Back to the Pennine Bridleway - Day 5: Finale скачать в хорошем качестве

Back to the Pennine Bridleway - Day 5: Finale

If you want to study the maps etc please use pause on your device. I don't give you enough time to study them because I want to keep the narrative moving on before the audience has gone to sleep! That's also why you might find some of the captions hard to read in the time available! Sorry! Did I triumph at the end, or was my PBW trip a failure because I didn't do the final hill? I cheated on a few other bits on previous days too, if you remember, but I DID take a MUCH harder route via Castleton on my first 2 days last year so that may make up for it. You can be the judge! You may wonder why Jay and I parted company now. Jay's original plan was to ride the Great North Trail as far as Glasgow, and that incorporates most of the PBW and continues northwards from Kirkby Stephen (missing out the last big hill). It was by now obvious that this would be very challenging in the few days he had left, especially on his small wheeled road touring bike; however, he would have time to reach Glasgow, see more of the UK and have more suitable riding if he used NCN routes via the Lake District. Meanwhile, I had come to finish the PBW and so I continued up the rough and rocky tracks which would have been very hard without an MTB or similar mount (I believe a mount with 4 hooves works well too - possibly better!). Back to the ride: I cursed myself for my error in dropping down the very steep and rough path to Clapham just because the author of the GPX route I was using had stayed there. It is not on the PBW, it wasted at least 30 minutes, and it was just the same error that Jay had saved me from at Earby. I had to WALK back up to the PBW because of the rocks and gradient! The ride over Long Scar was fairly easy, but I took it gently so as not to annoy my arthritic knees which have been relatively uncomplaining of late - that's why I walked sections I could have ridden, though I don't think walking was much slower than my riding. I did wish the sun had been shining on all that bare limestone! Section 2 was partly familiar from my Pennine Way walk. I remember Calf Holes (or if not then a very similar phenomenon - they are common in the limestone country) and Ling Gill Bridge. I also remember Cam Road, but it seemed less special now it has been resurfaced. Apparently the lorry was bringing saplings to plant more forest. Once I left the tarmac I felt I was in very remote country in the mist and was keen to get down. Stage 3 began with a long hard climb which became a push up a sheep-poo spattered track with only fleeting glimpses of the valley in the mist. After that the landscape improved as did the gradient; the Coal Road was awesome even if the mist spoiled the views somewhat. Garmin said I did 40.1 mph on the tarmac descent to Garsdale Head. Dandry Mire and the rest of that high saddle contributes to the Rivers Ure (Ouse), Eden and Clough (tributary of the Lune). That almost makes it the centre of (northern) England in one (hydrological) sense! But it feels like the centre of... nowhere! The climb to The High Way, a historic road, was about 450 ft and in places it was a killer. The last hill remaining after that was shown on my Garmin as an 850 ft climb with more severe gradients - that's why I needed to summon all of my courage after the descent to the Mallerstang Valley. Then I saw the official notice screwed on the gate! I wasn't sorry to stop although I couldn't decide if I was cheating or being cheated. The End arrived unexpectedly and my filming "plan" wasn't prepared for it. Nor was I, and decisions had to be made quickly before opportunities expired. Mobile signal was patchy which made it hard to compare options! After a cool and drizzly day my enthusiasm for camping alone at Kirkby Stephen was not high. To get home (Boston) by train I would have needed to finish 2 hours earlier - but there were still connections to Sleaford for about 9.30 pm and 22 miles riding from there should get me home at 11.30. I had just got on the train and started watching the paths I had ridden slide past my window in the opposite direction (views from the train are superb) when I received my first disruption alert from Trainline. In the end, I arrived home at about 1.30am after cancelled trains and delayed train-replacement taxis (they did carry my bike). I was glad the last 22 miles of riding were flat and smooth, especially when I got a bad attack of "the bonk" and would have loved to curl up and go to sleep! NB. My 170 mile estimate for the PBW does not include the extra loops - it is the main line only. Jay had a successful ride to the Lakes and a wild camp in Scotland before catching his flight home from Glasgow. Thanks for watching. I hope you've enjoyed this series which has been a long time in the making!