July 2, 2024
To York
Today’s is a little longer than our recent travel days but conditions are fine for it. Most importantly, it’s nearly flat. RideWithGPS tells us that the maximum grade is 2-1/2%, which proves inaccurate; but with the worst climb being a pair of short 4% rises it’s not a bald faced lie either.
And it helps that weather conditions are favorable - dry, comfortably cool, and we’ve even got a mild tailwind. The ride should be a breeze, and it is. One of the easiest travel days of the entire tour, although the last ten miles into York grew a little old as we crossed one cattle guard or gate after another on a bike path that was rough and uncomfortably narrow and congested with walkers or other bikers at times. It’s scenic and short though and there’s no doubt that it’s a far better entrance to York than if we’d stayed on the roads. York is a big, busy place - other than Plymouth when we arrived and Newcastle up the road a few weeks it’s the largest urbanization we’ll visit in England.
In general it’s not the most interesting day of the tour, as we pass through a few villages separated by miles of flat agricultural land planted in a variety of crops that are pleasant to the eye but don’t demand frequent stops with the camera.
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2 months ago
2 months ago
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2 months ago
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We’re on quiet lanes most of the way but we leave them five miles from York to follow the York to Beningbrough cyclepath into town - an attractive asphalt ribbon through the woods and meadowlands lining the River Ouse. It’s a lovely route and a fine way to penetrate into the heart of the city, but it’s slow going. The path is quite narrow much of the way, so you have to pay attention with your steering so you don’t brush up against the nettles - especially when another biker or pedestrian shares the space with you. You’re slowed down too by the dozen or so gates and livestock grids you encounter. It’s a ride we were fine with once, but later in the day I’ll rethink our route out of town so it doesn’t backtrack this stretch.
We have one interesting encounter here though when a faster biker passes me. I see his shirt though and yell out ‘Bright’ to him, and he slows down and rides with me a ways. He’s from Bright, down in Australia in the hills east of Melbourne, a place we’d planned to visit fifteen years ago until fires scorched our plans. He’s just sold the homestead after living there for twenty years and is up in England exploring his options.
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Video sound track: The Duke, by the Dave Brubeck Quartet
We make it to York right at check-in time at the Mason Arms, a pub with rooms. Small rooms. Ours is listed on the booking as being 64 sq ft, which looks accurate when we step in and start trying to figure out where to place our baggage. We’re pretty sure it’s the smallest place we’ve stayed in the whole tour, and for the next two days we’ll have to inhale and lean against the bed or wall when our partner needs to squeeze by. In the evening we’ll spend some time reviewing all of our bookings down the road - all the way to La Rochelle, the last place we’ve booked so far, to see if we have any other matchboxes like this coming up. We do find a few, though none quite this small, and make adjustments.
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2 months ago
2 months ago
Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 2,506 miles (4,033 km)
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1 month ago