To York

July 2, 2024

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.

Leaving Ripon, another place that would be worth returning to.

The view from the high point of the ride, which thankfully comes early in the ride while we’re still feeling strong.

Unfortunately someone must have torn down the summit sign so we’re left with my Garmin as evidence of our accomplishment. The grade is registered as zero because I’m stopped while I recover, but the elevation is accurate.

Himalayan balsam, an attractive roadside and riverside plant we’re seeing in bloom everywhere now.

Seen everywhere, but wanted nowhere. An invasive species introduced from the Himalayas in 1839, it crowds out more desirable native ones. it is an offense to plant or cause Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) to grow in the wild anywhere in the UK.

So that’s too bad, because Himalayan balsam is quite attractive right now while it’s in full bloom. But how about this other one we’ve been seeing a lot of?

Oh, good. Everyone likes this one, Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Native and nice. We can admire it without feeling guilty about it.

Odd. What’s this here for? And is it the distance by rail, or foot, or crow? And btw, we’re up here surveying the realm from one of the steeper climbs of the day, up this railroad overpass.

With another ten miles to ride Rachael decides to swap in a fresh battery in case there’s something worth recording.

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.

There’s a lot worth capturing in these last five miles so it’s a good thing she captured it with the GoPro because this is the only shot I stopped for.

A section of York’s famous city walls are right across the street from our lodging. Despite what this well-timed shot suggests, the road here is constantly busy- enough so that the only safe way across is to walk to the nearest crosswalk and wait for the interminable light to change.

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.

Inside our sweet suite at the Mason Arms Pub, a flagship property of nearby Tadcaster Brewery. The painting of a window opening onto a scene from the Lake District (Ullswater, I think) gives it a more spacious feel, but it’s a strong candidate for smallest room of the tour.

Rachael was excited when she saw what looked like it might be a minifridge in one of the room photos in the listing. And it is! And it’s just spacious enough for a small container of milk and some yogurt. We can have breakfast in our room, if we can find a spot to eat it in.

It’s really quite a convenient setup, with the bed doubling as the reading room/study/dining area and everything within easy reach.

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Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 2,506 miles (4,033 km)

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Graham FinchWe just missed yo again! We were in York on June 29th, visiting my son who lives there.
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4 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchThat’s us. We’re always three steps behind.
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4 months ago