The (real) Virtual Yorkshire Wolds Cycle Challenge Day 2

After a decent night's sleep I was woken early not by the dawn chorus, but by the sound of heavy rain on the tent. No sunrise for me this morning unfortunately. 

I knew rain was forecast but didn't know when or for how long. Taking advantage of a break in the showers I packed up all my sleeping equipment in the tent, then packed the tent away and set off downhill into Market Weighton. I turned north out of town in the morning traffic up towards the A614, crossing over and heading towards Londesborough. Here I turned left onto a narrow, and what I hoped was a quieter lane, but still I had the impatient rush hours cars squeezing past - it turned out that this was a diversion for some roadworks. The rain started again at this point, and riding through Burnby I soon came to the outskirts of Pocklington, passing the household waste recycling site that was particularly pungent last year, fortunately no smells were emanating from it this time. In Pocklington I stopped at Market Street cafe for beans on toast and a pot of tea to set me up for the next stretch.

Setting off again I left Pocklington on Kilnwick Road, then headed north past Kilnwick Percy Golf Club and the Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre, with its World Peace Cafe. I'd have liked to have called in for a brew here but it wasn't open until 11am sadly. A little further on at the top of a climb by Jenny Firkin Wood I came across the strange site of two benches at the side of the road - presumably for tired hikers as it's a popular area for hiking. The rain had stopped by this time, and I headed downhill into Millington through a very pretty dale which zig-zagged past Millington Woods and onto Millington Pasture where a couple of brown Longhorn cattle were grazing.

The road climbed up to a junction with Pocklington Lane and headed towards Huggate, where there was another promising tea room that didn't open until 11am! Just before Huggate I turned left on a wider road heading towards the A166, which climbed up to a junction where I turned left again back towards Millington, and after a mile took a right back towards the A166.

This time I reached the A166 where a cycle lane by the side of the road took me a little way down to a crossing point. The busy traffic lead to a bit of a wait to get over, but eventually I rode onto Roman Road, turning off after a mile towards Thixendale where a lovely downhill with a lark singing in the sky brought me to the edge of the village. It was from this point that the Sundown 60 ride headed back to the Wold Top brewery, but today I was heading in the opposite direction westwards. I'd ridden into Thixendale from the other direction, another lovely downhill, four times previously and it is one of my favourite roads to cycle on. Today for the first time I rode out of the village uphill, and it was just as lovely, not too tough until right at the very top. I passed another herd of brown Longhorns, with some calves sleeping, and also some sheep that had recently been shorn.

Making it to the top of the climb, I headed through Aldro plantation and came to a crossroads on the edge of the Wolds with a panoramic view over the Howardian Hills National Landscape stretching out in front of me. Crossing over I dropped down into Leavening, scorching down the hill that saw me struggling up the previous year, where I stopped at the Jolly Farmer Inn to remove my rain jacket as it was getting warm. Heading north out of Leavening I continued downhill towards Burythorpe, turning west again to drop down further into Westow and then on to the western extremity of the route at Kirkham. The route didn't quite reach Kirkham Priory, but instead turned back eastwards at the Stone Trough Inn, a large pub that proclaimed itself open "all day, every day". As it was just on 12 noon I was sorely tempted to drop in for some lunch, but pushed on through the leafy lanes towards Norton, where I stopped for an energy gel in anticipation of the fierce climbs I knew lay ahead. Leaving the main road behind after Norton, I turned off towards Settrington, riding through the village to come to the ford of Settrington Beck.

Rather than risk getting my panniers wet, even though they were waterproof, I opted for the close by footbridge over the beck and rejoined the road on the other side. A little further on I came to the point on the route that I'd not been looking forward to;

Dropping into my lowest gear, and repeating my hill climbing karma of "how slow can you go", the question was how far I'd get up the hill before bailing out. The answer was surprisingly further than I'd expected - in the end I only pushed the bike up for a short distance before remounting and continuing the climbing, of which there was another mile and a half. At the top of the climb I turned off to drop into Duggleby down the steep descent of Duggleby Hill. Before it got too steep I stopped to put my rain jacket back on as the clouds were looking very threatening, and indeed I hadn't finished zipping up before the rain came on. From here the rain came down heavily, and it was difficult to see out of my glasses for the water. Into Duggleby I rode on to Kirby Grindalythe where I turned off for Sledmere. The road reared up again here, as I knew it would, and I rode in the middle with muddy brown streams rushing down both sides of the road. At the top of the first climb I started descending again, this time with the muddy brown streams rushing down alongside me. At the foot of the climb the two streams were meeting in the middle of the road, after which it reared up again and for the second time in a few miles I was off and pushing. Again it was only a short push, and I remounted and continued along the road to come into Sledmere, where I turned left and shortly pulled into the car park of Sledmere House and Gardens, where the cafe staff were busy brushing rainwater into the drains.

I took my gloves off, wrung them out and left them on my bike while I dripped into the cafe and ordered leek and potato soup, bakewell tart and a coffee. Fortunately I only had seventeen miles left to ride, and I knew the only real climb left now was the final push up the drive of the brewery. Finishing lunch, the rain was stopping and I left Sledmere House and the village and headed north east. The road descended steadily and I felt good as I rode through Helperthorpe, Weaverthorpe and Butterwick, where I again removed my rain jacket as the sun had come out and it was warming up with the rain starting to steam off the road. At Foxholes I headed north to begin the climb of Ganton Road, which had roadworks for resurfacing in places. I climbed steadily up, feeling the sun on my weary bones, before turning eastwards for the run in to Fordon and the brewery, riding on through more leafy lanes with fields of wheat or barley either side. 

The road was descending again into Fordon, with the final drop into the village of 10% to be taken carefully due to the gravel on the road in places. Riding through the village I continued on the last mile or so of the route, with the fields of barley for the brewery on my right and the steep hills on my left.

I came to the brewery entrance and turned in, bracing myself for one last effort. I could see the stepped gravelly drive rising ahead of me, and ground my way up the 10% incline to roll into the car park and finish the challenge. The two days had been very enjoyable indeed, although the stretch from Settrington to Sledmere proved to be very tough with the rain and the gradients combined. All that was left now was to pack the bike and kit into the car and set off for home, and a nice hot bath!

Distance ridden: 69.3 miles

Time : 6 hours 13 mins

Elevation : 4,108 feet

The (real) virtual Yorkshire Wolds Cycle Challenge Day 1

Having entered the Yorkshire Wolds Cycle Challenge last year, and enjoying it, I was looking forward to this year's event. Sadly however, it was cancelled due to low numbers, and replaced with a virtual event allowing you to ride wherever you want. So I thought I'd do the real route anyway, just without the baggage transport to the overnight camp, and the free food and entertainment. As a result of a cheeky request to Wold Top brewery, I had somewhere to leave my car and camp for the first night, when I watched the sun go down drinking beer and watching buzzards, rabbits and various birds flying around. It was a very chilled, relaxing night ahead of two days of hilly cycling.

The next morning I woke at 4:30 to the gentle sound of the dawn chorus, and got out of the tent to watch the sunrise, then got back in the tent for a snooze. After a bit of breakfast I set off from the brewery, down the drive which had recently been dressed with gravel resulting in a bit of a twitchy descent to the main road and the official Yorkshire Wolds Cycle route. Turning left and coming to the road junction, I encountered the first of many blue route signs pointing the way. I headed towards Hunmanby and immediately started the first of the day's many climbs. What goes up, must come down, and soon I was dropping downhill into Hunmanby village, familiar to me from many rides in the area previously. I threaded my way through the village and out towards Hunmanby Gap, crossing the A165 Scarborough - Bridlington road at the roundabout. Passing the turn off for the excellent beach and cafe at the Gap, I rode up the hill into Reighton, glancing out towards Filey Bay on my left. In the village I turned right and climbed some more onto North Burton Road which then dropped downhill into the village of Grindale, shortly after which I turned left for some more climbing back up to the A165. After a short wait for a gap in the traffic, I crossed over and headed towards Buckton with views on my left to the sea again. Dropping into Buckton, I crossed the Scarborough - Bridlington rail line at a level crossing and turned right into Bempton before turning south towards Sewerby, passing lots of caravan and camping sites. Passing Sewerby Hall I headed for the cycle lane at the top of the cliffs, where I had my first sight of the beach at Bridlington.

From the beach I headed back through the town centre, passing the large cemetery and the impressive Bridlington Priory Church, coming out on another cycle path alongside the A165 where I had another short wait to cross over due to the busy traffic. Once across I climbed back up into the Wolds along Woldgate, passing woods and stables before the view opened up on my left to the sea. I rode past several fields of wheat and barley, and even one where a crop was growing that had purple flowers - and no, it wasn't purple sprouting broccoli! A little further on the road turned left and dropped down towards Burton Agnes. I was coming down at a fair speed on the narrow road when I came across a tractor and trailer coming in the opposite direction. Fortunately my brakes were in good order and I pulled to the side to let it pass. I continued on past Burton Agnes Hall, and at the village crossed the Driffield road to ride past a large ornamental pond, before crossing the Bridlington - Hull rail line on a level crossing. Shortly after I turned right down a road with a Dead End road sign. The reason for this soon became clear - another level crossing with gates, where I had to dismount and walk over.

Over the other side of the line I continued on a farm track past Harpham and after a couple of miles came to yet another barriered level crossing where I again had to walk my bike over. The track meandered on past more fields of crops before rejoining the road and coming to yet another rail level crossing, this time a more normal one at Nafferton. At Nafferton I turned left to head towards Driffield, riding through the town and over another level crossing just after the station, the ninth time I'd ridden over the tracks. A little further on, crossing the River Hull (or West Beck) I had to dismount to get by some road works that had closed the road. I noticed there was a cafe at the garden centre just alongside, and was sorely tempted to stop for a cuppa! I continued on through the village of Skerne and came to Hutton Cranswick, passing the Sport & Recreation Association fields where we'd camped overnight last year. Riding through the village, I crossed the Beverley road to come to the Farm Shop at Cranswick, where I had a coronation chicken sandwich, large latte and pear and almond tart for lunch. I also bought a two pack of Lottie Shaw's Yorkshire Ginger Parkin biscuits for the evening. Little did I know how important they would become, and I almost left them behind at the end of the meal! Leaving the shop I headed along Burnbutts Lane through crop fields that had no hedges, and passed a field of a crop I couldn't recognise, looking for all the world like a large bottle brush plant. The road headed south without too many undulations for a while before turning west for South Dalton, where the spire of St Mary's church heralded the proximity of the village before I came across it. Just before entering the village I almost rode into some ducks that were happily waiting and blocking half the road, not even flinching as I rode towards them!

I headed out from South Dalton south again through country lanes to Etton and then Cherry Burton, where I came upon the main Beverley to Malton road. Here the route took me on a cycle path alongside the busy road, and I followed this to the outskirts of Beverley before rejoining the road into the town. Before long I came up to a junction with the route going straight on through North Bar, the rather impressive Grade 1 listed structure that acted as a gate to the town. 

I followed the blue marker signs through the town and soon came across Beverley Minster down a cobbled street, which rattled the panniers! After stopping to take a couple of photos I set off again, and managed to misread one of the route markers for a short detour! Back on track I continued on through the town down side streets and little passages, finally coming back out onto the main road where I joined another cycle track running alongside. After switching back onto the road for a short distance to get round a stranded police van with blue flashing lights and a blown out back tyre, I reached Walkington where I turned right up a short hill, and then left for a four mile climb on a narrow lane up to the highest point of the day. At the summit I was presented with a panoramic view east towards Selby and Tadcaster, and a nice downhill into South Newbald.

Heading north from South Newbald I rode into North Newbald, passing the pretty St Nicholas church and heading north east on the Beverley Road before turning left up Stonehowle Hill, with Sober Hill Wind Farm on my left. The breeze was turning the turbine fans and I could hear a rhythmic thrumming as I rode on. A short way up the climb I turned left onto the off road part of the route that I'd been expecting, although I'd forgotten quite how narrow the path I had to take was!

The path climbed for just over a mile on a narrow, stony and grassy track, with just enough room for me to get my panniers through. Part way up was a memorial bench and a historical triangulation station, formerly used by the Ordnance Survey as a fixed surveying station and now obsolete and adopted by the Windmill Walkers association. With the turbines of the wind farm beating out a rhythm I made my way along the path and came out to a road, where I continued on to cross the A1070 Beverley to Market Weighton road and begin a downhill coast that brought me out at a majestic old railway bridge carrying the Hudson Way, a multi user trail following the path of the old Beverley to Market Weighton railway line. It was less than three miles to camp now, mostly downhill, and soon I was turning right to make the final short climb up to Goodmanham and my camp for the night. I pitched my tent, got showered and changed and headed to the pub for a hoped for hearty meal. Sadly though, the pub only did evening food on Monday and Wednesday, not Tuesday, so I had to make do with two pints, two packets of crisps and the Lottie Shaw's I bought from the farm shop earlier in the day. Ah well, I'd have to make sure I got a good breakfast in tomorrow! 

Distance ridden : 76.2 miles

Time : 6 hours 11 minutes

Elevation : 3,150 feet 

Proper bike-packing

I recently undertook a 'proper' bike-packing trip, i.e. actually carrying my camping equipment on the bike, as a tester to see how I would manage, prior to a couple of tours I've got in mind for the future. Destination for this was The Old Mill at Candy, the other side of Oswestry, not too far away but far enough to make it a decent test. Most of the roads were familiar to me from a 100 mile ride I did to Whittington Castle last year, but I also threw in some cycle paths through Crewe to Nantwich to see what they were like.

I set off with the usual panniers on the back, but also for the first time with a bar bag carrying my sleeping bag. It was quite strange at first but I soon got used to the setup. Going through Crewe on the cycle paths was reasonably ok, but nowhere near as fast as if I'd been on the road. Not far into Crewe I'd just ridden onto a cycle path beside the King George V playing fields when I rode over a speed bump and bang - my pannier rack became detached. Although a simple fix, it did take a while to resolve as I had to take off my sleeping mat and panniers to reattach - first learning point (add a secondary security option to the pannier rack to avoid future repeats). I set off again through Crewe and then took the cycle path alongside the A530 at Wistaston to head towards Nantwich. Following the cycle route I missed a turn in Nantwich before getting back onto the familiarity and comfort (!) of the roads again.

After Nantwich I headed through quieter roads to Wrenbury, and on to Whitchurch. The day was turning quite warm now and I was beginning to regret my choice of jacket for the trip, although there was sufficient wind to keep me from overheating. At Whitchurch I joined another cycle path where a rather fancy marker post indicated I was on the Mercian Way. Back on the roads I continued on towards Whixall, where I called in at the marina for refreshments.

Leaving Whixhall I headed past Lyneal Moss and on to Colemere, where I cycled past the grapes of Colemere vineyard, cycling on through narrow and verdant lanes. Near Welsh Frankton (in England) I joined the main Oswestry road for a short while before turning off through more narrow lanes, twisting and turning before coming out onto the road to Gobowen. Leaving the town on the Chirk Road, I turned off uphill into more narrow lanes before a left turn saw me heading towards Oswestry. Passing Old Oswestry Hill Fort I dropped down into the town, threading my way through the streets and out past Oswestry School. Leaving the town, I turned off on Back Racecourse Lane (leading to the old racecourse), then left towards Candy, and a final short descent to the Old Mill and my place for the night.

The friendly owner showed me around the site, after which I set up my tent and took advantage of the portable shower, and tucked into a superb baked potato with chicken, leek, ham and mushroom. As a bonus it turned out the site was licenced as well, so I washed it all down with a few bottles of beer. Sitting there, in the bottom of a valley with lush countryside around me, listening to the gentle sounds of the birds, cattle and sheep, I felt very relaxed indeed.

I turned in for the night and had a decent sleep, waking only for a call of nature, until dawn at just after 4am when it seemed that a thousand rooks were waging war on each other! I managed to get back off to sleep and woke again later, when I packed away my gear and headed off to the Kettle House where I made myself a brew to go with the bacon and egg breakfast bap I'd ordered the night before. Setting off again I retraced my route through Oswestry to Gobowen, where I headed out through St Martin's and into Wales, heading through Overton and then taking a turning for Worthenbury. Shortly after, I turned off the Malpas road to head through Shocklach and on to Crewe By Farndon. Here I turned right towards Stretton, then right again to Tilston and The Lost Barn cafe, where I stopped for lunch and a great conversation with a couple of gentlemen about cycling and touring in Scotland.

After lunch I set off through familiar (and some unfamiliar) roads back to Nantwich, where again my navigation on the cycle paths went awry a couple of times before getting back on track and heading to Crewe. Here again, the cycle paths did their best to confound me, not being helped by a closure on one of them with no signed diversion, but I finally made my way out to Leighton and thence back through Warmingham Lane and Hall Lane and home.

It had been a fun trip, and I came away with a few lessons for the future. As well as pannier rack security, I've since got a lighter and more compact sleeping mat and a lighter tent, which is yet to arrive. My next bike-packing trip is in the hilly Yorkshire Wolds, where the lighter equipment should be very useful indeed!

The shower

My tea

My tent