Whitby to Scarborough via the cinder track

Here is a picture of Whitby taken last night...

Luke warm shower at the B&B and below par breakfast. Quick trip down memory lane with a visit to the house where we used to holiday when the children were small.

More money out of cash machine then back to guest house to retrieve bikes. Cinder track to Robin Hoods bay for coffee and cake,

then Ian and I rode up the steep hill out of the old part of the village whilst the girls cheered on (hmmmmm - sounds a bit like man-games in retrospect).

More cinder track, which was beginning to irritate with it's poor surface then a stop at a cafe at Ravenscar. Mixed fortunes with lunch - Sally's cheese on toast was over cheesed and under-cooked. Still, Jackie saved it for later so nothing wasted. More cinder track and one fall for me when my skinny tires got stuck in a mini-ravine. The run into Scarborough improved as we got closer and the return to tarmac was very welcome. Slight confusion about which B&B we were staying in but good result when we did find the correct one. Very impressively decorated house with huge rooms.

Taxi and table all booked so life is good.

Helmsley to Whitby via Rosedale Chimney Bank

Good breakfast at the B&B in Helmsley though whether it was all worth £100 is up for debate. Snacks and water at the coop before heading out on route that avoided A road to Scarborough by taking a loop to the south and going through Kirkbymoorside and up the hill to Hutton-Le-Hole. Tea and scone then up an on to the moors.

Pretty bleak today with the cold north wind and no sun but quite stunning at the same time. Down the "steepest hill in Britain" at Rosedale Chimney Banks - the garmin registered 28% but the sign post says 1:3.

The only hill I have seen where cyclists are told to dismount (which of course we all did (n't))...

Went passed the pub in Rosedale where Simon and Jenny took Joan when they visited Whitby (should have stopped for lunch)...

Then up the other side (Stoney Bank) at 24%. Cold and even bleaker ride over the moor to Egton Bridge, arriving too late for food at the pub. Too cold to move on so we went in anyway and had a hot chocolate with crisps (and secretly ate our snacks as well). The hills didn't ease up after the pub with an immediate 20% climb before descending to a deep ford. Paniers off and carry bikes across foot bridge. Through Grosmont and more hills into Sleights. Went into Whitby via Ruswarp though still a few hills to do before finally entering Whitby. Coast to coast - Done!

Some photos from yesterday

Lunch at Betty's Tearoom:

And outside afterwards:

Climbing...

Re-fuel:

Sneck Yate Bank

No proper Internet connection tonight so brief report. Jackie got her bike fixed. Lunch at Bettys in Northallerton. Sneck Yate Bank ridiculously steep. No exaggeration. Cakes at Revioulx Abbey. Another steep hill then Helmsley. No wifi in our room though :-(

As Ian said - "A day of 2 halves"

Got bike out of B&B shed to discover a flat front tire, so slight delay on setting off. Luckily the B&B had a track pump so saved a little time. Rolling ride to Appleby for morning tea and cakes...

Jackie's bike had been making noise in the rear hub all morning and a mile out of Appleby it packed in altogether. Best brains of Buckinghamshire study the bike....

Multi-tools too small to remove it but a bike hire place about 12 miles away said they had tools we could use. Sally set off to Kirkby Stephen and I waited with Jackie and Ian for a taxi. Waved them goodbye and then set off after Sally. Had lunch with Sally in KS then Sally set off to make start on climb to Tan Hill. Waited for J & I who turned up with a hire bike for J, which was declared unfit for service (very basic mountain bike). They went back to hire place to consider options and I set off after Sally. Great climb up over the tops - some very steep gradients. Met up with Sally at Tan Hill Pub and had fine pint of Black Sheep Ale.

When we came out of the pub we were surprised to see J & I roll by in the same taxi they had used from Appleby, on route to Reeth. Did the last 10 miles down into Reeth (plenty of up hill bits mixed in with the down) and found J & I having tea at Ivy Cottage B&B. Turns out there is a bike repair workshop down the road, so that's where we will be going first thing tomorrow.

Wetter than a wet thing

No pictures today cos it was too wet to get the camera out. I decided
to cycle all the way to Penrith whilst other and more sensible people
took the train from Carlisle. I left at 9 and cycled in heavy,
unremitting rain for 4.5 hours. Feet stayed dry until Carlisle but the
roads between there and Penrith were flooded and my feet got a full
dunk countless times. At least you don't care after the first one.
Arrived at Eden House B&B at 1:30 and Roger bunged my shoes in the
drier. Sally, Jackie and Ian arrived about 2:30 having dried out in
the waiting room at Carlisle. The ride from Carlisle to Penrith was
fun in some ways but also feel lucky I didn't take a tumble in one of
the flooded bits.

Also saw some sheep marooned on a island in the flooded river. Didn't
do a sheep rescue though.

How wet can it get?

Not many photos today, too wet. Andy set off early to cycle to Penrith. The rest of us, unable to resist some wet cycling, set off for Carlisle with the plan of catching the train for the last bit. By the time we got to Carlisle, we were really quite wet. We could only get one bike space for a train departing and hour later, meaning that two of us would have to wait a further hour and a half for another train. We actually all crammed onto the first train as we were only going one stop (25 miles). It was a great relief when the train left the station, because by the time anyone noticed there were actually 6 bikes in space meant for four, they could only throw us out at Penrith- where we wanted to be! It was a slow journey, took about 45 minutes instead of 15 as there was flooding on the line and a broken down train. As you can see from the pictures, we spent our wait at Carlisle drying stuff on their wonderful radiators.