

Arriving in Ripon around mid afternoon on Friday, we began our ride with the intention of doing about 40 miles or so. In the event, this was curtailed by lack of time and a definite lack of energy on my part. In retrospect, this was probably dehydration. Still, we did over 30 miles, fully laden as for the Paris to Venice trip, on our way to West Burton. By the end of the ride I was feeling better and we planned a longer ride for Saturday.

Saturday's ride was also pretty tough going, but we expected that, more especially in the morning, when we faced a stiffish headwind as we set off for one of the hills we'd specifically avoided on our last visit!

It wasn't quite as tough as we'd been led to believe and actually represented a pretty good test of climbing endurance rather than one of brute strength as the shorter 20-25 percenters do. It was still around 15% and more at times. We found a few of those sharper ones too, over the course of 45 miles, as well as two or three more very decent climbs. All in all, the 45 miles seemed further but we both felt better for the workout.

For Sunday, we had planned on a short recovery ride, given that we had a long car ride and a duty to be sociable. In the event we did almost 25 miles, including some more brutes (not all marked on the map) and some stunning scenery. It's not always easy to appreciate the surroundings when I'm trying to hang on to John's back wheel, but it's hard to ignore Semerwater - a miniature bit of Lake District in the Dales. We even stopped for a scone and tea it what must be one of the quaintest and most trusting tourist spots in Engand. 

So, 102 miles in one day and two half days wasn't bad. Half a dozen short, brutish climbs and the same number of longer, steadier ascents made for a great weekend's cycling. The weather improved drastically when it was time to leave, but we had a superb weekend.

The real trip starts in less than two weeks' time but it's not too late to sponsor me!    

Roy