Day 11 - Wednesday 8th August - York to Barnard Castle

Weather - Wet and Windy to start - dry later

Distance - 70.5 miles

Camp Site - Barnard Castle Cricket Club, Vane Road, Barnard Castle

This morning we made our way out of York on the busy A19 for a couple of miles before turning off onto side roads to go to Boroughbridge and Ripon. Boroughbridge is an attractive small town but it was too early to stop. By the time we got to Ripon at 27 miles it was raining heavily and we were again very wet and miserable. We stopped at a small café which was upstairs above the shops and which served very nice home made cakes and the usual hot drinks. The owner was a cyclist himself and was very sympathetic to a group of very wet, hungry and thirsty cyclists. When we had warmed up and had double helpings of home made cakes all round it was time to go out to brave the weather again. It was still raining but we set off again feeling very slightly better after the refreshments.

Lunch today was in a pub in Bedale in the wide main street at 40 miles. We chose a pub which was very quiet when we first arrived but it soon filled with damp cyclists looking for something to eat and quickly swamped the kitchen who had trouble keeping up with the orders. Luckily the first arrivals were served fairly quickly and we were able to move on before we started to get cold from sitting still.

It had stopped raining by now and we rode towards Richmond passing through Catterick on the way. We seemed to be cycling through the Catterick Garrison for several miles. I had not previously realised what a large establishment it actually is.

The steep hill and cobbles in the centre of Richmond made difficult cycling but it is an attractive town centre. We stopped long enough to find the toilets and the cash machine at a bank - both essentials for touring cyclists and then out of town on the A6108 before turning left on to a minor road and a further steep climb out of the town. There were road works half way up the hill and the traffic was controlled by lights and even one of the fittest members of the group later said that he was pleased that the lights turned red against him and he was able to rest for a short time before tackling the rest of the steep hill.

Then on towards Barnard Castle passing over the interesting Walton Bridge at 66 miles. The final run into Barnard Castle seemed never ending at the end of a long day but we eventually passed the imposing Bowes Museum on our right as we came into the town centre. Up a short hill after the market place and along Marshall Street we came to the Cricket Club, our camp site for the night.

The showers tonight were at the Teesdale Leisure Centre some ¾ mile from the cricket ground. Alex used his car to ferry people to the centre in groups. He took a group who showered and were ready to be returned to the camp site when the next group arrived. We really could not face a further cycle ride at the end of the 70 miles. The showers made up for the difficulty of getting to them however. The Leisure Centre was a smart modern building with some of the best showers in the whole trip. There was also a very nice swimming pool which we could use if we wished.

Although the Club House was fairly basic the Cricket Club members made us very welcome and were very interested to hear about our cycle ride. They had even organised a disco for later in the evening in our honour. Some of the younger members and even one or two older members of our group stayed up late until the disco ended but others decided that enough was enough and that an early night was in order to prepare for the next day!

Earlier in the evening a large number of young people arrived and spilt up into groups for cricket tuition. This appeared to be extremely popular and well supported and was run by the club in the school holidays to attract young people to the game of cricket and to give them the necessary tuition and practice. Some of them stayed around afterwards with their parents to take advantage of the disco. It was a pleasure to stay at a well run club with a keen and active membership.