A HEAD FOR HEIGHTS.

When Tony and Penny Spinks asked us if we would like to join them on a Bank Holiday trip to join the Northern Pan Riders on one of their rides we jumped at the chance. Having just completed a 3000 mile round trip through France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Roger was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms from not being on the bike!

Now, everybody knows that Norfolk is relatively flat, we Norfolkites take altitude very seriously, in fact, anything over 10ft can result in a nose-bleed! So on Saturday, intrepid travellers as we are, oxygen masks at the ready, we took a meandering journey through the Fens, the Lincolnshire Wolds, had a break at Barton-upon-Humber, then across the bridge into Yorkshire, arriving at Church Fenton late afternoon, where we’d found a very nice B & B. The next morning it was up early (not easy on a Sunday) as we were meeting at Squires at 08.30am, then Alan gave us a run down on what was happening throughout the day and we were off around 09.00am.

Our ride took us in the direction of Otley, Ilkley and Skipton, although obviously not on the main roads, in fact on some roads I can’t find on our map... to arrive in Gargrave where we met up with some pan riders from Lancashire. From there we travelled through Malham and Ribblesdale with great views of Pen-y-Ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside to Hawes where we went over the Buttertubs Pass. We’ve done the Buttertubs before, I believe it was last year when it was raining and we could hardly see a hand in front of our faces, so it was wonderful to ride it on such a nice day and have such fantastic views. Lunch was at Thwaite which was, I reckon, the closest thing to a Tardis that anybody could find...a tiny shop-front which opened up into a huge restaurant and a lovely garden with views of the surrounding hills.

After lunch it was Keld and the testing two hairpins at the beginning of the road to Tan Hill, from which the views were stunning. How does the song go? “We can see for miles and miles and miles...” From there we rode towards Leyburn and Masham, turning off and passing Leighton and Gouthwaite Reservoirs to Pateley Bridge, finishing at Ripley for a well-earned and extremely yummy icecream! From there it was time to say our goodbyes, with promises to see our friends in the North in the not too distant future.

What an absolutely wonderful day, everything ran smoothly, which usually means that the people behind organising a day like this have been working like mad to make it happen. Thanks for a great day Alan and Jeanette. For the four of us, it was back to the B&B and a wander back to Norfolk on Monday.
Oh, and by the way, nobody had a nosebleed!
Freda Pipes