At 10 o'clock I was ready to depart at the start point in Kildale, but was on my own! I had seen several members driving around, but a combination of failing to find the station, or finding it and not wanting to park there and general indecision, had caused a bit of a delay. Nevertheless by about 5 past 10 we had a quorum of 8 cyclists and we headed up to the moors via Commondale, followed by our customary photo stop with Shaun the sheep and then turned East towards the coast.
There was nearly a disaster on the fast descent towards the Guisborough road crossing as my banana fell out of my saddle bag. Luckily nobody ran over it and Graham B rescued it for me, so it was eaten to avoid any further risks!
There is lots to see along the way on this ride, industrial history, then the breakwater and boats at Skinningrove, so keeping everyone moving along was a bit of a challenge, but always interesting.
The departure from Skinningrove involves a steep climb up 'Heart Attack Hill'. Last year there was major subsidence and we were worried about losing a wheel down some of the cracks, but now resurfaced we all made it to the top without it living up to its name. A bit more climbing then steep descents brought us to the beautiful coastal village of Staithes. After a quick look round we were more than ready for lunch and tried out a new venue, Dotty's tea room. We were well looked after and the food was good, though not unexpectedly a little expensive given the seaside location.
Leaving Staithes involves a very steep climb on cobbles with an audience of day trippers, but we all managed it without embarrassment before heading inland on a superb undulating country road, then over the moors to Danby where we all treated ourselves to cakes and enjoyed sitting outside in the sun.
A fair bit more climbing brought us back over to Kildale and the end of the ride that some described as brutal, but the scenery was superb, the weather had been kind, everyone made it, everyone enjoyed it and it will definitely be back on the programme again next year.
Greg McN