Cycling adventures of Patience & Len. 22nd and 24th March .

It’s been a cracking week to be out on the bikes, sunny and just the right temperature with a cooling breeze when needed.

On Sunday we had been looking forward to Dent, so thought we may as well go anyway. The breeze helped us over the hill from Capernwray to Newton; in Whittington we espied familiar faces on a bench, and stopped for a chat with Sandra and Stuart. A few minutes later an oncoming cyclist turned out to be Graham, so another unscheduled stop. Devils Bridge was swarming with hundreds of bikers without a care in the world, so we pushed on to Casterton, where we sat at a picnic table on the village green for elevenses. A few groups of people wandering around aimlessly. Then onto the top road above Barbon and the long slog up Barbondale, where three Kendal CC members went past and then waited for us to have a chat. The view over Dentdale a little hazy, but great conditions for early Spring. No point in going into Dent, so we turned left at the foot of the hill in Gawthrop and the usual route over the unfenced shoulder, where someone had placed a bench for us to rest and eat our picnic. Panoramic views of the Howgills and Sedbergh, which we  don’t usually stop to appreciate. Then onto puncture alley, drying out nicely but some iffy sections of muck and gravel. Another bench, at Barbon Village Hall, for afternoon tea of an apple, then a run for home through Arkholme. About 52 miles, but a low average ( Patience having to carry all those sandwiches !)

Today ( Tuesday ) again the weather too good to waste in the garden, so we thought that a  38 miler  would qualify as a bike ride to maintain fitness as recommended by Boris the previous evening. We kept coming across other cyclists, mainly solos but one or two duos having to shout to converse. Very quiet roads out to Burton, then the long climb past Clawthorpe and onto Hutton Roof crags, where we sat in a gateway looking north towards Killington and eating cheese scones. Then the grassy byway to Hutton Roof church and left to Lupton. A short stretch of A65 before turning off to Lupton Church and the delightful back road to Kearstwick.  KL  very quiet  and someone had dispersed the biker crowd at the bridge. Home via the near-deserted main road through Tunstall, stopping at Wennington by the riverside for a picnic.