May 3, 2024
Pocklington to York
a night in the rainy city
Before setting off, my seat gets raised about an inch and both tyres are pumped up a bit. There must be a slow puncture in the rear. It's always a bit squishy. It feels like I'm pedalling a tractor.
The full English that's included in the £60 room rate will get me to York, no problem. The breakfast probably has enough calories to get me to New York.
It's 9:30 when I hit the road but a couple of minutes later I pop into a charity shop. My hunt for a bargain continues.
Across the road a cycle Route 66 sign points me in the direction of York and it's cool enough for me to don my red jacket.
It's a quiet ride for the first 15km and Stamford Bridge has a cafe, so I get a table near the front window and order a frothy coffee and a wedge of cake.
The arched bridge that crosses the Derwent is close by and its a narrow one with lights controlling the heavy traffic. In hindsight, I should have gone over the old viaduct a short distance away, as that's now part of the bicycle route.
I soon join the cycle path from the A166 as I ride west and just as I do the dark clouds that have been coming my way for a while start to dispense raindrops. Trees give me a bit of cover, but I'm soon in open farmland and my old, oilskin cape gets dug out of a pannier. It doesn't look like it'll get any better for a while.
The cycle path signs disappear and the route becomes a farm track, which I don't think it should. It seems like I'm lost. These paths are not shown on Google Maps and my blue location marker simply shows me in the middle of countryside.
My little compass is helpful and I double back and take a different track as the rain comes down harder, with mud now flicking up and covering my shoes, legs and panniers. I knew I should have got mudguards fitted.
Today was supposed to be a doddle, but it's become a test and after meandering around for a while I end up entering the village of Dunnington from the south when it should have been the east. There's a cycle path sign showing where the route is and a large white bicycle with 66 on it, just to rub it in.
I've a couple of old photos of the village and the rain has eased as I ride to replicate them. The latter one is on York Road, so it'll be hard to get lost now.
Last night I booked a room online at the Bar Convent, just to avoid having to hunt around and I make my way there as rain starts pouring down. I'm dripping wet at 4:00 when I walk through the door after survivng some hectic urban traffic. My bike goes around the back of the hotel and after checking in, I need a lie-down and after a warm shower, that's what I enjoy.
I meet my son later at a Brewdog pub in town, only a few minutes' walk from my hotel. It's still damp, but at least it's stopped raining and we sit at an outside table for a while. He's seriously under the weather with something, so we have an early night and agree to hook up in the morning. I could do with a decent sleep myself.
Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 182 km (113 miles)
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