Dave and Karen Petty
The published works of Dave P.

Over the years, Dave has had a few articles published in The Tandem Club Journal and the Rough Stuff Journal. Here they are for all to read, unedited and as they appeared in the magazines.

The Fish and Chip supper.

Published in the Tandem Club Journal, June/July 2007

  August 2006 saw us camping at Ash Farm near Taunton, eagerly anticipating a week of relaxing sunshine, plenty of good food and drink and with a little cycling thrown in to justify the amount of calories being consumed. After spending Monday doing nothing special, we fancied a few miles cycling in warm evening sun to a local pub for our evening meal. Food and a couple of beers relaxing in a sunny beer garden seemed like a perfect end to a pleasant day. Scanning the very new 2006 'CAMRA' Good Beer Guide and the less new OS map sheet 193 , we'd picked out The Canal Inn at Wrantage, 3 miles away, probably with a beer garden facing the sun, evening food available, good beer on hand pumps, absolute bliss even though it didn't seem to be near a canal. According to the beer guide, it had a Spanish landlord, served Tapas and had half a dozen local beers available, perfect. We'd been lounging around in shorts for the last couple of hours so we had showers and changed into cycling gear which was fresh enough not to upset any customers sitting upwind of us, and away we went.

  The campsite is only a couple of minutes from the local pub, The Nags Head. As we cycled past, we were wondering if the Gammon was as good as it looked last night. "We'll eat here one night", we both said. Onwards towards our tea we went, across the main A358 and up the slight hill with fabulous views in the slowly sinking sun. Left at the traffic lights and still slightly uphill then, suddenly, downhill, freewheeling all the way to Wrantage, the pub and our tea. We knew we'd have to pay for it later but we didn't mind, after all we'd have a couple of beers inside us by then and the last mile would be downhill back to the Nags Head.

  Arriving at the Canal Inn, we leant the tandem against a bench in the beer garden where the last of the sun was shining. Other tables where full of people eating, white paper spread around them. A lovely friendly place we thought, they even let the customers bring their own fish and chips into the beer garden. We walked in to the pub and Karen said "Better ask if they're doing food", she always says that and they always are. I asked anyway. "Oh yes" came the cheerful reply, "it's fish and chip night". That explained the scene in the beer garden. "Great, we'll have a couple of portions of fish and chips and a couple of beers" we said, expectantly. "We're out of fish" said the chappy behind the bar, "we've got plenty of chips though". He looked a bit puzzled when we decided to skip the beer, turned down the chips and left.

  We were getting a bit hungry by this time, after all we had cycled 3 miles. Unlocking the tandem and staring at the map, we ignored the wonderfully named 'North Curry' because there's no pub marked on our OS map. Instead, we found a pub marked at Lower Knapp, a couple of miles of undulating road farther away from the campsite, but not to far too get back to the Nags Head before last orders. Lower Knapp wasn't mentioned in the beer guide, that shouldn't be a problem though, lots of good pubs aren't in the guide. Arriving at Lower Knapp at high speed in a 'downhill and getting very hungry' sort of way, we had some difficulty locating the pub. When we eventually found it, it had obviously been turned into a private house many years before, just how old is this map of ours? Sixteen years old as it turned out, when we bothered to check. Perhaps it's time to refresh the map collection, this isn't the first time we've been caught out.

  We're now 5 miles from camp, it's 8 o'clock, the sun is setting and it's getting chilly. More to the point, we're still hungry. Those gammon steaks at the Nags Head suddenly seemed too good to leave until Friday so, pointing the tandem back up the hill, off we went. Why is it always uphill at the start? Over the hill we went and down the far side, wondering whether the Nags Head kitchen staff might be having a night off tonight. Luckily, they weren't, the gammon was available, and they weren't too upset when they asked us "Egg or pineapple?" and we said "Both. Please". Out into the beer garden we went, with a pint of Cotleigh Tawny Bitter to wait for our food, the tandem leaning against a table. We drank, and listened to occasional passing families discussing the weirdness of cyclists in general and tandems in particular. We devoured our food when it arrived, and it was every bit as good as it looked, although not quite the 'Fish and Chips' supper we'd been expecting a little earlier. If those families could have seen us wobbling back to camp from the Nags Head a couple of hours later, they'd have a much better idea of how weird tandemists really can be when they try. Two days later, we found out that North Curry has a couple of pubs serving food. Oh well...

Dave and Karen P.

Market Weighton, East Yorkshire

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A Landescape experience part II - the pub crawl.

Published in the Tandem Club Journal, June 2006

  We didn't intend to do a tandem tour in 2005, too busy with the new business and we'd already had a couple of holidays earlier in the year plus some good weekends, it should have been enough for one year. However, you can't have too many holidays and having accidentally bought a new Landescape in August, we felt it was only right to give it a reasonable test ride. For once, the weather forecast for August bank holiday was promising something other than rain so a plan was born. Planning only started a couple of days in advance so it was never going to be a very grand plan but surely a couple of days is all it takes to book a few campsites if you've only got a tandem and a lightweight tent. Erm, no actually. Even with a Camping and Caravanning Club guide, it took 20 or so phone calls to get pitches on 2 sites for Friday and Saturday, Sunday was going to be 'pot luck' as they say. Thursday evening was spent sorting through the camping gear, finding the lightweight bits hidden at the back of the cupboard for the last couple of years. The Yak trailer hasn't seen much use so that was dragged out to carry the camping gear with the remaining clothes, food, cameras and maps distributed around various panniers and a handlebar bag. We like to pack light when we travel as you can probably tell, not that we take much more on a longer holiday, just more knickers and socks…

  Friday morning saw the bike in a work stand for a quick check, 700c wheels swapped for the 26" set, trailer and panniers were loaded and by lunch time the sun was shining, just time for a few photographs taken by a helpful neighbour and we were away. Being a bank holiday in England, 5 minutes later it started to drizzle! Leaving Market Weighton, we braved the main Hull to York road for a couple of miles before turning off through Pocklington to quieter roads. Passing Fangfoss, Dave's plan to stop at the pub was thwarted when Karen pointed out that we hadn't been travelling long enough to stop just yet. It had been less than an hour since we left the house so she was probably right; it was the only disagreement of the weekend and also the only 'dry session'. With the wind behind us and sunshine with intermittent light showers, it was a pleasant ride and a good opportunity to get a feel of the Landescape fully loaded and towing a trailer. It's a stiffer bike than the old Dawes, and much, much longer with that trailer hanging on at the back. Remembering just how long it is will take some getting used to; heavy traffic and 'T' junctions will be interesting for a while yet. Having said that, handling was much easier, 27 speed STI gears and disc brakes seemed to be a reliable combination and certainly easy to use, much safer than the old 6 speed downtube gear shift and slightly loose front V brake on the Dawes.

  Skirting around Malton, we crossed the A64 and climbed our first proper hill from Barton Hill, past the obelisk on the Castle Howard estate, then down through the estate, past the lake and on towards to our first campsite at Kirby Misperton, just a few hundred yards from the Flamingo Land theme park. Ashfield Caravan Park is located behind the Ashfield Hotel, nice modern facilities and level ground to set the tent up, a good campsite although with many more caravans than tents. The hotel provided a novel carvery style evening meal and several pints of Adnams Broadsword, the quiz afterwards was the most fun we've had in years. There was a spectacular argument at a nearby table when the quizmaster, the local village bobby no less, was accused of favouring one particular team by asking the same questions as in previous weeks. I thought pub quizzes should be a bit of good humoured fun, obviously it's more cut throat than that, great entertainment all-round.

  Saturday started off cool and breezy, although once the bacon butties and coffee were ready, we didn't mind too much. A slow packing session and on the road again, stopping off at Hovingham to visit the grocery shop and talk to the St Bernard lying in the adjacent driveway. The shop had some nice buns and chocolate, the dog didn't seem very bothered about anything except getting a little more sleep. Up and down over Grimston Moor before dropping down to Bransby for lunch on the bench outside the excellent Ebor Stores, a great source of nourishment both hot and cold. From there, up the hill through Crayke to the Durham Ox were we had a very pleasant hour in the sheltered and very pretty terraced beer garden, sampling the delights of both Brains and St Austell breweries. After lunch, we passed through Easingwold and arrived at Boroughbridge in the late afternoon, in time to park up and do some food shopping. The Spar provided necessities, the nearby delicatessen provide the luxuries and very luxurious they where too, especially the tiffin. We soon covered the last couple of miles to Roecliffe where we'd booked to stay on the Camping and Caravanning Club certificated site behind the Crown Inn. We arrived to find Hull had just beaten some west riding team in the Rugby League cup, the bar was full of wessies so we slipped quietly out to set up the tent without mentioning that we came from anywhere near Hull. The facilities were fine, adequate rather than spectacular, a bit of a walk to the toilets and showers and don't look in the corners too closely if you're easily scared. The sunshine continued into the evening, warm in spite of the cool SW breeze which had been against us for most of the day. The pub was fully booked for food, so we offered to eat outside, although they found us an indoor table at the last minute. The menu was more restaurant than bar snack, no doubt a sign of the increasing popularity of eating out, but the food was very good. Retiring to the bar afterwards to sample the Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Hambleton Ales, we made friends with the beaten rugby league fans and enjoyed a pleasant evening. We never did tell them were we came from though.

  Sunday started grey and overcast with spots of rain. We went back through Boroughbridge and then round quite back roads heading towards York. Lunch was taken in the sun on a bench at Cattal before visiting the Boot and Shoe at Tockwith, where it was warm enough to sit out and sample the Samuel Smiths bitter. We set off again full of good intentions but stopped a couple of miles later at the Sun Inn at Long Marston for more Sam Smiths. Working our way around York through Copmanthorpe, we reached our target of Acaster Malbis. The sun shone on Moor End Farm campsite and they had space for a small tent so we pitched, finished the tiffin bought from that Boroughbridge deli, and went for a walk along the River Ouse and around the village. There are several campsites in the village, all looked very busy, mostly bigger and more caravan oriented than Moor End which was very friendly and quiet. Apart from a squeaky pedal and a loose ahead set bearing, the bike was still behaving perfectly. The pedals were transferred from the old Dawes so had seen a few miles of service anyway, the loose headset turned out to be a problem with the locking device on the Hope bearings, easily fixed when we got home but a nuisance whilst we were away. The evening meal was provided by The Ship Inn, good bar food and warm enough to sit outside again, with several glasses of Timothy Taylor's Landlord to help the digestion.

  Our last day dash for home started early for once, waking to a cool sunny morning which quickly became breezy and overcast. Crossing the River Ouse on the old railway line which forms part of the Trans Pennine Cycleway, and with a helpful breeze, we were stopping for breakfast on the village green at Elvington by 9:30, earlier than we would normally get away from the campsite. A quick run through the back roads and small villages saw us home in Market Weighton just in time to beat the rain which had threatened all weekend.

  The trailer was great for carrying the camping gear without loading the weight onto the bike, although the Landescape is much more capable of carrying the weight than our old Dawes was. The Tandem behaved perfectly apart from the headset, which turned out to be a problem with the new 'Star Doctor' adjuster used by Hope. It was removed and replaced by a conventional star nut and the problem went away. The tandem owners behaved slightly less perfectly, needing rather more practise and probably rather less alcohol, but it was good fun, a great introduction to touring with the Landescape, next time we may get a few more miles in, although whether we'll be able to control the alcohol level any better is open to question...

Dave and Karen P., East Yorkshire

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A Landescape experience - The York connection.

Published in the Tandem Club Journal, October 2005

  The weather was forecast to be dire for the Friday of this year's York Cycle Rally, so we dug out the waterproofs, risked the weather and cycled the 22 miles anyway. We went on our old and occasionally reliable Dawes Supergalaxy, a first outing for the trailer that we'd bought a year previously and never got around to using. After spending a couple of hours working out how to actually get everything into the trailer, it started to rain as we set off wondering if the weather forecast was actually going to be right for once. It was the weekend of Glastonbury Festival, remember the floods and the tents hit by lightning. For us it was a dry and thoroughly enjoyable weekend, although a day trip might have been cheaper!

  If you visited the Rally this year, you may have seen the Landescape tandem display. We certainly did, and we found Pete Bird's new design both innovative and interesting, well worth a proper review. A quick chat with Ruth and John on the adjoining JD Cycles stand and we'd booked a test ride, all we had to do was hope that the frames would arrive in time for John to actually get a test bike built. Saturday evening was spent at the campsite watching the folk band and imbibing a few cans of foaming ale. By the end of the evening, we knew we needed another look at the Landescape, we had important questions to resolve, such as 'the red one or the blue one?' Sunday morning dawned and as the stands opened, we headed for the trade tents again. The credit card was getting restless in Dave's wallet, knowing it's time was coming. A longer chat with Pete Bird and we realised how many options he had designed into the new frame, different wheel sizes, brake options, height adjustment on the Ahead bearings and more besides. We even managed to get a quick ride on the demo bike in the tryout area, we were convinced, we just needed that test ride and could hardly wait for the next two weeks to pass.

  Crawling from our nice comfy bed at 6.00AM on a Saturday is just not something we do, however we made a special effort and got to JD Cycles in Ilkley shortly after they opened. There was a bike ready to test, just pedals and seat adjustments to make, route suggestions from John to absorb and we were off. The weather was great, cool breeze and sunshine, perfect for testing a new bike. John's route around Bolton Abbey and with a couple of local hills thrown in to get the hang of things was a perfect test, we were as happy with the new bike as we'd hoped to be. We stopped often, to change settings and see how the bike reacted, to talk to the many local cyclists who were all interested in the tandem, and just to admire the views. We did also stop for tea and scones at the café in Bolton Abbey, but we think there's a law forbidding tandem riders from passing tea shops so we were just doing our bit really.

  25 miles and several hours later, we got back to JD's and took up Ruth's offer of a quick ride on a Santana as a comparison. It was good, better in some areas and less in others, not good enough overall to tempt us away from the Landescape. A quick change from sweaty cycling clothes to something less likely to make other customers ill and we started the interesting business of specifying the new bike. We'd already decided on two wheelsets, 700c for commuting to work and local rides, 26*1.5 for touring and occasional off-road activities. Now we had to sort out gears, bottom brackets, bars and all of the other bits and pieces essential to getting a new bike on the road. The Landescape is available as a complete bike with several basic build options to choose from, you only need to change things if there's something specific you want. We went for the front and rear cable disc brake option, with upgraded STI brake / gear change and a better chainset to get the gear ratios we wanted. Front and rear pannier racks were added to the pile along with some bits and bobs, the list was complete.

  Three weeks passed, we returned to Ilkley with a fully rested credit card and space cleared on the roof bars for John to fit a hydraulic tandem rack. The new bike gleamed away in the shop, we just had to have a quick test ride whilst John started to assemble the new roof rack, it was as good as we'd hoped, maybe even better. A short session of fitting the lift to the roof bars and John was ready to show us how it worked, a quick adjustment and it was all sorted. Just time to pick a few extra treats from the showroom shelves, the bill was paid without a single flinch from the credit card and we headed home. The sun shone, we'd have been horrified to get the new bike wet before we'd even ridden it properly. Since then, we've had a couple of quick test rides to get it set up, used it to commute to work a couple of times, and we've done a 'Sunday lunch at the pub' type outing. We've even been off-road with it, three miles of farm track and wet, muddy and slippery forest track. On the mountain bikes, we'd have whizzed through, on a new tandem it was a slower and more careful experience. We're still experimenting with the settings, however the disc brakes and the stiff, light weight frame are great and confidence inspiring, we're extremely happy with it so far. The next step is to hitch the trailer up and get away for a few days camping, watch this space…

  Thanks to Ruth and John for their time and experience to help us chose the right specification for our needs, and to Pete Bird for designing a great frame and a well specced, value for money bike. Only time will tell, it really does look like a good buy, we're quite glad that we risked the York Rally weather.
P.S. We got a red one in the end, in case you were wondering. The credit card is recovering nicely and with care should be able to lead a full and normal life sometime soon after Christmas.

Dave and Karen P., East Yorkshire

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A wet Wensleydale track

Published in the Rough Stuff Journal, circa Dec 2000

  The Yorkshire Dales is a fabulous area for both cycling and walking and we spend some time there most years, this time for a week with a friend who had booked a cottage in Askrigg in Wensleydale. After a quiet first day, when we took the opportunity of some very good weather to go for a local walk, and re-familiarise ourselves with the village pubs, the weather turned cold, wet and windy. We were grateful for the central heating and not in the least regretful about leaving the tent behind for once. We did take the bikes out once, early in the week, however we were driven back after a few road miles by cold, heavy rain and strengthening wind. After a couple of shopping trips, exhausting all of the outdoor gear shops within about 30 miles, we finally got some good weather for a walk on the Thursday, with a good forecast for the next day, hopefully it would be time to get the bikes out again.

  The day dawned sunny and clear so, in spite of it being Friday 13th, we had some breakfast, removed the rain cover from the bikes and set off. Heading eastwards out of Askrigg, we turned south after ¼ mile, towards Worton where we crossed the main A684 for a steep road climb to Cubeck and on to Thornton Rust. Here we took the track on the right through the car park, bearing left onto a bridleway which became a boggy and occasionally rocky climb westwards, up to and across Thornton Rust Moor. Mostly, the track is pretty well defined, although it was so wet in places that it was necessary to use our imagination a little bit, happily the knobbly mountain bike tyres made it all rideable. At Carpley Green, the end of the bridleway arrived somewhat abruptly with a three foot drop which had us desperately reaching for the brakes to avoid taking unplanned flying lessons, pretty exciting on wet grass. Reaching the farmhouses, we turned southwards once again, this time on a stony track, with plenty of big rocks and four wheel drive ruts to make the ride that bit more challenging. Even the lowest gears weren't up to it, and we walked the steepest bits, just as well as some rocks where pretty slippery, traction was minimal and even pushing was difficult in places, particularly for the calf muscles.

  The pain didn't last long however, and on reaching the top, 536m high on Stake Allotments, we stopped to admire the views again, and take on some much needed food. Around now, we began to get that nagging feeling that something was missing, a quick walk back along the track confirmed that we had missed the next turning, some two hundred yards back down the hill, lost in a bog of four wheel drive tracks. Turning back, it's downhill now, for around three miles across Thoralby Common and Heck Brow, keeping straight ahead to avoid the other tracks crossing and joining the main bridleway. This section was very wet, with many small streams crisscrossing the track, forming peat bogs that were tricky to get through and caused huge water spouts as we whizzed along. There are disadvantages to mountain bikes, namely the lack of mudgaurds, it'll take weeks to get all of the mud off the bikes and the clothing. Towards the end, the bridleway becomes a rough, stony track, very fast for the one who had full suspension on his bike, although it may have been a plot by the others to ensure that all the gates were open by the time they reached them. Just before Thoralby at a 90 degree right hand bend, we decided to do one last stretch of bridleway, to avoid the steep road climb up into Aysgarth, which may have been a mistake on reflection.

  The grass and stone track made a nice change by being dry, although it climbed so steeply that we had to push all the way to the top which thankfully wasn't too far. Here the route became tricky to follow, with both a footpath and a bridleway, so we kept to the right where the bridleway appeared to go, and found ourselves wandering across a field full of bullocks who seemed very interested in cyclists. A quick exit from that field followed by a bit of hunting around, and we spotted our path climbing the other side of the valley, all we had to do was get to it. We passed through another field and headed briefly downhill to a wet, deep and boggy stream, crossed by a very narrow footbridge. We managed to carry all of the bikes across, just in time to open the gate for a horse rider who made it all look so much easier, and drier, especially climbing up the valley on the path we should have come down by. By now, we were all getting hungry, having been out longer than planned and consequently missing dinner. Additionally, the sun was lost behind the clouds and it was getting very cold, so at the end of the track we turned left onto the road near Riggs House and headed back to Thornton Rust. From here, we re-traced our route, down the steep hill and across to Worton for a quick ride across the flat river plain, finishing with the short uphill into Askrigg. Reaching the cottage, we headed straight for the kitchen and ate everything we could find, which didn't stop us going out later for a very good meal and several beers to round off a very enjoyable holiday. The ride itself was only 16 ½ miles, taking around 4 hours, even though most of it was rideable. However, it was very wet and muddy on the day we did the ride, causing problems even on mountain bikes, with clogged chains and gears, and so sticky that we had to pedal downhill in places, on road bikes it would have been a long push / carry, although better in dry weather. The views on a fine day such as we had made it all very worthwhile, it's a great way to see the Dales, and this ride is typical of the many routes available to both cyclists and walkers.

Dave & Karen, East Yorkshire.

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Pennine problems - an oily tour of Northern England

Published in the Tandem Club Journal, circa Oct 2000

  It's good when a plan comes together, unfortunately this wasn't one of those occasions. It began when we decided to start our July 2000 camping tour by catching a train to Sheffield. Tickets were booked before we found out that Northern Spirit don't carry tandems, getting the refund kept Karen busy for a couple of hours! The alternative Virgin train left much later and from York instead of from our workplace in Brough, which meant a 20 mile ride after work instead of jumping straight onto the train at lunchtime. A pleasant ride saw us in York with time to spare, although there was a last minute panic when the departure platform changed, getting the bike across several platforms was fun in a masochistic sort of way. We arrived in Sheffield in the evening rush hour, only marginally more fraught than the ride through York centre, with the added excitement that we didn't know the roads.

  We set off along the wrong road, uphill of course, stopping only to pick up the meths bottle as it fell off outside a pub full of students enjoying the evening sun. We soon found a downhill turning and had started to enjoy quieter roads when alarm set in as something flew off approaching a junction, panic following as we realised the front brake arm had snapped, luckily there was no traffic and both rear brakes worked. Too late for the shops, and with the nearest campsite little closer than our intended destination, we 'repaired' the front brake with a screw and continued nervously down the hill. The ups and downs during the remainder of the evening reminded us just how slowly we could cycle with a fully loaded tandem, and we were grateful for the new block with extra low bottom gear. We even gained some confidence in the front brake, although not very much! It would have been nicer still if the chain had stayed on the granny ring when changing down the gears, but at least the occasional rests were pleasant in the warm sun. In spite of some missing signposts and a quick stop to repair a broken pannier clip, we reached Bakewell in glorious sunshine and passed the pubs with minimal whimpering. A couple of miles further and we reached the campsite at Ashford in the Water, where a shower and a cold pasty made us feel better. As the beer and chilli peanuts from the campsite bar kicked in we felt positively rosy about our adventures, surely tomorrow would be less stressful?

  The next day was cool and overcast as we set out to repair the brakes more securely. The hire shop in Bakewell proved a no go so we headed for Matlock where a new set of brake arms and 15 minutes with the spanners saw us set off feeling more confident about stopping again. A quick spicy pasty from a local baker supplied energy for the uphill drag through Starkholmes, as we headed off towards Ashbourne. Lunch was enjoyed in the sun at Carsington Water, where the cycle path around the reservoir was inviting enough to abandon Ashbourne. The track was enjoyable, if a little breezy crossing the dam wall, and we followed it up, down and around until we were attacked by a small rock on a wobbly downhill section. The resulting small hole in the front tyre, and four large ones in the tube, were repaired with the least patched spare and we headed for the cycle shop in Matlock once again, making quicker time down the 1:8 at Warksworth than may have been sensible with a holed tyre and new front brake! Stopping only to finish our sandwiches in the sun by the river in Matlock Bath, we arrived back at the shop, buying a new tube and settling for a Michelin World Tour as the best available tyre. The wind turned behind us for the ride to the campsite, and the day was improved even further when the Co-op in Bakewell sold us some apple pies. Unfortunately, the earlier sunshine deserted us, so we cooked tea and headed for the pub as soon as was decently possible.

  We broke camp the next day in dull and chilly weather, and set off into a gentle head wind. Three miles later, a sudden rubbing sound turned out to be the newly fitted World Tour coming off the rim, exposing the tube and causing a blow-out as we came to a halt. At 3.5 miles per tube (a new record for us), cycling is getting expensive. The tyre was re-fitted with that faithful old, patched tube and we continued North over Longstone Edge, somehow managing to by-pass the Bulls Head at Little Hucklow on the way to Bradwell. Continuing with only brief stops to investigate noises which appeared to alternate between the rear drum and rim brakes, we crossed the A625 near the Travellers Rest, which used to be a very good cider pub and still has a campsite nearby, for a nice run through Aston and Thornhill down to Yorkshire Bridge at the South end of Ladybower Reservoir. A stiff climb up to the A613 was rewarded with a break when a Manchester couple spotted our full touring set-up wobbling and sweating up the hill and stopped for a chat. We approached jealousy eyeing their shiny Swallow MTB tandem, and spent the next ½ hour thinking about bank balances, before the hilly A57 away from Ladybower gave us other things to think about, including lots of club riders whizzing past our elbows on their 'Sunday best' lightweights. We Left the A57 for a chilly but attractive ride over Bradfield Moors, where the Manchester couple's warning of 'plenty of hills up there' came painfully true. We coped with most, although the 1:4 out of Edwin Beck had us beaten. On through Midhopestone to New Mill where a wrong turn added 2 miles to the journey to the campsite at Thongsbridge. A lovely little site, somewhat spoiled by warnings about a 14 year old local villain targeting the campsite, which meant the Tandem was locked in the disabled loo overnight for safety. Life was vastly improved by cider and biscuits from the camp shop, followed by good hot showers and a quick walk up the road to the Travellers Rest, where we had a very reasonable evening meal.

  Monday dawned in a damp sort of way, although the rain stopped in time to take the tent down. Retrieving the bike from it's overnight home, we serviced the brakes and fixed a broken front spoke, the one in the rear wheel having a later appointment with a very large spanner. We set off into Holmfirth, turned uphill towards Netherthong, changed gear and immediately the front chain came off. Having re-fitted that, we carried on over Holt Head, stopping outside Meltham C. of E. school to photograph a tree turned into a dramatic wood carving. A pasty stop was followed by the drop into Slaithwaite, where we were beaten by the steep climb under the railway bridge. Onwards we pedalled, to Scammonden, over the typically busy M62, around Halifax and Sowerby Bridge and up to Ovendon Moor, where we passed the very eerie wind farm. Then, relying on the new front brake and tyre, we had a fast run down into Oxenhope where another good Co-op supplied tea things and plenty of biscuits, a reasonable rucksack load for the planned quick run to the campsite. Round Haworth and onto the moor to Stanbury, searching for the track heading up the 'The Heights' where the campsite was supposed to be. As the bridleway became an un-rideable boulder strewn track, we stopped a passing walker, who re-assured us that there was indeed a campsite up there. A couple of hours and 4 miles from Oxenhope, we tracked down a very pretty farmhouse, right on the tops as you'd expect, where the owner was friendly, the views great and the facilities brilliant. It was well worth the hard work getting there, although they hadn't seen many tandems before!. After tea, a 1 ½ m walk to the pub for a birthday drink became an ordeal, as Dave had to go back for the money which had been left in the tent. Luckily the pub was good and the campsite owner turned up and gave us a lift back to the site, thanks Gordon.

  Another damp morning saw us walking the tandem down the hill, not wanting to risk another puncture. The road proper started off downhill for a change, although the first uphill of the day saw us at the roadside once again, this time with chain link extractor and spare links in hand. Eventually, we arrived at Laneshaw Bridge, where the small ford on our map had become a half mile stream along a wet, slippery and broken surface. Not wishing to push our already stretched luck, we backtracked and found a bench to rest on for lunch, where a quick check of the map revealed it's age to be eighteen years, plenty of time for that small ford to have grown up into a reasonable little stream. The roads where becoming more rolling and less high, and we headed into Ribblesdale feeling rather more spritely than we had for the last couple of days. However, we'd forgotten about the A65 Settle by-pass, due to another eighteen year old map, and had a very exciting half mile dash before turning off towards the campsite behind the Flying Horseshoe at Clapham Station. Here we met another tandem touring couple, who knew last night's campsite owner, and we spent a very convivial evening in the pub with them, talking past cycling experiences.

  The next day saw us heading through Austwick in warm hazy weather with a tail wind, with Horton in Ribblesdale providing tea and sticky buns at the café, where the owner turned out to be from our original home town of Hull. Continuing past Ribble Head, with only occasional stops to put the chain back on, we turned off at Newby Head into Dentdale, where we had a quick lunch stop and a chat to some Kirkby Stephen cyclists out for the day. They warned us about some of the hills still to come on the way, we were after all heading for their home town. A good run down into Dentdale was abruptly halted by the 1:6 climb to the railway station, we didn't get very far and even the walk was hard. As we reached the station, we started to ride again, continuing over Shaking Moss to Garsdale Head for a second lunch stop, in cool mist. After an exciting downhill, the weather warmed up again and we turned north for a good rolling run down the valley to Kirkby Stephen, where we did the shopping and had a second tea and sticky bun stop. A quick mile back to Nateby saw the sun shining for our first really warm evening of the tour, the cold cider whilst setting up the tent tasted particularly good!

  A lethargic start the next day saw us setting off late, and a painful knee for Dave meant a slow journey with plenty of rest stops. The roads were quiet and pretty over the hills from Brough, along Swimdale Beck and down past Selset and Grassholme Reservoirs, although heavy rain had us sheltering under a tree and it made the last couple of miles slippery. The weather and the knee meant a change of plan, so after setting up camp in Middleton in Teesdale, we abandoned the planned ride to High Force, instead walking into the town for some shopping and an ice cream, before the rain caught us again.

  Heavy overnight rain saw us once more packing up a damp tent, although it was bright and warm over breakfast for once and the weather was warm enough for T shirts, until we reached Barningham where the heavens opened and no amount of trees could provide shelter. After half an hour, it stopped and we set off, almost immediately passing a large and very dry looking bus shelter! We headed for Richmond in warm sun, looking for a café but settling for an ice cream instead. A couple of miles later at Brompton on Swale, the need for tea took over, satisfaction was obtained at the café above the four wheel drive centre, where a very good, strong cuppa was had for a reasonable price. That set us up for a quick run across the Vale of York, before crossing the A19 and finishing with a steep climb up into Osmotherley. After a quick shopping stop we headed down the track to the campsite by the Youth Hostel. The knee was still sore although bearable, the new Flite Titanium saddle is another matter but there doesn't seem to have been any permanent damage, cider and biscuits helped heal the pains! Is it just us that find Osmotherley very nice but slightly strange? Both the Cleveland Way and Lyke Wake Walk pass through here, yet the pubs and shops seem more oriented towards upmarket car drivers than walkers and cyclists.

  After another night of rains, we again awoke to dry and reasonably warm weather which later turned hot and sunny, although we were surrounded by black clouds and thunder rolls all day. From Osmotherley, we crossed the A19 to climb to Landmoth Wood, descending to re-cross the A19 heading for Sutton under Whitestonecliffe where we enjoyed lunch in the sun, before continuing to Coxwold for a quick pint in the sunshine. This pleasant relaxation was spoiled soon after as the ride through Newburgh Priory led to a stiff climb to Yearsley Moor where we stopped for a rest and a chat with a local cycling cloud dodger. We dropped down from the moor to the 'B' road at Hovingham, heading for Slingsby were we decided to miss the Camping and Caravanning Club site, as we're members and see plenty of their sites, consequently finding the most expensive site of the holiday, at £11. A shortage of shops meant pub food again for tea, not a problem as this was to be our last night, although we were able to buy biscuits and lager which made up for the rainstorms as they finally caught up with us.

  Our last day saw a very early and misty start, away before 8 AM with a light head wind and the mist lifting to become mainly warm and sunny. We headed straight South on the long, straight, rolling road through the fabulous Castle Howard estate, crossing the A64 at Barton and resting at Skirpenbeck for breakfast with 15 miles covered before 9.30! Another quick run through Fangfoss and Pocklington saw us home by 11.00 AM, finishing a very enjoyable tour of around 360 miles, with varied weather and scenery. The hills were much harder than we'd remembered them from previous visits, and we could have done without some of the mechanical problems, which we don't normally experience on tour. Two days later, whilst riding to work, the rear wheel axle snapped, taking out the rear tyre as well. Apparently, this is not uncommon, although it's never happened to us before, at least it might explain some of the problems we experienced. All we need now is some more up to date maps!

Dave & Karen,

Market Weighton, East Yorkshire.

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The wettest April on record - an off road experience

Published in the Rough Stuff Journal, circa June 2000

  Whilst perusing the diary on a particularly dull day at work, the realisation struck, a couple of days holiday added to the Easter and May Day Bank Holidays meant nine days away with only minimal use of our holiday allowance. Having quickly rejected Easter as being still too early to undertake a tandem camping trip (later proved to be a good decision!) we decided to hire a caravan in Dorset. A quick browse of the internet, followed by several longer sessions as I got the hang of the new computer, and a suitable caravan site was booked, on the A35 just outside of Dorchester. The OS map revealed an abundance of quiet looking country roads and more than enough bridleways to keep us happy for a weeks holiday.

  Easter arrived and with two mountain bikes and a tandem on the roof rack, we headed south, into the wettest April on record and a last minute change of route to avoid the massive traffic jams in Northamptonshire, where the police where trying to keep people out of the Silverstone mud bath at the Formula One grand Prix. Our arrival in Dorset was greeted by warm sunshine and a fascinating selection of driving skills by the locals in the car park of the Blandford Forum Tesco supermarket. Silverstone would have been less challenging, but the tea and biscuits were probably somewhat better quality in the Tesco café! The rest of the week was highlighted by sun, showers and generally warm temperatures, which combined nicely with some of the most enjoyable cycling to be found, both on and off road.

  Several interesting days followed, I can particularly recommend a sunny dinnertime sitting in the beer garden of the pub at West Lulworth, complete with draughts board painted on the car park. However, don't get too carried away, there are lots of quite steep hills and the thigh muscles don't work well when they're lubricated by beer. For those with a sense of adventure, or trying to recapture a missed childhood, Puddletown Forest around Thomas Hardy's birthplace is excellent for off road riding and practising jumps. However, much of the very best riding is to be found on the bridleways linking the many hills and valleys. It's about this time that we almost regretted buying new mountain bikes, with complicated bits and no mudgaurds, as the ground was particularly boggy after the rain. I can honestly say that I've never ridden through puddles that deep before!

  South West of Dorchester, we found a network of minor roads and very rideable bridleways, although some of the flint covered fields were a bit tricky to balance on, especially those were the track had been ploughed up! Having negotiated one very flinty field, followed by a suspiciously enjoyable, fast downhill section past Whatcombe, we found ourselves on the wrong track and up to the axles in bog, a recurrent theme for the week. Extricating ourselves from that, it was axle deep in mud / cow dung, a particularly difficult combination to ride through, but the smell stopped us from getting off and walking! The track led into a field heading for the small stone circle on Tenants Hill, where the 'tenants' appeared to be a herd of very inquisitive, and hungry looking, bullocks who stalked us at an ever decreasing distance all the way across the field, very off putting for the walkers who wanted to visit the circle. After that, a quick uphill section past the slightly alarming 'low flying aircraft' warnings led us to the Hardy Monument, were a mobile catering van provided a welcome cup of warmish hot chocolate. Chocolate, combined with some nasty looking clouds, boosted us for the run across Bronkham Hill on the Inland Coast Path, very rideable and extremely good fun with brilliant views. The memory of flying down a hill with both feet in the air and looking for a soft landing does take some getting over, still, we both survived more or less intact.

  A couple of days later, after getting some road miles on the tandem, and doing some touristy type things, we went for an all day ride on the bridleways. This is pretty easy to achieve in this area, it's simply a matter of heading off along a bridleway, and at the next junction picking another track and carrying on. However, if you choose to do it when it's rained that much, a wet suit and snorkel may be the best way of keeping clean and dry. The only bits that weren't six inches deep in boggy mud, or cow dung, were either uphill or under axle deep water, conveniently hiding the ruts and mud with equal ease. There's something about coming to a grinding halt in the middle of a muddy puddle, several feet from the nearest dry land, that makes it easier to get the pedals turning again. After the first time you put your foot down and lose site of your shoes you stop worrying about it, after that it all gets a bit easier, if a lot damper. It does, however, help to clean the cow dung from your shoes, something of a dubious benefit really. It also starts you asking questions such as 'how good is the sealed bottom bracket in this nice shiny bike?' and 'why was the man in the bike shop grinning when we last saw him?'. Still, he went to Silverstone for Easter, so he probably saw even more mud, albeit with less bovine by-products included.

  After those experiences, it was a joy to finish the week off with a hot and sunny day, cruising around the tracks of Puddletown Forest, looking for fast bits to ride down, before riding back to the top to do it all over again. Mostly, it was pretty dry and the mud patches were avoidable and judging by the people we saw and the tracks we found, it's a pretty popular place with the locals. We finished off with a quick walk around Thomas Hardy's house, owned by the National Trust, before heading back to the campsite to start packing everything into the car for the long haul home the next day. All in all, a very enjoyable week, and a nice experience to get a holiday with good cycling weather, that early in the year. No doubt, we'll be back at some time in the future, although we probably won't choose the British Grand Prix weekend again.

Dave & Karen Petty

East Yorkshire, May 2000

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Pictures and text are copyright © Dave & Karen Petty- All Rights Reserved, please don't copy anything without our permission. Thanks, D & K.