Another Day, Another First (July 27th)

Much like yesterday, I woke this morning to the sound of rain on the roof. Unlike yesterday, I was actually in my tent and so said sound was significantly louder. That said, I still managed to tune it out and go back to sleep. If nothing else, cycle touring has somewhat increased my tolerance as to what can be slept through – although, that tolerance was already pretty high. Anyway, when I woke next the rain had stopped and the drying process had once again begun … slowly.

My discounted night at the Riverside Meadows Campground went very well. Then again, there was no reason for it not to. Sure, the aforementioned rain meant that I had to pack up a wet tent but at least it wasn’t raining when I did so. Plus, I took a rather leisurely approach to packing up this morning for the sole purpose of giving my tent just a little more time to get a little less wet. That plan was moderately successful.

Today’s destination was a small town called Grange Moor – slightly southwest of Wakefield. While the destination was pre-determined, the route to get there was still a work in progress. The lack of WiFi in my tent last night meant I couldn’t fully explore my route options. It turns out I could’ve had WiFi had I wandered over to the pub last night but I didn’t find that out until this morning. Oh well. It was kind of nice having a computer-free evening.

My reason for going to Grange Moor was simple. Tess and Jamie, who I met cycling along the Pacific Coast last summer, live in Grange Moor. Until recently, it’s been generally uncertain as to whether a reunion with them on UK soil would be feasible. Well, if all goes well today, the answer to that will be a resounding, “Yes”.

After a quick consultation with Google Maps, three potential routes were presented. I opted for the slower, yet flatter route even though I’m usually drawn more to the faster (yet often hillier) routes. This turned out to be both a good and a bad decision. On the upside, it started as a good decision.

Somewhat coincidentally, my route led me in the direction of the town of Knaresborough (which is apparently pronounced, “Naz-bruh” … so many letters yet so many not pronounced). Up until recently, I’d never heard of the town. However, my friend Paul in Edinburgh (well, we’ve never actually met but we tried numerous times to connect for a beer in Edinburgh but sadly it never worked out … anyway, it’s the same Paul that contributed the Jag Bag sleeping bag liner to this year’s tour) … ANYWAY, my friend Paul was one of a few people who recommended Fountains Abbey in Ripon and he also recommended visiting the ruined castle in Knaresborough. With the former being such a success I felt making a slight detour to Knaresborough would likely be equally successful. Spoiler Alert: It was.

My stop in Knaresborough was not at all what I had anticipated. Knaresborough Castle was another great ruin with an equally impressive view over the river. I explored the area for a while before working my way back towards the main street to continue my trek to Grange Moor. However, along the way I ended up going through the Market Place which, as the name would suggest, was a market full of small shops and vendors selling a wide range of items. Some food based. Some not. In any event, I enjoyed the atmosphere.

I ended up leaving the Market Place with two small cakes and a punnet of strawberries. The former were purchased because they looked good and were 2 for £1. The latter was purchased partially because of the vendor constantly bellowing out, “Two for £2 strawberries” which, with the Yorkshire accent, I found rather entertaining. That said, I knew that trying to fit two punnets in my panniers would not be entertaining. Fortunately, I was able to purchase “One for £1 strawberries” (instead of the usual £1.50).

With my shopping quota met (and exceeded) for the day I prepared to move on. However, that plan got delayed when I passed yet another fish and chips place. At that point I decided it had been too long since my last fish and chips meal. Plus, I heard from a reliable source (Paul, again) that Yorkshire fish and chips were better than Scotland’s. I had to find out. Side note: Paul also mentioned that if I could find “fish and chips still fried in beef drippings that I will have thought I’d died and gone to heaven”. I’ve yet to find a beef drippings version of fish and chips. What I did find was Drake’s fish and chips and, well … it was pretty great. All in all, my stop in Knaresborough was fantastic. Thanks for the recommendations, Paul!

When I finally resumed my ride I found myself growing tired of looking at the map somewhat constantly to determine if I was in fact following the winding route outlined for me. As such, I opted to abandon that route and stick to the main highway (aka. carriageway). This turned out to be an excellent decision.

As I’ve mentioned before, riding in traffic doesn’t really bother me and so far the traffic has been generally very cycle-friendly. And, as luck would have it, there was an isolated cycle path that ran parallel to much of the carriageway in question. Things were looking good.

As I arrived in Wakefield, things started to look significantly “less good”. It probably didn’t help matters that my arrival occurred shortly before 5:00 PM. Wakefield is a much bigger town than the others I had pedalled through today and there was a lot of traffic with which I had to face. This proved to be a challenge as there really wasn’t much spare room for drivers to give me as they passed. As a result, I ended up trying to come up with my own route to bypass Wakefield. I did so with mixed results.

Eventually I managed to navigate my way through and around Wakefield where I could begin the final push up to Grange Moor. I say “up” to Grange Moor because both Tess and Google indicated that that there was a very big climb required to reach Grange Moor. A 5 km hill to be exact. It was a hill I’d been somewhat dreading throughout the day. As it turns out, the hill wasn’t too bad. Yes, it was about 5 km long but for the most part it wasn’t all that steep. In the end, I arrived at the top in about 30 minutes.

Shortly after reaching the top I arrived at Jamie and Tess’ place where I was officially reunited with Jamie and Tess … well, Tess was still at work when I arrived but Jamie and I began the reunion over a beer on the back deck. There may have been a second beer once Tess arrived.

We chatted for a bit before we headed out to The Hare and Hounds pub for dinner. We all ended up having fish and chips. Yes, again. Fish and chips twice in one day. That’s definitely a first for me. But seriously, it was somewhat inevitable considering all of the places to get fish and chips around here.

Anyway, it was great seeing Jamie and Tess again considering the last time we saw each other was in California – about 8,700 km away. I’m going to hang out here for an extra day to figure out where to go next and to try to catch up with my blog – before falling woefully behind again!

All that said, today was definitely a great day.

Today’s totals*:
Distance travelled: 83.89 km
Ride time: 4:52:08
Average speed: 17.23 km/h
Maximum speed: 45.65 km/h

* Today’s totals are a bit skewed today as I spent a while walking with my bike as I wandered around Knaresborough which of course brought down the average and elevated my “ride” time.