A wise man once said, "Are you nuts its f***ing freezing, and they were right.
But I had to get out and have a play on the bike; it had been almost two weeks since I did my last trip to Ludlow at the end of October. Then I had all the bother fitting my radiator cover, so frustrations were running high and I needed to let off some steam.
At this time of the year, you don't generally have the luxury of choice with regards where you can go and as I found out from checking the weather forecasts over the last few days you can't rely on that too much either. I decided to go to Hartside Summit near Alston in Cumbria. It's been over two years since I was last there and when you arrive you are so up with the Gods on a clear day you can see Scotland, (apparently).
I've mixed some photos in with this write up from the previous trip in 2008, but trust me you will be able to see which are which and where there might be some confusion I'll put a date next to the picture.
As is usual with many of my trips I use the gateway to North Yorkshire via Skipton. A stone's throw from home and a blessing to get out into the countryside and away from the hustle and bustle of mad Christmas shoppers and drivers on their mobile phones trying to kill you like a reality game of Pinball.
For a change I took a quick detour into Bradley and Skipton. Bradley is a little village just outside Skipton, very picturesque where not a lot ever happens.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1066.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1067.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1068.jpg)
I took a chance and parked right in front of Skipton Castle. You know what these new Parking Attendants are like, once things get privatised you are on a hiding to nothing.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1069.jpg)
A fine looking bike somebody left in front of the doors.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1071.jpg)
And then there's this, a pink sheep, very rare indeed...I read about these a few weeks ago, some local artist who no doubt has been given a grant of a few hundred thousand pounds of tax payers money, 'created', if that's the right description about one hundred strange coloured sheep and scattered them around Skipton to draw in the tourists. Make up your own mind, how did we ever live without them before? I knew something was missing from my life and now I know, a pink sheep.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1072.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1073.jpg)
A view from the Castle looking back towards Skipton main street.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1074.jpg)
The church next to Skipton Castle.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1075.jpg)
About five miles or so short of Kirby Lonsdale I saw a large group of about ten bikers parked up on the nearside of a junction up ahead possibly waiting for their party to regroup. As I passed them they pulled out and followed me and for a few brief minutes I felt like the leader of the pack. But alas it was not to be, we all pulled into the lay-by at Kirby Lonsdale and instead of me being their iconic leader guiding them through the perils of biking and life they seemed more drawn to the butty wagon which was offering hot food and fresh coffee. Ah well I can dream!
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1080.jpg)
The sign clearly said, "ON WEEKENDS PARKING RESERVED FOR MOTORCYCLES". But no there always has to be some rebel who pushes their luck and parks where they shouldn't and then before you know it there's another and another......
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1083.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1084.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1082.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1085.jpg)
One of the bikers who followed me in was on a GSX1400 fitted with Oxford Hot Grips, when he first stopped I thought he was being mugged, but no all his mates were sharing the last few seconds of heat from the grips before it dispersed. Oh how we laughed, you can't beat heated grips, people mock them, but they all want them. And then I saw below me a group of canoeists who rather sadistically seemed to have chosen the coldest day in the year to train. Why would you want to risk capsizing into sub zero temperatures when there was prime frostbite temperatures just stood by the road side. Apart from me and my new mate of course with our heated grips.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1079.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1081.jpg)
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1077.jpg)
Despite having on thermal gloves and liners, thermal leggings under textile windproof trousers and a thermal top, one of three layers of upper clothing under a textile windproof jacket I have to admit I was bloody freezing. I had my heated grips on full and they were just airing my fingers out very slightly. A sensible person at this stage would have been worried. But I was not about to admit defeat, just because I was going to travel to the summit of some hill not a million miles from Scotland surely it couldn't get any colder than this could it?
I considered the options and came up with the conclusion that yes, perhaps it might drop another half degree or so, so if I had a drink and a sandwich that would see me in good stead for the rest of the day.
I did see another GTR, a silver one parked up next to an FJR. If this was you speak out now. By the time I'd bought my refreshments it had gone. Shame it would have been good to have a natter with another GTR owner, you don't see many out and about on your travels.
Having stuffed my face with calories and god knows what else that was in the sandwich I pushed on following the great Zumo for advice. Rather disappointingly it steered me onto the M6 and as I was too lazy to punch in an alternative route I ended up sucked along with the other traffic heading North towards Penrith. I didn't see any other bikers on this route, which in hindsight should have been a warning sign but I never picked up on it. I got the impression all the car drivers were laughing at me as they passed me not that I'm paranoid or anything, they were probably thinking what the hell is that idiot doing, has he not checked the weather forecast? I had and it had said, white cloud, I thought, I can cope with white cloud. If it had said high risk of snow, then I wouldn't have been heading North and the car drivers wouldn't have been laughing at me. But as I just said, hindsight is a wonderful. Now, I know that snow will give you white clouds, but white clouds are white clouds and snow is snow in my book.
Just moments before frostbite set in I pulled off the M6 at Penrith and as my speed dropped I briefly felt the blood pulsating through my fingers once again. I picked up the A686, driving past Penrith Police HQ and did think about dropping in and getting a bite to eat, but considered better of it, they're a strange bunch this far up North. I pulled over just a few hundred yards up ahead and set off the video camera, I'll post that on U-tube when I've sorted it out.
Sticking to the A686 I rode on towards Melmerby and then started to climb rapidly into the clouds, the white clouds, the white clouds which were as I was about to find out, producing snow!!
Under normal circumstances this route is a terrific route, good quality tarmac, dry and with relatively little traffic on it. Today the route was hazardous, the roads were slippery, my fingers were going numb again and somebody had tightened up the corners since I was there last. Now the GTR is a big heavy beast and at a reasonable speed its weightless but at 10-15mph on a tight hairpin bend it felt very heavy and cumbersome. On top of that I didn't particularly want to drop it and have to wait for recovery so you could say I was a bit of a wimp on some of the corners, better to be safe than sorry I thought. I passed a couple of cyclists near the summit who looked like they wouldn't make it so in true humanitarian style I pushed on thinking somebody will find their bodies in a few months when it thaws out. Credit to them though they did make it as I passed then again on the way back down, still looking like the next few minutes could be their last.
I did stop very briefly at the top to take a few photos, this is where you have to have your wits about you and see if you can tell which were taken today and which were taken in back in 2008.
Today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1087.jpg)
Not today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Tan%20Hill%20Inn%20Trip%2017th%20August%202008/100_1501.jpg)
Today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1091.jpg)
Not today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Tan%20Hill%20Inn%20Trip%2017th%20August%202008/100_1498.jpg)
Today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1088.jpg)
Not today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Tan%20Hill%20Inn%20Trip%2017th%20August%202008/100_1503.jpg)
Today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1086.jpg)
Not today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Tan%20Hill%20Inn%20Trip%2017th%20August%202008/100_1499.jpg)
Today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1089.jpg)
Not today.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Tan%20Hill%20Inn%20Trip%2017th%20August%202008/100_1502.jpg)
My plan had been to ride on towards Alston and then head in the general direction of Scotch Corner, but considering the weather as it was I bottled it and I retraced my steps, back towards Penrith Police HQ, back towards the M6 and reassuringly back to Kirby Lonsdale, where much to my surprise there were still a few stragglers loitering. I thought I recognised one or two from me passing through earlier in the morning. Perhaps they had never left; they do do remarkably good food there.
The weather had improved significantly by now, although the wind chill factor was still pretty dire. I managed to rattle off a couple of quick photos on the last leg of my journey home just to prove that the Sun had come out again albeit only slightly.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1094.jpg)
The last picture of the day taken while I devoured another sandwich, just bread and marg though on this occasion. I thought it was law to have a butty wagon in every lay-by on a Sunday.
(http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s139/Jaffa_Cake101/Hartside%20Summit%20Sunday%2021st%20November%202010/100_1099.jpg)
Finally got home just before five and ordered myself a lovely curry from my local curry house to warm me up. All part of my calorie controlled diet.
Hope you enjoyed reading; I'll post the video when I get it sorted.
Once again great pictures and story .. you must have been VERY cold, but looks like it was all worth it !
I must take my hat off to you, well I would if I had one ;D just as well I never went. just would have moaned most the day! done my fair share of cold weather riding over the years. must arange a meet when the weather picks up. p.s dam nice pics thou!
Its a great place to go when the weather is fine. I'll put it in my diary to go again next year and not wait two years this time.