The 2021 Rideout 5-9th July.
A report by Chairman Richard
Monday 5th
A grey start to my day with a little drizzle but refrained from putting the waterproofs on. I was first at the garden Centre but over the next half hour the other 8 riders arrived some with waterproofs on as the east and south of Preston had seen some sharp showers. At around 10:30 we set off up the A6 to follow my scenic route to Shap avoiding Lancaster and all of the lake district. First stop was Devils Bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale for a leg stretch and coffee and then on up the Sedbergh road to just above Middleton where we branched left to pass just east of Killington. A mile further on we branched left again through Firbank and on down to pass the railway viaduct at Beckfoot. We joined A685 and headed for Tebay along that lovely valley that runs alongside the motorway and up to Tebay and the Cross Keys Inn for refreshments.
From Tebay we crossed the motorway and took the road to Orton and forked left at the George Hotel to take the moorland road to join the A6 just south of Shap Village.
From Shap village it was a straight run up to Eamont Bridge and the A66 where we crossed the motorway and headed west to the services for a fuel stop. From here 5 miles on the A66 to the Hutton Roof turn and then with Blencathra to our left we drove through the lanes to Hesket Newmarket arriving about 3 pm. Susan, the proprietor arrived a short while later and we were shown our rooms. Everyone was pleased with the accommodation, very clean and spacious. So after unloading the bikes and parking them round the back we headed for the Old Crown pub which opened at 5pm to meet Simon, the landlord and his business partner to check our meal arrangements. The restaurant is normally closed on Monday but I had spoken to Simon and he agreed to open specially for our group. Before the meal some of us walked up to see where Peter had parked his Camper van. A nice site and some animals for children (and me) to pet! Back at the pub a pleasant evening was spent in the warm sunshine. We had a good meal, so much so that we decided to book all week for our evening meal at the Old Crown.
Tuesday 6th Richard’s run to Alston
Everyone was up and in for breakfast at 08:30 which was a very good English breakfast with plenty of toast, tea and coffee.
It had rained overnight and some bikes were not covered. Tony was worst affected with water in his magneto and it took some time to dry it out. He wanted us to go and leave him but such was the determination to fix such a simple problem we persevered with a positive outcome.
I was the leader for the day and the plan for the first stage was to meander through the villages along the Eden river valley and stop at the Animal sanctuary Cafe just outside Wetheral. This went as planned and we arrived at the sanctuary a bit wet but not too bad and received a warm welcome from the staff. We ordered drinks and cakes and were shown to a marquee at the back and sat round tables while being waited on. The ladies wanted photos of us and took a group photo and a picture of the bikes outside which they have now put up on their Facebook page! Look at their 7th July posts here https://www.facebook.com/OakTreeAnimalsCharity/
After the coffee break it was a little drier and from here we went on to Wetheral where I missed out the town centre by taking a diversion down to the river and along its bank under a railway viaduct coming out on the road that exits the town. From here we went up to Warwick bridge and up to the traffic lights at Corby Hill where we turned right and then forked left to get onto the road to Castle Carrock. Not much here but the village green and a couple of Pubs and having rested earlier we carried on for a mile and took the right fork to Talkin and then Hallbankgate where we joined the A689 that took us all the way to Alston. It was about here in the ride that the heavens started to open and continued all the way to Alston where we stopped for lunch. Well I say lunch, we were all still full of English breakfast and cakes so we stood under the market square shelter while we drank and ate what refreshments we had and as soon as the rain had abated we set off on stage 3 to get back home. Dave’s bike wouldn’t start so he tried a bump start down the hill, but no luck, so we all parked up and offered advice and encouragement to try to solve the problem. Luckily Dave had almost a complete ignition system in his spares and we slowly replaced each part until it was diagnosed as the pickup sensor unit. After opening it up and looking inside, and finding nothing wrong it was put back together and a last try of the kickstart gave a spark. Magic! The bike seemed to run fine so the tank and seat were put back on and we set off. A mile later I realised we were short of a few riders and went back to find them. Water in Tony’s mag was the problem again but he soon fixed it and off we rode to climb up to the top of Hartside. At this point the rain realy started to come down and we rode into the clouds. The overlook at the top of the Hartside pass was not visible and road visibility ahead was down to 10 yards so very slowly we descended out of the clouds and into weak sunshine where we did get a glimpse of the view over Penrith to the lake district. As we got lower the rain stopped and we passed through Melmerby, turned for Plumpton and crossed the A6 to Uthank and home to Hesket Newmarket where we arrived at 4:15.
Our meal was scheduled for 6:00 and we all met up again in the Old Crown for drinks and the meal. Almost one full round of drinks was bought for us by Sailor Steve Pickard as he couldn’t make the trip and donated his deposit to the group. Thanks Steve.
A good days ride despite the weather and good support from all with the breakdowns.
Wednesday 7th Bob’s run to Silloth
Today Bob was the leader and so after the usual breakfast we got the bikes out on a sunny morning and prepared to set off just after 10:00. Oh dear, today it was Cliff’s turn to have water in the magneto, but he quickly dried it out and 5 minutes later we were on our way. This time we went to Caldbeck on our way to Wigton for petrol and when we arrived at Wigton the garage was closed with a tanker filling the tanks! Bob took us through the town to another garage but it had stopped selling petrol so he led us out onto to the A590 to a big service station where we filled up and then retraced our route to get back on the road to Kirkbride and then Bowness-on-Solway. Here we joined the coast road round the Solway AONB and stopped at a car park overlooking the Solway to Scotland. Many photos were taken here of blokes and bikes!
We then continued on round the coastal road back towards Kirkbride but turned off to head for Silloth, again along the coastal road with views over the salt marshes and then sand dunes.
At Silloth Bob led us to the motorcycle museum where we were treated to a warm welcome by Jim Snaith a former TT rider and creator of the museum. A good and interesting museum for any rider interested in the TT or in the now defunct Silloth motor racing circuit.
From here we headed for the lifeboat station car park where we headed out to get ice creams and look around. It was very warm here and a funfair was running so it seemed quite an attractive seaside town. As a sailor I spoke to the lifeboat crew and they knew some of the staff who man the Lytham and St Anne’s lifeboats some of whom are members of my club in Lytham. Small world!
From here Bob took us down the coast through Allonby, another attractive seaside location, and on to Maryport where we did a circular tour of the docks to end up at a cafe overlooking the boats in the harbour. Here a lovely local lady came and spoke to us and told us all about her memories of the port and the surroundings over the last 60 or so years. Very interesting. The route back took us to Aspatria and along a beautiful valley looking over to Skiddaw and Blencathra and shortly we arrived in Hesket Newmarket after a lovely ride at around 4pm.
It was the night of the Football match between England and Denmark so our meal was at 5:30 and shortly after the meal the pub filled up to watch the match. Some of us took our drinks back to Denton Lodge to watch the TV in the lounge before retiring.
Thursday 8th Dave’s 5 lakes Run
All the bikes started OK today but just as we were preparing Dave L came over to say he was not feeling too good and would be returning home. We all wished him a safe journey and continued our preparations. With 9 riders we set off back down the lovely valley that Bob had brought us up the previous day and here I made a big faux pas. Some time further back Phil had stopped to tighten something on his carrier and the last 4 riders had fallen back. I failed to check for the rider behind me when we turned off and only a bout a mile later did I realise they were not with me. I turned round and went back to the turning point and waited. Tony and Cliff returned as well and after a few phone calls we were able to contact them and make arrangements to meet up at the first coffee break. Lesson learned. Make sure you have the rider behind in sight when making a turn.
We called in at the petrol station in Keswick and filled up. The traffic here was quite busy. We then set off towards Derwent Water. The ride round Catbells was great with sharp rising “S” bends that kept you concentrated on riding, along the lake and down to Rosthwaite where we all met up again at a tea shop hidden in a farmyard. How did Dave find that?? A decent break here for refreshments and then we carried on to Seatoller over the Honister Pass, where the slate mine looked very busy, and down to Buttermere, Crummock Water, Loweswater and on to the Wild Duck at Branthwaite for lunch. Dave had told them we were coming for lunch but apologised to the staff about us not needing a big lunch due to the large breakfasts we were partaking of. We just had drinks or a bowl of soup before leaving for the ride home via Whinlatter Pass. At some point on the way to Whinlatter pass Bob acquired a puncture on a quiet country lane so we all gathered round to assist as much as we could. I made friends with a nice grey horse in a field next to the repair site and was sad to leave as it was a very friendly horse! The home run was up the west side of Bassenthwaite and on to Udale where we joined the valley road back to Hesket Newmarket arriving at around 5pm just in time for our meal at 5:30.
As usual the food was very good and we had a whip round for the staff who had served us so well over the week. I thanked Simon and the staff for their good service and Bob dug out an AJS/Matchless club sticker for his bar ornamentation!
A good ride by Dave taking in the best of the north lakes.
Friday 9th The ride home.
10:00am All are packed, paid and ready for off. We thanked Susan for an enjoyable stay and then moved all the bikes to the front of The old Crown where Simon and his business partner had cleared the cars and were eager to take some photos of us all before we left. Photo session over we set off down to Mungrisdale to the A66 and left to Penrith. Just as we arrived at the M6 roundabout Phil broke his clutch cable so we hastily got to the side of the road and parked on the footpath to go back to help. Dave had a spare clutch cable and it was soon fitted but the inner was a little too short so the cable was removed, the lock nut removed to allow a little more slack and that fixed it. We rode round the crowded roundabout and continued to the A6 junction roundabout where I took the wrong exit and ended up on the A66 heading to Brough. As there was no option at this point to turn back we headed down the A66 until I saw a sign for Appleby and knowing this was just north of Tebay we took that turn and headed into Appleby. It was a very nice village with all the signs that it had been a very important place in the past with grand buildings, pillars with sundials on them and wide tree lined streets. We carried on through and took the road over the moors to Orton. On the moors we passed some highland cattle with one bull sporting huge horns, not an animal to argue with! At Orton we joined the planned route down to Tebay to stop at the Cross Keys for lunch. An uneventful run down to Kirkby Lonsdale followed and here Phil left us to go his own way home. The remainder followed the usual return route to Dolphinholme where Dave, Cliff, John and Bob left us to ride down to Brock. Alan and Tony followed me down to Scorton and the A6 where Alan and I waved goodbye to Tony at the Churchtown Junction as we headed into Fylde.
I thoroughly enjoyed our week away with a great bunch of riders and some lovely rides through unfamiliar territory. Perhaps we will visit Hesket Newmarket again.