It had taken me about 15 mins to get my gear on - dressing like some sort of medieval Knight. Muzzy was a few minutes late claiming that his front door had frozen shut!
This wasn't to be a "Tan Hill or Bust", just a long winter clubrun in that general direction and we'd see how conditions panned out. I'd adapted the route to keep us on the more main roads to minimise chances of ice and at the end of the day we could always rely on "Guardian Angel Broomwagen" to watch over us.
So we set off in the freezing darkness on the A59 - nice and quiet, but a bit of a drag. Turning N at Greens Hammerton on the B road, day was breaking and all was looking up. Kept taking it in turns, Paul 15 mins on the front, then me (2mph slower and for 3 mins). But, hey - teamwork.
Borobridge, Ripon then N on A6108 towards Masham. Snowy in the fields now, very pretty, but roads totally clear of ice. Still keeping a watchful eye on descents. Jervaulx looked great in the snow, but Paul declined an ice-cream. Middleham and up that sting of a climb to Leyburn. 48miles done, ten past ten and cafe just opening. Defrosted bottles on radiator - they'd been solid since Borobridge and I'd been dehydrating.
Out of the cafe after 30 mins (Howard wouldn't have liked that) and the cold took our breath away. Long descent to Wensley - probably the coldest 5 mins of my life! Stuck to the A road on the S side of Wensleydale, quiet, no ice, soon climbing and core temperature rising again. Stunning scenary - love that clump of trees on the knoll on the R - and Xmas cake icing everywhere.
Into Hawes at about midday. Honestly thought we wouldn't be able to cross the Buttertubs, but thought we ought to go and have a look. Amazingly it was deserted and ice free. Well, nearly deserted - an Autumn Tints coach tour ground past us on the steepest section - loads of Grannies with tinsel in their hair, waving madly.
Cautious descent to Thwaite, but roads still fine, so thought we should go and have a look at TH. Nobody camping at Keld! Right over the bridge and onto the 25% hairpins. So much grit that we lost traction - it was like Chesil Beach. Through that farmyard then at the cattlegrid, 3 miles from the summit, the grit ran out and the road was white over. Further progress just wasn't going to happen.... oh well, this was just about the furthest point of the traditional route anyway.
So back to Thwaite and on down Swaledale. Words cannot describe the scenery - just stunning. Turned right at Grinton and onto Grinton Moor. Paul's bike suffering in the cold - bottom gear no longer available and he toiled upwards on 39x23, threatening to snap himself in two. His freewheel also sounded like a car exhaust scraping on the road. A bit slushy at the top, but we slowed down a bit and no probs. Freezing descent to Leyburn and we were back in the cafe hugging the radiator again (bottles defrosting again). I asked the waitress if we could take the radiator with us - no luck.
On the road again at 3-30 wearing even more layers. Slight tailwind now and even with 100miles in legs were able to average evens for a fair stretch. All lights blazing and full moon helped. Retraced through Ripon and Boroughbridge. Didn't fancy A59 so opted for Aldwark bridge. Were nervous of ice lurking in the dark - but again all was fine.
Back in York, somewhat dishevelled, at 6-30 or so. Hubstats not overly impressive, but 145miles on the shortest (and maybe coldest) Sunday of the year has made a nice space for the Xmas turkey!
