Only half a day – I got little sleep and had a bad cold, so much so breathing was difficult so I bailed out at Settle.
Those stats; 15.5 miles at about 10pm. 2,635ft of climbing in the last 5 miles or so.
And breakfast at the Black Horse Hotel:
A grey start in soft drizzle:
The route was relatively (hah – in the sense that nowhere in the Dales is horizontal) flat. Onward through more drizzle turning to rain and back to drizzle. Then the climbing started .
John patiently accompanied my slow progress to the top. By then I knew I couldn’t sensibly do the same climb and mileage again, so settled for Settle.
A very steep descent and to a large cycle shop/café in the centre of town. I was relieved to get a taxi easily to Kendal. The driver told me that a lot of his jobs were ferrying tired/injured/ill walkers and cyclists around!
I was disappointed not to have finished but it was the right decision. A good meal that evening and off to Scotland the next morning.
As before when cycling in the UK the sheer beauty of our country never ceases to impress – as here:
A great tour; scenery, food and company brilliant.
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