This ride here is for someone that has the whole day to them selves.
Or they has this cyclist friend who says " you'll be just fine."
But be careful.. if this is the one you have decided to tackle just after you cleaned off the cob webs from your face while pulling the bike out of your shed then maybe you want to pick something easier. Not here to discourage.. just make sure you have someone that will come pick you up, just in case.
When I did it the first time then my idea was to do 100km or 60 miles in local currency..
I did it 2-3 years ago. I still had my silver bike. Which was one of the best second hand bikes I bought.
Side note.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money on a bike that you aren't really sure you will even ride that much but want to give it a go then try "The Bikes college" here in Leeds.
Not an advertisement but they do have cheap refurbished bikes for sale there. It's not new but is professionally repaired and you are basically recycling the cycling.. there is a pun or a joke here but I can't be arsed about now.
Anyway.. it's my personal opinion but I am sure that you'll find better bike there than if you get a new one from Amazon or Argos ..
Back to the route.
So I took two big bottles of yellow fizzy sports drink that starts with letter L that I can't spell as much as I try and few apples and few chocolate bars.
You must make sure you keep your self hydrated and fed. Best practice is to have your liquids hours before you are setting off to stay hydrated for longer. Yes I know I have heard people say "ehh.. I am sure that I'll get thirsty before I'll get dehydrated.. I am 100% sure of that"
They aren't absolutely wrong but the problem with it is that you'll start crashing slowly until your motivation will suffer until the point where you will start questioning your crazy idea of cycling so far. There is no band at the end to play you in the town of Skipton and no trophy or podium..
This here .. you are dehydrated.
To stay focused. Make sure to stop every half hour or hour. Have a little break. Don't sit down and chill. That will not help at all.
Stay up. Make a selfie. Look around. Take your headphones out and have a listen around you. Give a boat captain a nod or a wave. Check your progress. Tell your loved ones how far have you gone.
And jump back on.
Things to see.
I will not put pics of the things to see because that will absolutely ruin the whole point.
And what I might find interesting you might not be interested and vice versa.
But still I have to say something so. After Rodley it gets very country side like. Fields with cows and horses up and down. I can't tell you how many times you'll be amazed by some animal you'll see and will be wondering what was that or .."wow look at that big one there just stood by the water." But it's gone before you have your phone locked and loaded.
So back in the day we just used to remember moments like this and then use it as conversation piece during when everyone is done with talking about that cat video they once saw.
You roll in Shipley.
On both sides you'll see salt mills. I am almost sure that they have nothing to do with the salt we put on our chips. And I think it's something to do with a guy by the name of Titus Salt.
"The Boathouse Inn" might be open and they serve nice coffee there. They have a good menu as well so if you are there at the right time you might as well have something to eat.
Five rise locks.
Next object of interest is these locks. As the name suggests it is basically canal locks.. and it's 5 of them on top of each other. Pretty impressive structure when you get to see it for the first time.
This is where it gets pretty.
The path will straighten out now for a while but you'll get to see amazing views to your left and to your right. There will be a point where you'll think you are a character in a period book a and you are a messenger on a horse delivering news to a dutches in Silsden.
The difficult bit.
After Silsden it will get bit wonky. The path becomes bit muddy at parts. Look out for tree roots. Pointy rocks and whatever else could dismount you before you wanted to.
It will be like that for bit but don't worry.. it will get better and it means that you aren't far from Skipton now.
Some more miles of beautiful views of Yorkshire fields and you are in Skipton.
You aren't done yet. You have to cycle just a bit further now. There is the milestone that says 30 miles and a quarter. That's where you take a selfie and quickly go back to Skipton to get your self a good rest with some nice coffee and sandwiches or even a pint. Skipton is almost like from a postcard. To younger reader "post card" is like Instagram post but it comes in your mail.
Congratulations, you are half way there.
Yes unfortunately all great things come to an end but then again you get to see stuff that you might have missed on the way here.
Oh don't forget to refill on everything you used up and head back home.
Take your breaks .. drink your waters ..
When you eventually will stop in Leeds city centre (at the back of trian station with that big white building on your right. That's 100k or 60 miles.
YOU DID IT!!.
Well done. No matter how far you managed or even the whole way. You now have one great adventure in your bag of adventures. You probably even learned something about your self. One thing for sure. Your but will hurt and you'll sleep like a log.
Be safe and see you out there.
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