The view from 2 wheels

I rode both days this weekend. Saturday was miserable (as in REALLY WINDY), also it didn't stop raining until almost 11am. But I was desperate to ride so went out anyway and did 40 miles in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. I suffered thru 31 miles of 20mph head/cross winds, but the final 9 were down an awesome canyon along a river WITH the wind. Ending a ride like that really helps dull the pain of the rest.

Today I went back out a bit closer to home and did 34 miles. It was windy again (not quite as much as yesterday) but warmer. In fact, I rode without my wind/rain shell for the first time here. And no full neoprene shoe covers, just toe warmers. That's a good sign, spring is coming. I have a ton of pictures from the 2 days, as I try to capture some of the beauty of this area. It's always fun to see someplace new, and 2 wheels is the best way to do that.

Without further adieu, my pics from the weekend.

 This is a view back down the valley. You can clearly see the rounded canyon shape as the entire UK was covered by glaciers during the last ice age. Also you can see the stone walls that are EVERYWHERE. Just a typical view as I ride.

Water water everywhere. Looking up the hillside, springs are flowing over and thru rock walls. Sheep graze most everywhere, but none are in this picture by pure chance.

 And another waterfall. You can also see how overcast and gloomy it is. 

This shot was taken just after it stopped raining.

The sun makes an appearance! Roads are still wet, from the rain, but it's just beautiful here.

Climbing to the top of the plateau (or whatever you'd call it here). The land here in the Dales is rather spartan. The only tree visible is off to the right...it reminds me of the tundra of Alaska up in this part of the country. And it's all mooshy and muddy everywhere off road.

Self portrait, my camera is perched on a stone wall. There is a beautiful stream flowing just behind me, only a small part visible just beyond my bike's rear wheel. Also you can see I have my mt bike rear fender attached for the ride. And I'm wearing my neon red rain/wind shell. If the wind would go down by HALF, it would still be windy (but O- SO MUCH nicer)!

 Another boring view of the landscape. They sure have a LOT of rock walls here. I'm guessing 99 out of every 100 people used to be builders.

 Yet ANOTHER waterfall. This shot captures some of the wind...you can see it's blowing the top off the water as it goes over the edge.

Did I mention they have a lot of rocks here? A beautiful stone bridge, just one of the many dozens that I've seen thus far.

Here's where it gets interesting. I'm at about mile 28, and have to climb out of this valley to get home. Over the top the road then goes to the left and down (WITH the wind). Here the wind is coming across right to left, and the grade where I took this shot is about 10%. There is a sign at the top (for those coming down) that says it's 24%. All I can say is the last quarter mile or more is SO steep that I was delivering papers and STILL could barely make my bike move! (delivering papers is what I call it when I ride back and forth across the road, as it's so steep that I'm not strong enough to just ride straight up).

Here I'm in the final 9 mile descent. There was a few miles where the road follows this stream, and it's just AWESOME! Not to mention the joy of having a tailwind for the first time all day! What a way to end the ride!

 Another view of the stream, there was a bridge a bit back and now I'm on the other side. I love how it's just THERE, no walls, guard rails, nothing. I can't think that I've ever seen any such sight in the US. Did I mention this is DOWNHILL too? Ahhh...doesn't get much better than this!

 And finally, here is a panorama I put together of one of the valleys.

That ends the pictures from Saturdays ride in the Dales. Here are some noteworthy shots from today's ride.

 The view from the side of the road as a stream snakes it's way down to a large reservoir.

 

 This view is looking down into "How Stean Gorge" (and yes, it's Stean, not Steam). The drop from where I'm standing is probably a good 40 to 50 feet, and the river has cut this gorge thru solid rock.
 

 The view from the other side of the bridge looking into the gorge.

 I've been seeing lots of lambs out in the pastures this last week. They must be VERY young as they can barely walk. They are OH so cute!

 

 Didn't catch the name, but this is an Abbey at the top of a hill, and I used it as my turnaround point.

 The view looking back down the road from up near the abbey. You can clearly see the valley I came up, and you can barely make out the blue water of the Gouthwaite Reservoir (about 4 miles away) that the road paralleled for a few miles. It was a beautiful day (mid 60's) and the wind was only about 13mph today. It was a great way to end my weekend.

 Here's a pan I put together showing how hills look. I see this type of view EVERYWHERE I go here, and it still is amazing!

 This is a pan of the reservoir that I rode past (twice).

And finally, another pan of yet ANOTHER hillside. I have to say that pictures do NOT do justice to how beautiful it is here. But I keep trying!

And that's all the pictures I'll bore you with (for now). I have MANY HUNDREDS that I've taken so far on this trip. 

Have a great week! (oh, and don't be shy talking about the bike races...I've seen ZERO over here. It's not on my TV channels that I get in my flat, and I'm working or riding when they are racing. So I haven't seen a lick of racing this year, and I miss it!