Not the royal wedding trip

[patrick]

Readyto set off from Whitchurch on  29th April



Straight forward route, A49, M6 and then east over the A59 to Ripon, Thirsk and up Sutton Bank to Helmsley. Then up the fantastic B1257 to Chop Gate and Stokesley and on to 2 nights at a hotel on Teeside


4 of us on 3 bikes. Me and  Pam on the GTR with Stuart and Sall on K1300GT and CBF1000 respectively.


On Saturday we headed west to Weardale and the A689 to Alston. We stopped at Kilhope Lead mine


Before heading through Alston and on to the A686 to the top of Hartside pass



before droping down into Cumbria for lunch in Penrith.

The wind over Hartside was gusting to what must have been galeforce and the bikes were blown all over the road going down to Penrith and it was even worse as we headed back over to Hartside to Alston. The pass was also "wall to wall"with cyclists who seemed tobe doing various charity rides, probably on the C2C route. These poor souls were having a really hard time. On the way back up Hartside we came upon a sports biker who had come off on a lefthand hairpin but he was on his feet and other bikes had stopped.

The return journey took us eastward down Teesdale with a stop in Middleton in Teesdale before haeding back to the hotel.



The 3rd and final day took us on to the Nork Yorks moors with a visit to Whitby,  including  a preserved life-boat trip from the harbour into the bay. Then it was onto Goathland (Heartbeat's Aidensfield) and Castle Howard.

Actually got bike parking spaces in Whitby!















We then left Castle Howard with the intention of stoping once in the 170 mile route but unfortunately we cmae across an accident scene west of York on the A59. Traffic was flowing but a small white van was on its side on the nearside verge. As 3 of us have done the "First Bike on the Scene" course and Stuart and Sally are both retired police officers we stopped to see if we could help. Stuart gathered the facts and checked on the 2 occupants who were hanging from seat belts and talking and did not need to be moved,  whilst Sally gave me her spare hi-vis and we controlled the traffic unti lthe Emergency services arrived. Stuart then "handed over" the scene to the police and we set off with a nice empty road ahead of us.

A short stop on the Skipton by-pass for a cuppa was followed by a very windy final leg home but we arrived safely at the end of a great trip.

This was Pam's first expericne of a tour on the bike and my 1st tour on the GTR. The bike coped with 2 us and luggage and as ever proved its worth. A house move prevents me taking a decent summer trip this year but roll on next year!

[Winston Smith]

LOL - All that's on my doorstep!

[fred24]

Putting photo's on the internet that clearly show your registration number = how unusual

[Winston Smith]

Our 'Not the Royal Wedding day out was over the NY Moors and into the Dales too.

Tea stop at the Gliding Club at Sutton Bank.





Ended up at Reeth




Swaledale Icecream - Yummy!!



As demonstrated by my lad!



And this is the demon who rides Bavarian who doctored my GTR  >:(



Seen here trying to turn my lad to the dark side!!

[patrick]

Putting photo's on the internet that clearly show your registration number = how unusual

mmmmmmmm... dont think im the only one to do that, and the bike is seen in public!

[patrick]

Our 'Not the Royal Wedding day out was over the NY Moors and into the Dales too.

Tea stop at the Gliding Club at Sutton Bank.

We went up Sutton Bank, but the road from Helmesley to Stokesley was absolutely brill!

[Lonewolf]

Again excellent info and photos. Making me very jealous!! The twisties from the Hartside summit down towards Alston or upto the summit have to be treat with respect though. They can catch you out if you aren't careful.

I went up there on the 21st November last year, the higher I got, the colder it felt :o





I didn't dare go any further when it started to snow, I turned round and headed back towards Penrith!

[Winston Smith]

You great big Jessie!

[Lonewolf]

You great big Jessie!

Lol, yep thats me.  ;D It was bloody freezing though.  :)

[Rusty]

Hey Fred ... number plates on the internet ? I don't have a problem with that but I know a lot of people do for whatever reasons ... you see many photos with number plates that have been through fotoshop. What do you do ?

[patrick]

Yes,those twisties demand respect. I used to drive that road, and Weardale) regularly by car when i lived i the north east and subsequently. Cumbria.

But I'd never been up there on a bike before and it was a bit strange doing the route on 2 wheels.

[fred24]

Hey Fred ... number plates on the internet ? I don't have a problem with that but I know a lot of people do for whatever reasons ... you see many photos with number plates that have been through fotoshop. What do you do ?

Never been very active on forums before the GTR so haven't had to make the decision.

To be honest I would be very reluctant to post anything on a public forum that could be used to identify me and/or my bike, to many stories of people posting info on the internet that has come back to bite them in the ass and YES I probably am over reacting. 

[Kwikasfuki]

Never been very active on forums before the GTR so haven't had to make the decision.

To be honest I would be very reluctant to post anything on a public forum that could be used to identify me and/or my bike, to many stories of people posting info on the internet that has come back to bite them in the ass and YES I probably am over reacting.

+1

I tend to mask out my number plate

[Lonewolf]

I cant be arsed. If someone wanted to clone your number plate they could do that just as easily from seeing you riding about as they could from scouring bike forums. Personal choice though & each to their own ;D