More of the same - another windy, gray morning with the threat or promise of rain throughout the day. We don’t need much though, the virtue of planning for short travel days - it’s only 24 miles to Keswick (pronounced Kezzick), so a three hour window will do. It looks like we’re due for one too, starting right about check-out time at 10. We’ll try to ride through this gap to Keswick, getting there around one and then finding a place to hide out for a few hours until our room at Rivendell Guesthouse becomes available.
We’re feeling encouraged when we look out our window just before it’s time to leave the room. There’s a biker heading down the street on the route we’ll take too leaving town, with a surprising patch of blue above. Let’s go!
It’s not the day we were hoping for though. We’d have considered it a fine ride if we did nothing more than getting our miles in and arriving dry. We weren’t even considering the possibility that today might turn out to be the best ride of the tour. That realization comes later, about halfway through the ride when we’re standing on the edge of Eycott Hill Nature Reserve staring at the incomprehensibly beautiful views in all directions.
Not that we needed anything more than this, but we stay dry too. We arrive in Keswick about 1:30 after spending over 3-1/2 hours slow biking 24 miles. We pull up at a bench in Fitz Park and break out lunch as soon as we arrive, and within five minutes the rains begin and we quickly relocate to a covered shelter.
We check in to our inn just past three and settle in for a four night stay. Keswick looks amazing, a wonderful spot for an extended stay.
The view from our room, Penrith. We’re out the door following after him as soon as we can finish packing.
The ride starts by backtracking yesterdays ride from Greystoke, so I don’t stop for many photos. The horses along here are worth it though - I nearly stopped here yesterday.
On to something new now, climbing above Greystoke toward the high point of the day. We’ve lost our window of blue sky and it’s looking more questionable now. We can see it’s raining to the east on the far side of Ullswater. We start cataloging places we might double back to for shelter if it’s needed.
Without my glasses I thought this was a single formation; but it’s a series of three with the highest, I think Atkinson Pike, in the back. In front is Souther Fell, with Bannerdale Crags between. Maybe.
The southern edge of Souther Fell. The light was amazing - it’s very windy, clouds are flying across the sky opening up and closing windows of light as you watch.
Looking into the gap at Mungrisdale, where the River Glenderamackin spills out of the mountains. The three formations, left to right: Southern Fell, the Tongue, Bowscale Fell.
On a different day I’d be stopping more often for shots like this, but we’re starting to wonder about our weather window again and bike pretty steadily the rest of the way.
We bike steadily, but still slowly. We’re on a gated single track and have to stop every quarter mile or less to open a gate that controls the free range sheep.
Climbing up from the A66 to the near end of the Keswick to Threlkeld Rail Trail. Ordinarily we’d try to power up this little 25-30% slope, but the sign instructed bikers to dismount. Probably the best plan, since we could barely push it.
The rail trail is an utter delight and takes us right to the heart of Keswick. I biked much of it chatting with the man in gray ahead, who acknowledges he does a bit of touring himself. Earlier this year he biked from Texas to the Dakotas. Last year, Britain to Gibraltar on a trip cut short when he couldn’t get into Africa because of Covid. Before that, the length of South America to Ushuaia, and Britain to China by way of Russia and Mongolia.
