The Great Ride North
Day 3
Jossals cafe, Market Rasen,
Open Monday-Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4
Honey Pot Cafe, Barton on Humber
Open Everyday 10-3:30
After two 'shortish' days then today was going to be a step up as we expected to come across some proper hills for the first time as well as undertaking an additional 10 miles on top of what we had done on each of the previous legs. The good news was that we were setting off dry and no rain was forecast. The bad news was that it was going to be windy and blowing the wrong way.
Due to these factors we decided to go for an earlier start and were up, breakfasted, packed and on the road just after 8:00. Chris (Mrs Crusader) gave one last soulful look as we passed the first tee but after that got her head down as we returned to National cycle route 1 to continue the long stretch along the river towards Lincoln.
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| Back on the cycle path alongside the river |
Unfortunately taking the official route alongside the river all the way into Lincoln (despite Lincoln having a cafe no 44) seemed an unnecessarily long way round so I had planned a high risk shortcut and hoped that the roads would not be too busy, which fortunately they weren't. Before we had set off this morning I had warned Chris that we had one long steep big hill to conquer today. This meant that now we were off the footpath I was quizzed; 'are we on the long steep big hill yet' every time the road had the slightest incline. Despite pointing out that the long steep big hill probably wasn't until after our first cafe this questioning went on until we were back on National Cycle route 1 and safely sitting down at our first stop, Jossals cafe in Market Rasen.
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| At Jossals cafe our first stop of the day |
I choose Jossals as the next candidate cafe, to try and win my homemade certificate for best cafe on National Cycle Route 1, as it had a large out the back out door seating area where we could leave our bikes. As it was also the first, and as it turned out last, time it was sunny on the trip, we decided to sit outside as well. But first it was time to head indoors and check out the cakes so as to award the effective cake selection (ECS) score. However I couldn't find a cake display anywhere and on further questioning was pointed to the cake menu mirror (CMM).
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| Cake menu mirror |
Sadly the list on the CMM was fairly short so I couldn't give a great ECS rating. However when our cakes arrived (Madeira and Coffee) we both thought they were pretty good and the best to date. Our hot drinks were a nice solid offering too meaning overall Jossals had proved to be a worthwhile stop but didn't beat my current leader, Guist Post Office, which is winning on count back.
It was now time to set off again in order to tackle the long steep big hill I had promised which we found a couple of miles up the road. It was a bit of a shock to the system but you can see in the photo just how much Chris was enjoying it and this was only half way so imagine how much fun she had had by the top. I was impressed to hear that she still had one gear left which she was saving for the next two days when it gets proper steep.
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| Chris loving every minute of the long steep big hill |
After this the route continued to be lumpy with lots of smallish ups and downs but nothing else like long steep big hill. As we tend to go up and down the hills at different speeds we rode most of this next session a long way apart. This gave me plenty of time to start writing today's post while at the top of each mini climb.
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| Going down one of the lumpy bits |
Just as the route started to flatten out again and with the next cafe stop not far away, Mrs Crusader only went and rode over a sharp thorn resulting in the first puncture of the week. When this happens she usually just shouts puncture, points at the requisite wheel, hands me her bike and settles down to check email and Facebook. Which is exactly what happened.
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| Mending our first puncture of the week |
Whilst I was giving it my best tyre lever action Mrs Crusader decided to take the opportunity to powder her nose in the nearby bushes. My inner tube replacement work was then disturbed by a little yelp after which I was informed she had made the classic school girl error of accidentally nettling her bottom. Fortunately the numbness in that area caused by her saddle kept the pain down a bit but I felt the puncture repair gods may have been handing out some form of justice.
From here it wasn't long before we could see the Humber Bridge where we found our second stop the Honey pot cafe at the waterside visitors centre.
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| At the visitor's centre by the Humber bridge |
For a visitor centre cafe it wasn't bad, offering 4 of the big 5 sponge cakes (only Victoria was absent) and pretty respectable drinks.
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| Surprisingly good selection of cakes for a visitors centre |
Our cakes, lemon and chocolate, performed well and along with the good views of the marshes, river and bridge it turned out to be a nice stop if not a winning one.
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| Cakes and drinks at the Honey pot |
With the sky now darkening and limbs starting to tire we were keen to push on for the last few miles to our stop at Beverley. However first there was the small matter of crossing the Humber bridge with a cycling guest who has vertigo tendencies. She managed to bravely make the crossing by staying well away from the edge and not looking down.
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| About to cross our first suspension road bridge of the trip |
We then had a slow ride across the cycle path network of 'ull before finally arriving at the Beverley premier inn where again, they had gone to some effort with not only a banner but also a big photo backdrop and information board to welcome us with.
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| Welcome poster for us at the Premier Inn |
Tomorrow we once again up the mileage and hills quota and as an additional bonus we will be joined by a number of guests, some cycling and some not, so a lot to look forward to.
If you would like to encourage Chris to keep going all the way to St Andrews you can make a donation at her World Bicycle Relief page where you can also find out more about the charities great work in Africa.
Mrs Crusader's cycling progress dashboard after day 3
Tiredness
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Mood
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Saddle Soreness
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Confidence of finishing
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Achy legs
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Still civil
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Better than expected thanks to nettle numbness
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Yes but don't know when
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Tomorrows Weather forecast is
Today's route
Cafe ratings for cafes reviewed on National Cycle route 1
Cafe
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Hot Choc Quality
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Guest Hot Drink Quality
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Effective Café Selection
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Cake Taste Quality
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Atmosphere and Ambiance
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Total
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Post office Guist
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9.5
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7.75
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3.75
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7.5
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6.5
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7.00
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Thaxtons Coffee Shop
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7
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6
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7.5
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7.5
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7
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7.00
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Caffe Aurora
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5
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3
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8.5
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7.5
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6.5
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6.20
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Haven cafe
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5.5
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7
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3
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6.5
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7
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5.80
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Jossals cafe
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7.0
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7.5
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4
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8.0
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6
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6.50
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Honey Pot cafe
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6.5
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6
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5.5
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7.5
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7
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6.50
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Stats (Mrs Crusader)
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Miles
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Average Speed
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Hours on bike
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Meters climbed
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Bawburgh- Kings Lynn
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61.1
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12.0
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5:04
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854
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Kings Lynn - Woodall Spa
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63.1
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13.5
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4:39
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89
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Woodall Spa- Beverley
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75.9
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12.4
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6:06
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740
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Day 4
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Day 5
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Day 6
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Day 7
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Day 8
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Overall
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200.1
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12.65
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15:49
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1683
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