On Friday I rode 118 miles out to Helmsley castle with Phil from ICC, using a route downloaded from ICC's route library and loaded onto my new Garmin Edge Touring.
We chose the route since the light wind would blow us home and we hit on a cracking day, sunny with scattered cloud and warm. Can't ask for more really.
The route through to Helmsley was very scenic and after Fewston/Swinsty reservoirs was flat for a couple of hours until we reached Sutton Bank which rears up steeply towards Helmsley. This is where we stopped to take these photos of the Kilburn White Horse
From the top of there we rode past Riveleux Abbey and stupidly didn't stop to take any pics as it's a stunner. I think we were just in the groove and looking forward to lunch!
Lunch arrived exactly at the halfway point (after we zoomed past Helmsley castle without stopping to appreciate it's history) and Phil charmed the paninis off an Eastern European woman working in the posh Italian coffee shop when he asked for chips in his broadest Wharfedale accent. They don't do chips as it turns out but they do do very good coffee and pretty much everything else. As we departed she called out "I've pulled" and we promptly rode off in the wrong direction by accident!
So much for Garmins then, that wrong turn cost us our visits to Gilling and Creyke castles as we only realised we were (badly) off track when we reached Ripon for the second time that day. Never mind, Phil knows every nook and cranny of Yorkshire, he'll get us back. But he's evil and he led me into Nidderdale like a lamb to the slaughter for a serious stinger of a climb out of Glasshouse which was tough with 100 miles in the legs!
That completed a fantastic 118 mile ride and that last climb was quite good really (once it was done :-) ).
The best thing about riding lots is you can also eat lots. This was me on the verge of getting stretch marks after a big lunch in Helmsley! Great at the time but took a bit of concentration to ensure I didn't leave it by the side of the road shortly afterwards.
We chose the route since the light wind would blow us home and we hit on a cracking day, sunny with scattered cloud and warm. Can't ask for more really.
The route through to Helmsley was very scenic and after Fewston/Swinsty reservoirs was flat for a couple of hours until we reached Sutton Bank which rears up steeply towards Helmsley. This is where we stopped to take these photos of the Kilburn White Horse
From the top of there we rode past Riveleux Abbey and stupidly didn't stop to take any pics as it's a stunner. I think we were just in the groove and looking forward to lunch!
Lunch arrived exactly at the halfway point (after we zoomed past Helmsley castle without stopping to appreciate it's history) and Phil charmed the paninis off an Eastern European woman working in the posh Italian coffee shop when he asked for chips in his broadest Wharfedale accent. They don't do chips as it turns out but they do do very good coffee and pretty much everything else. As we departed she called out "I've pulled" and we promptly rode off in the wrong direction by accident!
So much for Garmins then, that wrong turn cost us our visits to Gilling and Creyke castles as we only realised we were (badly) off track when we reached Ripon for the second time that day. Never mind, Phil knows every nook and cranny of Yorkshire, he'll get us back. But he's evil and he led me into Nidderdale like a lamb to the slaughter for a serious stinger of a climb out of Glasshouse which was tough with 100 miles in the legs!
That completed a fantastic 118 mile ride and that last climb was quite good really (once it was done :-) ).
The best thing about riding lots is you can also eat lots. This was me on the verge of getting stretch marks after a big lunch in Helmsley! Great at the time but took a bit of concentration to ensure I didn't leave it by the side of the road shortly afterwards.
Great ride Jason to show off 'God's own County. My turn to buy lunch next time and from what you ate at Helmsley, I'd best start saving now!!
ReplyDeleteWell if you're going to take us up the climbs where even the cars are struggling then I'll need all the fuel I can get! And I agree about Yorkshire, what a fantastic place.
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