Today I took the Dales bus to Kettlewell then cycled over the easy side of
Fleet Moss to Hawes, down Wensleydale to Masham and home through Harrogate.
83 miles. The Dales bus worked out well and cost only £3.70 + £1 for the
bike. The bikes go on a purpose built trailer and were very secure with no
damage to the machines. The driver was friendly and helpful which makes a
nice change for dirvers from Arriva ! He told me that the bike bus is
subsidized by the National Park Authority and the local councils though the
bus company don't really want to run it as they'd rather deplpy the driver
elsewhere. All bus companies around here are in need of driver but for
£360/week I wouldn't do it. He said that if I decided to get the bus home
he'd only charge an extra 80p, the difference between my one way ticket and
a day rover.
The ride was great, riding up Fleet Moss from the south IS much easier than
from the north. There was a strong wind and swirly mist at the top (1950ft)
which made it quite eerie and a little damp. The descent was hairy, the wind
was now a cross tail wind. I usually descend as fast as possible on a
straight road but today with a bumpy road and the wind my bike felt like it
was about to take off. I met an old guy last week who said this might
happen. The gradient is marked as 25% at the top so I picked up speed very
quickly, I decided to apply my brakes and kept the speed down to 46mph !!
The ride down Wensleydale was awesome with a strong tailwind I was,
figuratively speaking, flying. I had planned to stop for lunch in Masham but
it was very busy with a sheep fair so I pedalled on and stopped at a pub in
Grewelthorpe that had a Pinarello parked outside. Had a nice break chatting
to its owner and eating my lunch. This guy was a serious Audaxer from
Richmond which is about 6 miles from the pub. He'd ridden from the Lake
District.
The afternoon went better than the morning though the morning was good, the
wind was a cross tailwind again and very gusty. Pretty uneventful ride home
and great day. Slighly dissapointed it was not further I thought it was
about 92 miles.