The Yorkshire Dales Day 4

 The Yorkshire Dales Day 4

Unbelievably we were already on the final day of our trip. Today would be the shortest day as we need Big George to drive us back to Norwich before he fell asleep at the wheel. We were still keen on an early start. Fortunately, as Andrew didn’t do the bonus loop yesterday his luggage carriers were still on his bike avoiding that particular faffing opportunity.

Once again it was an overly leisurely breakfast with too much tea and ranting and not enough fuelling. 

So by the time bike faffing was complete it was pedals down at an outrageously late 9:35.

The Garmin said there were just 4 climbs today but they would be accounting for about a fifth of the ride so it could be slow going.

The first one was the hardest of 2.5 miles at 7% average and after only 1 mile we were on it. Although it had lovely views of Reeth below.

Once I had grinded my way to the top I decided to revive an old favourite and give you a chance to play where’s Andrew and Big George. So can you spot either or both in the photo below.

No neither can I. When they eventually joined us Big George decided he would go his own way again today and as he was driving us back we would therefore be under no time pressure. So it was full stream ahead to Skipton (fat chance).

Although I get up hills quicker Andrew is a better descender and quickly shot off down the hill. This inevitably led to him missing the next turning. When will he ever learn.

After Andrew had been retrieved and the additional uphill completed it was several miles of grinding uphill before another long steep climb returned us to the fabulous bleak and deserted moorland country side. Once again worth all the effort .

We then arrived in Kettlewell and found the Deli/cafe. The staff were super friendly, the cake selection looked great and they did Ecuadorian hot chocolate. The waitress agreed that cafes in the Dales only serving Cadbury’s was a real problem and I might have to start a campaign.

The Deli in Kettlewell well was first stop that was better than the normal cycling cafes making final score 4-2. It has even made my all time top ten with high scores across the board.

Towards the end of our overly leisurely lunch Big George arrived and revealed he had had a puncture. Andrew then said he never had a puncture on on of our adventures so we all know what’s going to happen this afternoon. They then started ranting about the state of higher education until eventually I dragged Andrew away and back on his bike as Big George was going back to Skipton a shorter way.

The final stretch was straight forward as we went down the valley to Skipton passing lots of little quaint villages on the way.

There was just time for one last stop where I enjoyed some flapjack and Andrew had his buttered tea loaf with a slice of Wensleydale cheese in it. Andrew said I was to score it 9 out of 10 for his cake from the excellent Kettlewell Deli. We then argued if it was in fact a cake for the remainder of the trip. He was wrong of course. A. It’s called a loaf, B. Unlike cake it was buttered and C. It had cheese on it. QED.

So that’s the Yorkshire Dales but what have we learnt

1. You can’t get a good hot chocolate in the Yorkshire Dales (except in Kettlewell).

2. Cycling cafes in Norfolk are better than walking cafes in Yorkshire Dales(except in Kettlewell) and this has been proved using science. The data doesn’t lie.

3. The road surfaces in the Yorkshire Dales are the best I’ve ever cycled on.

4. Cycling up hills is much more enjoyable than cycling through fields.

5. Big George likes to stop and look at things on a bike ride. This is very bad.

6. Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) is just as hard to please wherever he is.

7. You can get porridge for Breakfast at 67% of B and B s in the Yorkshire Dales whereas it is not available on the King Alfreds Way anywhere (follow the data).

8. The steeper the climb the better the scenery 

9. Never bring Mrs Crusader cycling in the Yorkshire Dales as she hates going up on her bike.

10. When going up a steep hill you always need at least one more gear than you have.

Day 4 Route

Stats

Route	Miles	Average Mph	Time on Bike	Metres climbed
Skipton loop	43	11.8	3:38	1470
Skipton to Dent. Plus bonus	78	11.6	6:47	2414
Dent to Reepham plus bonus	77.6	11.6	6:40	2439
Reith to Skipton	47	11.1	4:16	1372
Totals	245.4	11.5	21:21	7895

Cafe Ratings

Cafe	Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Cake Selection	Cake Taste Quality	Atmosphere and Ambiance	Total
Cafe Verde	5	6.5	7.1	6.9	8.1	6.72
Old Barn Tearoom	5	7	7.3	8.3	7.8	7.08
Ingleton falls cafe	5	7	6	8	5.5	6.3
Orton Scar Cafe	5	7	7.9	8	8.3	7.24
Ivy cottage	5.2	7	3	6	8.3	5.98
Kettleware deli	8.7	9	7.3

The Yorkshire Dales Day 3

 The Yorkshire Dales Day 3

After yesterdays slower than expected progress then I insisted on earlier pedals down today with no pre ridefaffing. Yesterday the faffometer suggested a good 90 minutes had been wasted by either cycling guests not cycling up hills fast enough or general none cycling activities. I didn’t want today’s bonus loop put at risk so planned to run a tight ship. (Ha)

Big George also had a plan as he had no intention of doing the bonus loop so he would ride with us to first cafe stop. After which he would take a more leisurely approach stopping off to look at things on the way. This would have sent the faffometer off the scale so I was glad he was keen that me and Andrew could push on without the need to look at things too.

Dent stores B and B had been an excellent stopover but my cycling guests were enjoying an over leisurely breakfast (which included porridge for once). Andrew(who is notoriously hard to please) managed 5 cups of tea and two political rants as the first meal of the day dragged on. Eventually everyone was good to go with pedals down at a remarkably respectable 9:10.

Except they weren’t as Andrew had forgotten how to get his bag attached to his bike and it was another 20 mins before luggage was loaded by which time Big George had already set off to get a head start.

Again the ride was straight into the first of today’s 10 climbs albeit shorter in distance and lower in meters than yesterday’s 10. I was hoping my cycling guests fitness would have picked up but the faffometer was soon in action.

Unfortunately the weather was duller and colder than yesterday’s meaning the views were down a notch.

My tight ship strategy for the ride was soon in tatters as I kindly opening a gate for Andrew. But before I knew it he had shot off in the wrong direction and needed a phone call to retrieve him and another 5 mins lost

Then the 5 cups of breakfast tea kicked in as, when combined with an old blokes bladder, there are inevitable consequences.

Just as I thought we were about to get into our rhythm it started to rain which was a double wamy. First Andrew had to retrieve his coat from deep inside his luggage then the wet roads made descending more dangerous and much slower.

But suddenly it was all worth it as we came to a fantastic stretch of dales route. On our side was a lovely winding path along the side of the valley whilst on the other side was the M62. It was quite a contrast but I knew which side I would rather be.

But where was Big George I hear you ask. Surely he wasn’t going to make it all the way to the cafe stop without being caught. Well it took 14 miles but we found him in the end. Which led to further faffing as they both encouraged each other to remove and repack their rain jackets. 

With more hills between here and the cafe we quickly lost Big George again but found the Orton Scar Cafe at the far end of Orton village.

It was a good stop with nice cakes, friendly staff, good setting and excellent tea. The only issue was the hot chocolate was Cadbury’s again so I didn’t bother. However I would put it on a par with my normally cycling cafes making the score 3-1 in their favour. I thought my experiment was now going well.

As planned Big George stayed a bit longer at the cafe before going to find things to look at. I marched Andrew back to his bike worried what a further two cups of tea would do to his internal plumbing.

We had already done over half the climbs but were well behind the clock. However things soon changed as after one more climb we came to a long flat section, including a brilliant bit through the deserted moors. This enabled us to make up lost time.

There was only one big climb today but it was a good one as again there was hardly anyone about as the moors stretched out in all directions. We decide to have our takeaway sandwich lunch at the top. Andrew had only one of his cheese and pickle sandwiches, I only mention this as it’s an important plot point.

After another flat bit there was a second long climb which went past the Tan Hill inn which is apparently the highest pub in England. It was horrible as the car park was rammed with tourists and music was blaring out across the Dales. Unbelievably they were playing Rolf Harris singing about his didgery doo. I thought playing Rolf was now illegal but apparently not above 1700 feet. (And no one misses his two little boys more than me).

Next we reached the highest point of the trip before a long descent into Reeth which meant we had incredibly arrived early enough for a cafe stop before the bonus loop.

We opted for Ivy House and it wasn’t good. Things started well with stunning views but cake selection was a fruit scone (not even sure if one thing can be a selection) and not a particularly good one. I was assured the Hot Chocolate was not Cadbury’s so I risked it and then regretted it. So definitely not up to my usual cycle cafe standard. So it was now 4-1.

Andrew now dropped a bombshell. Apparently his cheese and pickle half sandwich had not agreed with him and he wasn’t feeling very well so won’t be joining me. However on the plus side he offered me the other half which I eagerly accepted and popped in my back pocket.

The first few miles of the bonus loop were standard fair until I turned a corner and was greeted by this.

There followed the two steepest and hardest climbs of the week. I struggled to keep going on the really steep bits but I promised myself that if I got to the top without stopping I’d have a picnic. And this spurred me on.

After over 4 miles of steep climbing I reached the top and it was picnic time. Fortunately I still had the half of Andrew’s cheese and pickle sandwich, and it tasted great.

The rest of the ride was all descent so I was back relatively early.

Tomorrow we complete the loop back to Skipton to pick up the car and return to Norwich. The plan is to stick together and get there as soon as we can as it’s a long drive back. Once again I plan to crack the whip although I suspect I know what the result will be.

Day 3 route

Day 3 bonus loop

Stats

Route	Miles	Average Mph	Time on Bike	Metres climbed
Skipton loop	43	11.8	3:38	1470
Skipton to Dent. Plus bonus	78	11.6	6:47	2414
Dent to Reepham plus bonus	77.6	11.6	6:40	2439
Reith to Skipton
Totals

Cafe Ratings

Cafe	Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Cake Selection	Cake Taste Quality	Atmosphere and Ambiance	Total
Cafe Verde	5	6.5	7.1	6.9	8.1	6.72
Old Barn Tearoom	5	7	7.3	8.3	7.8	7.08
Ingleton falls cafe	5	7	6	8	5.5	6.3
Orton Scar Cafe	5	7	7.9	8	8.3	7.24
Ivy cottage	5.2	7	3	6	8.3	5.98
Kettleware deli

Route

Miles

Average Mph

Time on Bike

Metres climbed

Skipton loop

 43

 11.8

 3:38

 1470

Skipton to Dent. Plus bonus

 78

 11.6

 6:47

 2414

Dent to Reepham plus bonus

 77.6

 11.6

 6:40

 2439

Reith to Skipton

 

 

 

 

Totals

 

 

 

 

Cafe

Hot Choc

Quality

Guest Hot Drink Quality

Cake Selection

Cake Taste Quality

Atmosphere and Ambiance

Total

Cafe Verde

 5

 6.5

 7.1

 6.9

 8.1

 6.72

Old Barn Tearoom

 5

 7

 7.3

 8.3

 7.8

 7.08

Ingleton falls cafe

 5

 7

 6

 8

 5.5

 6.3

Orton Scar Cafe

 5

 7

 7.9

 8

 8.3

 7.24

Ivy cottage

 5.2

 7

 3

 6

 8.3

 5.98

Kettleware deli