Rendezvous point? Bingley Five Rise Locks
Time? 09.45
Mission? To survive (and enjoy) a 100 mile round trip to Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales carrying all our own clothing and breakdown supplies for 3 days
A group of Bingley Belles were off on their adventures again. Several riders had “enjoyed” last year’s trip and had chosen to take part again whilst some were new to the task of riding for 3 consecutive days, 2 of which would involve carrying all their own belongings. Those who were able to had met up a couple of weeks earlier to go through routes, what to pack, what and where we would eat etc and discussions were had about racks, panniers, rucksacks, jumpers or no jumpers, tools to include (especially important for e-bike riders apparently as they sometimes require specialist tools to remove wheels!) etc etc. One rider even suggested she might bring some home-made croissants as she would have loads of room in her panniers.
And so it was that we set off on Friday morning to enjoy the wonderful scenery and camaraderie that goes with riding on a Belles trip.
Our first destination of the day was the church cafe in Skipton which we love to support, and two sub groups set off with some opting to ease themselves in gently with a towpath section followed by hills up and over from Silsden whilst the second group opted for a full road ride up and over via Cononley.
Amazingly both groups arrived at the main junction in Skipton at exactly the same time and we all descended on the cafe for a well earned break.
Well fuelled and hydrated we “pootled” along the canal to Gargrave before the more serious riding of the day took us onto the undulating quiet back roads of the Dales towards Grassington and our final destination of Kettlewell.
We were enjoying ourselves so much however that time slipped us by and we realised that we were going to miss our food delivery at the hostel if we didn’t speed up a bit! Luckily Fiona is quite speedy and she set off with a couple of other riders and managed to arrive just as the van was. Phew! However we had been joking about whether the swapped out items (there were bound to be some) would be the vegan items and guess what??? Luckily the village store came to the rescue and Katie discovered a delicious brand of tinned ratatouille which she was delighted with.
Friday evening passed with much chatting, relaxing and consulting the weather forecast – who knew there are so many different apps to consult and with such constantly changing predictions? The outlook was not looking good and it was decided to be ready to set off at 8.30 to try and get ahead of the predicted downpours. Well, if you know BBs you will know that we usually struggle to be ready for 10am so you can imagine our response. However, challenge accepted Sarah!
Miraculously we WERE all ready on time and off we set up the valley towards Buckden before turning off into Upper Wharfedale and the lovely quiet roads to Yockenthwaite and beyond. On the way some of us managed to do some sheep dog rescuing after coming across what appeared to be a lost puppy on what can become a busier road. Lois valiantly abandoned her bike and ran after the puppy (yes she is MUCH younger than the rest of us) and managed to catch and calm it. A local resident suggested the nearby farm was probably its home and doggy was duly returned to its owners.
Our journey to Horton in Ribblesdale continued with a brief refreshment stop at the honesty shack but little did we know that more animal adventures were waiting for us in the shape of a small group of cows and their calves hiding in the hidden dip further along the lane. Luckily a car came from the opposite direction and the cows quietly dispersed allowing us to continue onto our lunch stop.
The promised rain began as we reached the lovely Station Cafe and we quite smugly enjoyed a lovely lunch staying warm and dry.
By the time we were ready to leave the rain had just about passed. Hurrah!
Two more adventurous riders decided to take a different route back to Kettlewell including some off road sections whilst the rest of us returned the way we had come.
Miraculously we managed to stay dry. We did not however avoid the cows waiting for us in almost exactly the same spot! We formed our own tight knit peloton and moved slowly and quietly past them breathing a huge sigh of relief as they strolled away from us.
After all that excitement and hot showers, we enjoyed a lovely meal at another of the local pubs, enjoying the company of Amanda and Jane who had driven up to join us, injuries having prevented them from riding with us. Unfortunately we also had to say goodbye to Sarah that evening as she was suffering with a really bad cold.
Sunday dawned and yet more rain was forecast. Again we managed to be ready to leave slightly earlier than our original planned time. Everyone had “mucked in” and all the cooking, washing up and cleaning had been efficiently completed.
A hearty breakfast helped us on our way. A beautiful route was waiting for us on the way to Bolton Abbey via Burnsall and Appletreewick but it was definitely a bit lumpy for tired legs. However we made it to our cafe stop and miraculously the rain stayed away. We enjoyed a lovely lunch before saying goodbye to a couple of riders who were heading home via a different route. The final hills towards Embsay and Skipton challenged us all but Lisa was relieved to discover that her morning had been particularly challenging because she’d forgotten to change to her small chain ring. I wish I’d had the same reason.
Anyway Skipton was eventually reached. Rain jackets had been on, off, on, off, but nothing of any consequence. A couple more riders peeled off to the station and at this point 3 of us decided to use the towpath to return to Bingley whilst the rest chose the road route. However, our luck with the rain finally ran out. As both groups were approaching Kildwick the monsoon rains descended. The road group chose the safety of the towpath to finish their journey whilst the group of 3 sheltered under the gazebo at the canal side cafe. There we decided to concede defeat to the rain and caught the train from Steeton to return to Bingley/Shipley. We had puddles in our shoes, our bikes were filthy but we were still smiling and the wet ending to the trip gave us something to remember it by. We had all had such an amazing time.
The trip committee tell us they already have ideas to explore new areas and routes for next year. I wonder where they are going to take us next? We can’t wait to find out. Maybe you will join us?