Rotten Cow Muck

Today's post isn't really about Rotten Cow Muck...I just like to say it. I'm STILL chuckling over that sign last week, and the fact that you can actually BUY Rotten Cow Muck. I can't say for SURE what exactly RCM smells like, but I believe I can guess. You see, when I'm out riding around the countryside, quite often I think I smell it (and I mean in a BIG way). Farms and such are EVERYWHERE. And, there's LOTS of water around here. I'd say to best describe it to you, drive to a large cattle holding area, get out of your car and take a big whiff. THEN, imagine that smell augmented by LOTS and LOTS of water...so whatever goo there is lying around is all rotten and goopy, and probably amplified. I smell that all the time here. Frequently it's quite overpowering, and there's no escape.

But actually, I just have MORE pictures to post from my last 3 rides. We had an amazing weather pattern here since Friday, setting record highs in many places including Scotland. To me it's just AWESOME, and I've now had 3 rides in a row with NO toe warmers, arm warmers, leg warmers, wind/rain-jacket, ear warmers, and cold-weather long finger gloves (which all my rides prior have been needing). My arms and legs actually have a bit of color coming back into them I just noticed tonight!

And so, without further adieu, more pictures. The first batch is from Saturday's ride in the Lakes District National Park.

 Just a neat view not long after I began my ride, just after the fog lifted.

 Downtown Windmere, which is also the name of the HUGE lake I'm working my way around.

 Yet ANOTHER stone bridge, church, forest and river....all in one picture!

Not used to seeing horses lying around during broad daylight. The big one is a normal full size horse, the other 2 are some kind of long haired ponies.The white one REALLY needs a haircut to see, and his hair all over his (her?) body was about the same length. The little brown one was just watching me, and they seemed quite relaxed (as if you couldn't tell).

 Ho Hum...a beautiful lake, forest, mountains and a swan. I like to take as few pictures as possible, combining all the elements whenever I can. Saves computer memory that way.

 Framed this shot between the trees  looking up a valley to the west. The Atlantic ocean is probably less than 20 miles away. The peaks around here were pretty large, and made me think of my recent trip to the Highlands of Scotland.

That rock wall slanting up right to left (the one just below the trees) is actually 2 walls, with THE ROAD in-between them. It's actually a rather long and steep climb.

The next batch is from my Sunday ride in the northern portion of the Yorkshire Dales National park.

 As I climbed up out of Leyburn the road crossed a very desolate stretch of land. Turns out it's military, with multiple firing ranges and such. Not far from here is a guard shack where they block the road during firing exercises. Thankfully they don't appear to shoot on Sunday.

Coming off the top of that no-mans-land stretch and down into the town of  Reeth. Looks like a real speed run. Of course, I'll be coming back home this way, so it's a double-edged sword to be sure.

Yep. That's ANOTHER road slanting right up the hill between 2 rock walls. Long and steep. Again.

A few miles before this Inn I was passed by a couple of local guys (I was taking pictures). Caught them on the climb and we started chatting. Here at the top is a quite popular stop for cyclists of all types (both with and without motors). As you can see by the sign, it's Great Britain's HIGHEST Inn. Cool! And I'm sporting my 2012 Fatty colors, with BARE ARMS AND LEGS! Life doesn't get much better than this!

I now have to admit there aren't any more pictuers of a VERY Scenic portion of the ride. That's because of those 2 guys I started riding with.  You know....when there's more than one guy, it's a race. And so the next 15 or so miles was a race with my new friends Rich and David. Actually Rich and I were pretty close, taking turns pulling off the front and trying to gap the others. Poor David wasn't able to hold our wheels very long, but we waited at the top of the climbs and the bottom of the descents. It was a BLAST though, and I really need to get back and get some pictues of the parts I FLEW through. Also there is a road that has a 25% grade that we bypassed, and I MUST go back and try that.

This is the last picture of the Sunday ride (it was about a quarter mile from where I parked, and I had already said my goodbye to Rich and David about 10 miles back). I've been across this river before (though I have no idea how to pronounce it) but not on my bike. You can see how narrow it is. It's strictly a first-come-first-cross as to who goes...if a vehicle coming the other way is already on the bridge, you STOP and wait. Pretty cool bridge!

And finally, here's 3 shots from tonight's after work ride.

 I came up over the other side of this hill on a WICKED climb up out of Lofthouse. The descent you see here was a BLAST! I can't see her in this picture, but not long after I took this a girl on a Cervelo TT bike came flying down the hill. I started riding but she easily caught me. She left the base just after I did but took a different (ie, farther) route to the Lofthouse climb (I only know this as she asked if I left the base about 12:45 which I did...she said she saw me go. I went North and she went West outside the gates). I stayed with her just a bit before I had to back down and let her go, as she was again FLYING! Those Triathletes are pretty fit!

 In case you hadn't noticed, I seem to have a thing for stone bridges. My route went over this one. We just don't have stuff like this back home.

A panarama of my road crossing another no-mans-land. The road dips quite steeply just off to the right to the bottom of this little valley (yes, there is ANOTHER stone bridge, and YES, I DID take a picture...but won't show it as it just wasn't THAT scenic). Then it climbs somewhat steeply. My way turned out to be the straight road, not the one veering off to the right. Thank you Little Jeannie for getting me home from who knows where once again!

And that wraps up yet another edition of my visual journal of North Yorkshire. Cathy, sure hoping your cousin Gary wakes up soon and fully recovers from his injuries! I'll never ride Foxen Canyon again without thinking about it. Have a GREAT week everybody!

Cheers!