Coverdale

The weather is set to break tomorrow so it felt like today was the last day of this fickle summer and I had to make the most of it. It seemed like everyone else in Yorkshire had the same idea. I don't think I've ever seen so many bikes on the road. Fortunately, most of the cars never got further than Bolton Abbey or Burnsall, which were seething. Once past these honeypots the lanes were as quiet as they always seem to be in the Dales.

I made my ride up as I went along, climbing Park Rash out of Kettlewell, and then descending Coverdale, one of the most exhilarating stretches of road that I know. I've often passed under this lone hawthorn and have always been in too much of a hurry to stop. Today, with no schedule, I parked the bike up and climbed the fell a little way in order to take this shot. The hill in the distance is Great Whernside, which overlooks Kettlewell.

I had the choice then of returning via Pateley Bridge or Bishopsdale, and chose the latter route as I realised I'd not been that way all year. The climb over the fells to West Witton was delightful. The climb back up Bishopsdale to Kettlewell was not so delightful, into a freshening southerly wind and a very short sharp shower. There wasn't supposed to be any rain at all today, so it was typical that the weather had the last laugh in the end.

I probably didn't eat enough yesterday and felt a bit of bonk on the final big climb. I stopped in Kettlewell for a pot of tea and a toasted teacake, a luxury I don't often allow myself (and don't ask me why, for I've no idea really). That got me home in reasonable form but I must admit to feeling a bit zonked right now. It was about 80 miles in the saddle and I've not done that kind of distance since the Pyrenees in July. That might just be the last long ride of the year, as I get more into my running.

Finally, thanks for all the love for yesterday's Ethereal Wispiness. I have a film date with the boys tonight, but I hope to catch up with tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that.