The Sunday ride after the Saturday ride before

I was woken early the morning after the Sundown 60, by the birds. The smaller birds were quite tuneful, but then the bigger ones joined in with their noisy squabbles. CAAWWWWW!!!! ARRRKKKKKKK!! CRAAAARRRRKKK!!!! And to put the icing on the cake, the pigeons turned up. Woo-Hooooo-Hooo-Hoo-Hoo! Not what you want at four o'clock. Still, it sounded like the wind had died down. I managed to get a bit more napping done, although at one point I was woken by the sound of rain on the tent. I finally got up around half seven, at which point the tent was rattling with the wind (outside, not in!). I went and got washed, then set about taking the tent down. This was fine until I came to fold it up, at which point I decided to put up with a rough fold and sort it at home, given the wind was making it difficult. Finally packed up, I left the brewery and headed to Redcliffe Farm Shop, where I'd made a breakfast reservation. There was only one choice to be had really - I went for the Full English! I'd planned a forty mile ride to Flamborough to make the most of my time back in Scarborough, although the weather and my legs from the previous days ride made me wonder if I was doing the right thing. The breakfast was definitely the right thing though, it was as tasty as it always was. After breakfast, I kitted up, got the bike out of the car and set off. I rode on familiar roads past Lebberston and Killerby, turning left in Cayton where I flew to Folkton with the strong wind behind me. After Folkton though, I knew there would be a stiff test, as the route I'd planned took me to Hunmanby up White Gate Hill. This is just over half a mile long, with an average gradient of nearly 9%, but varies. I managed to get up the hill ok, then enjoyed the long descent down into Hunmanby with the sea stretching out in front of me. Entering Hunmanby I took a right and climbed gently up to the road for the Wold Top brewery. After a short while I turned left to head towards Burton Fleming, which after a short bit of gentle uphill turned into a good downhill for a couple of miles. At Burton Fleming I turned left, heading east towards the coast on an undulating roller coaster of a road. The scenery again was lovely, and the road fairly quiet. The road dog legs through Grindale, and just before entering the small village the road surface was very rough, necessitating a quick trip on the wrong side of the road. After a couple of miles the road joined the A165 Bridlington Scarborough road, and I turned right to head into Brid, going over a new roundabout that is so new it didn't exist on my computer map! Entering Brid, I took the Flamborough road, which went on for far longer than I was expecting, then at Flamborough I took Lighthouse Road to get to the lighthouse (surprise surprise), again travelling much further than I was expecting. Although the forecast was for showers I'd been lucky to this point, and hadn't needed the rain jacket I was wearing, but because of the strong wind I was very glad for it. At the lighthouse I bought an ice cream and sat on a bench overlooking the sea, contemplating the battle I'd have into the wind back to Redcliffe Farm. Thinking doesn't get you anywhere though, so I remounted and set off back. At Flamborough I turned left, heading north west and into the teeth of the wind. As well as fighting the wind, I had seven miles of uphill road to contend with. Fortunately the road undulated a little so there were times when the going was a little easier. Eventually I reached Speeton, after which I turned into Reighton and went through the village, downhill to cross the A165 towards Hunmanby. Even though I was going downhill I was still having to pedal to keep my momentum. Heading into Hunmanby I passed the Piebald Inn, I'd been there before and they do the best pies, lots of different varieties, well worth a visit, but not for me today. I rode through Hunmanby and out towards Muston, where they used to hold an annual scarecrow festival. From Muston I cycled back to the A165 and headed into Filey, where I made my way to St Mary's Roman Catholic church to pay my respects to Margaret, our old neighbour in Scarborough, who has a rose bush planted there in her memory. From there I rode through town and out to pick up the A165 again. I rode along this to the next rounadbout where I spotted a path running alongside the road by the opposite carriageway. At a gap in the oncoming traffic I nipped onto this, feeling much safer now I was off the busy A road. After a while the path turned away and put me out on the road to Blue Dolphin Caravan Park, and from here it was a short stretch to road Redcliffe Farm was on, and I finally rode up to the car slightly tired. All told, it was another good ride, and I missed any showers that may have fallen, so can't really complain.

A ride with beer and fish and chips

I'd been looking forward to this ride for a long while. The Wold Top Sundown 60 sportive, a 60 mile bike ride through the Yorkshire Wolds, starting and finishing at the Wold Top brewery where a free pint and fish and chips awaited. When I lived in Scarborough I used to ride round by the brewery regularly, so it would be nice to reacquaint myself with the old roads. I'd booked camping as well, as I didn't fancy having to drive back home after a long and challenging ride. I'd not been camping in decades, so was kind of looking forward to the adventure. I set off early on the day and had a good journey across the Pennines to pick up the A64 for York, turning off to pick up the A166 through Gate Helmsley and Stamford Bridge. This was a very scenic drive, but gave some hints about the ups and downs that I'd face later on. At one point I spotted some Sportive HQ signs along the way, and knew that was the route I'd be following later. It didn't help when the road went uphill, that was a pleasure to be had later on! I eventually arrived at the brewery and followed the signs for the camping field. On getting out of the car I knew it would be fun putting the tent up as it was pretty windy, however I picked my spot and pitched the tent, secured the guy ropes and crossed my fingers. I went to sign on, got my token for the showers and got the bike ready. 

The place was milling with all sorts of cyclists, several looking very professional with their expensive bikes, some looking normal and some looking quite portly. That's the beauty of cycling, literally anyone can do it, you don't need to be stick thin like the pros. Good job really. At a quarter to twelve we were briefed, warned about a couple of potential hazards on the route and then were set off in small groups. I hung around at the back, as I'm not a big fan of riding in groups, and was one of the last few to set off. The drive up to the brewery is quite steep, so when we went through the start gate we had an outstanding view of the Yorkshire Wolds stretching out for miles before us, and had a superb downhill descent to start us off. The first eleven miles were a nice gentle uphill, with the wind blowing from the right, and we were treated to gorgeous views of lush green fields either side, some with sheep and cattle grazing in the sun. I'd ridden this road before, until at West Lutton I found myself on new territory. The road continued to rise, and after Duggleby got steeper for a mile long climb. After this we had a terrific descent of a mile at up to 10%, which ended at a road junction where we turned right to North Grimston. The descending continued gently for another six miles and then climbed for two miles to give another very steep descent into Kirkham, which ended at another junction shortly after a sharp left hand bend. Fortunately we'd been warned about this and I braked in time to avoid potential disaster. Entering Kirkham I stopped to take a photo outside Kirkham Priory, which is an English Heritage property.

Remounting I crossed the beautiful stone bridge and the York - Scarborough railway line, passed Kirkham Abbey Signal Box and then the road reared up, in places 10%. It was only a short climb, at half a mile, but I passed a few cyclists who were going up on foot. I made it to the top, where we turned left and were treated to a welcome stretch of downhill before entering Riders Lane, which we'd also been warned about. I found this to be not a problem, typical of many farm roads I'd ridden on, with grass growing in the middle the main hazard. I knew we were going to be faced with a long climb before the lunch stop, and when we turned left out of Riders Lane it began - five miles to the top, from sea level to over 700 feet, with gradients of up to 12%. I managed to settle into a good rhythm for most of the climb, passing some cyclists, being passed by others and passing more walking cyclists. I passed one guy who was stopped at the side of the road, preparing to restart, and as I did I heard what sounded like an agonising cry. I slowed and asked if he was ok, he said yes, and we rode on together for a while. He was riding an e-bike, and we discussed their virtues as we went along. He was from Cleethorpes and told me his son was up ahead. The climbing continued but eventually I came to the top, and settled in for the downhill to the lunch stop at Thixendale Village Hall. It was a beautiful winding descent, the road was smooth and flowed really well, and was situated in the middle of two Wolds giving walls of green either side. At one point I passed a small herd of Highland Cows. After three miles of descent I came to the lunch stop, parked the bike and went to attack the food. I settled for a couple of Jaffa cakes, choc chip flapjack, a banana and an orange segment, refilled one of my water bottles and had a cup of coffee. One of the volunteers was asking me about my Wold Top cycling top, and as I was explaining that I used to live in Scarborough but now lived in Sandbach, another rider overheard and said he used to live in Alsager! After twenty minutes I remounted and set off again, the road continuing to descend into another farm road which had some rather nasty potholes in places, at times obscured by shadows from the trees, which made for some rather interesting bunny hopping at times. I'd taken my arm warmers off at the lunch stop, but of course the sun disappeared for a while and the wind made it rather chilly! At Fimber the road ended with a short sharp climb before I turned north east along the B1251 towards Sledmere. I'd driven this part of the course on the way in, so the climb after the next roundabout came as no surprise. The wind was now in my face, making it hard to push the pedals in places. I passed the lovely looking Sledmere House and then turned off in the village to continue heading north towards Helperthorpe, the road becoming a steady gentle descent to rejoin the road we'd ridden out on earlier. A couple of miles further on I turned right for a two mile long drag of a climb up to Eddsfield Airfield. With the wind in my face, there was nothing to do but slog it out, and try to quell the nagging voice that was telling me I was knackered! After the airfield I passed the East Riding Crematorium, the road descending again to head to Octon and then on to Thwing. At one point I fancied I could see the North Sea to my right. After Thwing the road began to drop sharply, but before it did I caught sight of the drive up the brewery far off to my right, and also, ahead of me, the road out of Wold Newton that I knew I would be taking. I'd ridden that when I lived in Scarborough and knew it was a monster of a climb. Before that though, I enjoyed the swift descent which was over all too soon, and at Wold Newton I crossed the main road and began the mile of climbing, with gradients up to 10%. I saw another cyclist in the distance and eventually caught and passed them (slowly!), exchanging our views of the headwind as we passed. At last I reached the top of the climb, and dropped into Fordon, turning right at the crossroads to head back towards the brewery, which I knew to be very close now. Finally I got to the brewery entrance, and started the final climb. The drive is just over half a mile, with stretches at 10 and even 20%, and it almost killed me. I was close to stepping off at one point, fatigue pushing some negative thoughts into my head, but I stubbornly kept turning the pedals and got over the worst of the climb, finally hauling myself up to and through the finishing line. I was very tired, but happy, and headed to the control to sign back in and receive my food and drink vouchers. I headed to the car, even happier to see the tent still up, put the bike in the back and went back for my fish and chips. I looked to find somewhere to sit and eat them, and asked another cyclist if the space on the bench next to him was free. He said yes, then said "Sandbach man?". It was the guy who used to live in Alsager again, and we had a good chat about things as we ate. After the food it was time for a drink, so I went into the bar and got a pint of Headland Red.

As I was sitting slaking my thirst, the guy with the e-bike sat down at the adjacent table with his son. It turns out his battery had run out just before the final climb of the brewery drive, so we had a good laugh about that. I had another beer, then got showered in a much more impressive shower block than I had been anticipating. Suitably clean and less smelly, I got one more beer at the bar and took two bottles back to the tent. At this point it was getting late, and the sun started setting. The views were just stunning, and I would have sat watching it for a long time but the biting wind made it bloody cold, so I contented myself with popping out a couple of times to get some photos. It was that cold that I dug out and put on my thermal base layer and socks for the next day's ride and sat and finished my beers. I then crawled into bed with my clothes still on, tired, a bit chilly, but contented. It had been a great day, with some fantastic scenery, and I'm looking forward to next year's event already. 

My final Grantown ride, and what a ride it was

After yesterday's dreich afternoon and evening, I awoke to a slightly misty morning. After breakfast though, the sun had burnt off most of the mist so it was shorts on and off we go. Heading through town I passed a little red squirrel running along the road, and soon after passed the Grantown On Spey Caravan Park, climbing up to West Gorton in the Glenbeg Estate. I walked up one particularly steep bit, conserving my energy for the long day ahead. Soon I was on a wide gravel track, still damp from yesterday's weather, and this took me to a gate to follow a farm track uphill through a field of sheep and lambs.

Passing through a couple of gates I waved a cheery greeting to a couple of farmers. Through more gates, the track became a little rougher, but still rideable. I came across a couple of really big gates, which got me wondering exactly what was being kept in by them - Jurassic Park perhaps! I then came across something totally unexpected - sand, it was almost a beach. This continued for a short while, with hoof prints visible, until the track returned to a typical farm track state. I was high up now, and the views were stunning, making the effort worthwhile. At one point I stopped for a photo opportunity and saw a lovely white an black bird, with a call like one of the new emergency vehicle sirens. Another walk up a steep, loosely gravelled track brought me to the summit of my journey over the mountains, and presented a superb view of Lochindorb, with its castle. I descended carefully and reached Lochindorb Road, where I stopped for an energy bar and a photo.

I noticed the smell of burnt undergrowth in the air, and indeed there were several signs of significant heather fires. Lochindorb Road took me round the southern end of the loch and up to the B9007, which gently rolled northwards. It was good to feel the sun on my back and legs. I turned left towards Dulsie, on an Old Military Road, and came upon what looked like an old bridge that had been built, however this was neither on the road (being six feet to the side) nor did it cross the Tomlachlan Burn (being twelve feet away). I could only conclude that the course of the river had changed and a new road had been built since. Further along, the road turned into a fantastic swooping descent, and dropped onto Dulsie Bridge itself. This reminded me of the Bridge of Alvah, which I'd visited last year, being also a high stone bridge over a river, in this case the Findhorn.

People were jumping off the sides into the river, seemingly a popular pastime here. I continued along the undulating Old Military Road, with pine trees and gorse lining the road, and filling the air with their scents. Just before Little Urchany I turned left onto NCN 1, following this until I left the road to take a detour into Foxmoss Wood, for a spot of forest road and track riding. This then threw me back onto NCN 1, where the Moray Firth popped into view in the distance after coming out of the woodland. I then turned off NCN 1 again for another forest detour, this time through Assich Forest, eventually rejoining NCN 1 at Wester Galcantray. At Cantraydoune Cottage I got my first glimpse of the impressive Nairn Viaduct, and followed NCN 1 down and under, stopping for a couple of photos. I set off again, and had gone a few hundred yards when a train crossed the viaduct. If only I'd waited, I thought. At little further on, at Clava, I headed up towards Culloden to visit the Culloden Moor battlefield, site of the last pitched battle on British soil.

As I walked onto the site, a skylark was singing high above me, although all else was quiet. It felt quite an atmospheric site, and I took a few photos of the little cairns marking the clan burials, as well as the main monument. Returning back to Clava I picked up NCN 7 and popped in to visit Clava Cairns, a group of 4000 year old burial cairns. Back on the road, I continued on NCN 7 south, meeting a few cyclists going the opposite way. I wondered if any of them were doing LEJOG? At Craggie, the road turned left and upwards on the B9154. I slowly climbed upwards, passing Auchnahillin Holiday Park, and the Daviot Care Home. The road levelled out and eventually came to Moy Viaduct, also known as Altnaslanach Viaduct. This wooden trestle bridge carries the single-track Aviemore-Inverness railway across the Allt Creag Bheithen just north of the former station at Moy. This line was opened by the Highland Railway Company in 1897, and the bridge is now the only surviving timber bridge on a main-line railway in Scotland, possibly in Britain.

Further on in Moy, I came across some interesting wooden benches by the side of the road, with carved animals at each end. Eventually the road joined the A9, with cyclists being directed along a path adjacent to the southbound carriageway, before being sent across the road to join a path next to the northbound. This take you through Tomatin, past the distillery and on to Findhorn Bridge, but I turned off after Tomatin to Raigbeg to ride under the very impressive Findhorn (Tomatin) Viaduct, after which I rejoined NCN 7 to grind up the climb to Slochd Summit, the highest point on my return from Culloden. At this point it was mainly downhill back to Grantown On Spey, and I followed the cycle track to where it joined the road into Slochd itself. Just before Slochd, I turned off right to go over the railway line, and I stopped for a photo of Slochd Viaduct just as a train was going over. Sadly I didn't have my phone camera ready to hand! The track continued on through forest tracks on General Wade's Old Military Road, and I found myself singing the song from Sharpe, "Over the hills and far away". My objective was Sluggan Bridge, built in the 1830's, and I reached this after a couple of miles of undulating and variable surface.

From here I rode into Carrbridge, stopping to have a look at the Old Pack Horse Bridge, built in 1717, and also the Village Hall which proudly hosts the World Porridge Making Championship (I kid you not - see www.goldenspurtle.com). I turned off the main road at the Village Hall on Carr Road, and found myself on a cyclists dream ride home - downhill onto a long flat stretch. The sun was warm as I sped along, with the scent of gorse in the air, and came to a bridge over the River Dulnain just before entering Dulnain Bridge itself. Once through Dulnain Bridge I took the old Grantown road (I'm assuming the current A95 was built to bypass Grantown) until it ran out just before Craggan, when I was forced onto the A95. Fortunately this wasn't for long, and I soon nipped off the A95 at Glenbeg Road to enter the town avoiding the A95 roundabout. All that was left now was to follow the B9102 which became the High Street, back to the hotel. A superb ride for my last day in Grantown On Spey, with great weather, a fantastic variety of surfaces, and some superb scenery. A particular highlight was the lack of traffic, with only the A95 before Grantown, the roads around Culloden, and being alongside the A9 having any sizeable volume - indeed between Grantown and Clava I hardly encountered any vehicles. I couldn't have wished for a better ride to end my stay in Grantown On Spey.