Hills, Thrills, and Fountains Abbey (July 26th)

Yesterday afternoon’s plan to dry out my tent was a good one. The plan of not packing up my tent yesterday afternoon when the tent was actually dry was not a good one. In all honesty, I kind of forgot about it. That kind of forgetfulness proved to be more than a little unfortunate when it started raining early this morning. I won’t lie, it’s a bit of a bummer having to pack up a wet tent after sleeping inside all night. Fortunately, the rain was short lived and my tent wasn’t completely soaked by the time I finally packed up. But it was definitely wet.

The plan (such that it was) for the day was to cycle towards Ripon to visit Fountains Abbey – another ruin (and garden). Accommodation for tonight had yet to be determined but I figured something would turn up somewhere down the road.

“Down the road” actually started “up the road”. Today’s ride began with a hill. A big hill. Actually, a really big steep hill. That said, Rich decided to accompany me for the first portion of the ride – including the big hill. He said he would’ve offered to carry a couple of my panniers up the hill but he was struggling a bit with a sore knee. I thanked him for the offer but said that would’ve been cheating anyway. He laughed.

On the way up the hill we met up with a group of women cycling the same direction. Up. While they had resigned themselves to walking up the hill in question, I wasn’t about to give in that quickly. Or at all. Ever since I walked up a big hill in Quebec two years ago I’ve adopted a rather strict “No walking” policy. It was certainly put to the test this morning. That said, when I got to the top it was a great sense of accomplishment (and exhaustion).

The ride to Fountains Abbey wasn’t a particularly long ride but there were definitely a lot of hills along the way – some of which would qualify as steep. That said, it was an enjoyable ride and I ended up going at a very leisurely pace. I say that because despite my best efforts I find that I’m much slower on my new bike. I have no explanation. It’s not a big issue but it’s certainly noticeable.

Of course, slower isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While today’s route included several big climbs it also included a very big descent into Pateley Bridge. And the descent was along a rather winding road. Winding roads and low front panniers are a nasty combination because banking the bike too sharply causes the panniers to rub along the ground and, well … that could be bad. Then again, the braking control on a fully loaded bike on a steep descent is, well … challenging. I wouldn’t say I was out of control going down the hill but it was certainly an adventure. Okay, I may have been somewhat out of control once. Fortunately, that moment came and went without incident.

I arrived at Fountains Abbey shortly before closing and managed to get in without paying – and yet still had a ticket. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how that happened but I wasn’t about to ask questions. As an added bonus, the somewhat elderly woman at the ticket office was kind enough to offer to store my bike out of sight while I toured the grounds.

And speaking of the grounds, Fountains Abbey is pretty stunning. And a sizeable ruin. However, as pointed out by the woman at the ticket office, while the Abbey gets the most attention there is also an extensive water garden which was created in the 1700s. The Abbey though is about 800 years old.

By the time I finished walking around the grounds, the ticket office was long since closed. I would’ve stayed longer but I had to turn my attention to looking for accommodation for the night. As such, I wandered back to the ticket office to retrieve my bike. As promised the gate leading to the back of the ticket office was left unlocked and I was able to access my bike. As I did, I couldn’t help but notice a small patch of grass that would’ve easily been large enough for my tent. I’m not going to lie, the temptation to camp right there was very strong. But I decided to move on.

In moving on, my destination became the town of Ripon. It was only a few kilometres away. That said, I still didn’t know where in Ripon I’d be able to wild camp. Last night’s host, Rich, had pointed out a spot on the map but upon investigation it ended up being somewhat inaccessible to a bicycle. Not impossible but I decided to look elsewhere first.

I had sent out a few Warm Showers requests this morning but hadn’t heard anything in response. However, as none of the potential hosts were actually in Ripon I had pretty much dismissed Warm Showers for the night.

As I stopped to check for a WiFi signal I ended up chatting with an elderly gentleman who mentioned a campground not far up the road. He said it would probably cost me “£2 – £4 for the night”. Having already searched the internet for campgrounds in the area I was a bit skeptical of his claim but got directions and thanked him. Before parting ways, I asked him if he knew the name of the place. After some thought he said, “Riverview Meadows”.

That name sounded very familiar and I knew I had investigated said site online. I also knew that it wasn’t going to be £2 – £4 for the night. Despite that, it was only about 2 km away so I decided to investigate in person.

When I arrived at the office I met one of the warden’s of the campground. It turns out it wasn’t actually the office but rather the house of the warden. Anyway, I asked how much a tent site would be for the night and he said (somewhat sheepishly), “£28”. After picking my jaw up off of the ground I asked him if he knew of somewhere I could wild camp for the night.

He said he didn’t but then admitted that he didn’t handle the bookings and that the woman in charge would be back shortly. She was. As she approached the man called out, “This guy’s tired and is looking for a place to sleep.” Much to my surprise I ended up getting a site for £6.

I somewhat expected to be taken to a small patch of grass somewhere in a remote area of the campground. And frankly, that would’ve been fine. However, I ended up at a regular pitch right next to the washrooms and with a nice view. There was even a tree stump that I could use as a table. It was luxury living! I was also informed there was a pub on-site that was open until 11:30 PM if I wanted food.

The temptation to get some pizza or fish and chips or a burger or … well, anything was pretty strong but instead I opted to make pasta. I mean, the weather was good. Winds were calm. There was no real reason (other than laziness) not to use my alcohol stove. Plus, I was still carrying a few groceries that were probably better eaten sooner rather than later. Tonight was sooner.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 73.10 km
Ride time: 4:34.37
Average speed: 15.97 km/h
Maximum speed: 64.37 km/h