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Below is a report written in October 2005, some time after the actual ride!

This one was a bit spur of the moment, so no great planning was carried out for timing, stops etc. We just put a message out that we were going for a ride if anyone wanted to join us, as is now the norm for the Northern VRA.

This was our first ride since having the Fat Bob tanks fitted, along with new exhausts, Dynojet kit and air filter, so I wasn’t too sure how the bike would go. Also the tanks had been fitted too high and wide and were still bare steel, so it all looked a bit Heath-Robinson! It turned out that it worked quite well though, so that was OK.

Arriving early at Devil’s Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale, we had a cup of tea and waited for everyone to turn up. The plan was to leave at 11:00, but the Blackpool contingent didn’t arrive until just after this, having had to wait for one of their number who had been on night shift!! They’d just dismounted when I told them we were leaving, so no tea for them here!

The route took us from Kirkby Lonsdale via Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen to Brough, where we were going to stop for our first break, but since there didn’t seem to be anywhere to eat or drink in Brough (at least the bit of it we saw), we pushed on to Middleton-in-Teesdale, where, after a bit of spirited riding across the moor, we had a lunch break, splitting up to visit various cafes etc. We decided not to have pudding or cakes here so as to have an excuse to stop again at the Hartside Café!

The B6277 from Middleton-in-Teesdale to Alston is a real biker’s road, although it can be pretty bleak. Although it was windy the weather was relatively kind to us so we had a good run to Alston, where we stopped for fuel for those who hadn’t filled up at Kirkby Stephen. Then it was away up the A686 to The Hartside Café, which is another well-known biker stop, with terrific views over Penrith and the Lake District and good food and drink. After tea and cakes it was back on the bikes to head for Ullswater, as we’d decided against Shap and the A6.

The route then was A686 to Penrith, then A66 west and A592 to Pooley Bridge, Glenridding, Patterdale and Kirkstone Pass, followed by a minor road just after Troutbeck that took us to Ings, avoiding the top end of Windermere. Finally on the A591 we stopped at a petrol station just north of Sizergh, where we said our goodbyes before heading our separate ways home.

Altogether another good day out, with good weather, if a little windy. Thanks to everyone who joined us.

Tom

Hartside Café run July 2005