It has been a while now since the last update, and I fully intended to check in after last weekend's training ride, but just never found the time. I had mentioned that it was supposed to rain, and that was not the case in fact the sun shone nearly the whole time; but the wind did blow - making the first half of our trek (retracing steps from the previous week) very difficult indeed.
The first climb which starts in Beverley doesn't really stop until just outside of South Newbald, high-point is around 150m and so it is a steady climb, but quite difficult in the wind, which was almost directly in our faces for the first 10 miles. Taking the official photograph proved problematic, as I had forgotten my camera and only taken the phone, which apparently isn't to hot when on self-timer left on the floor on a gusty day... so we will need to revisit this at some point.
After which we seemed to conquer our nemesis of the week prior, the climb from just outside of North Newbald to the A1079 nr Kipplingcotes; all went well as we paced ourselves nicely, until at the top and then the tell tale hissing noise.
After fixing the puncture on my front tyre in record time, we set off on the return without a hitch and even added a few miles to stop in at the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton for a nice pint, very refreshing called Two Chefs.
I have since the last week purchased some new tyres, which will hopefully be on by tomorrow, if I find the time - Nobby Nics, which I am assured by the guy at my local cycle shop are the business! So we shall see, what I would really like to see is some kind of speed gain, my wheels seem to go backwards going downhill and this isn't funny when you are trying to reserve energy. Maybe fixing my buckles will add something, but they were never that fast before anyhow.
Last night the planning committee held a late night meeting, and we are currently trying to establish where to stay along the way - camping is the only option for us really and we were shocked to discover the cost of joining the caravan and camping club, in excess of forty English pounds; this just seems over the top when considering how much benefit this will buy us in a year of pitching a piece of canvas. Most years I think we only camp maybe two or three times, so there is no return for the investment so where is the incentive?
We did establish that Mark has produced a solid pint of Yorkshire Bitter, which has taken months to finally taste acceptable, but now we reap the rewards; so in that vain the next stage of planning is to establish which local breweries we might sample along the way in the summer!
Just under 12 weeks to go now! Excited or Scared?
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