We knew today was a steep day, but we looked forward to lunch at the top of one of the cols with a spectacular view. It turned out to be a two panorama day, the first early in the day was just too good to ride by.
We rode through a few villages only today, most of the road was through open spaces. As usual the condition of the road surface leaves a bit to be desired at times. It can be very rough in patches, and difficult to gauge in the shady stretches on a downhill run. Not much shade today so easy to see ahead on some of the long downhill runs.
It was a long slog up to lunch, but well worth it. Good picnic lunch with great outlook, and downhill to follow.
Lauren and I did a couple of tourist things today, stopping to see the glacial erratic - a large stone dropped by a glacier and left in the middle of a field when the glacier has melted. We climbed to the top of it to enjoy yet another view. There is also a legend that it is actually part of the debris thrown by the Irish giant Finn McCool (my preferred explanation) .
Followed this with a short stop at a glass gallery, and a slight detour to have a look at Kirkby Lonsdale and the Devil's Bridge which now carries a bylaws notice that people are not to jump off the bridge without sufficient reason, thus putting an end to a popular pastime. Fines are set in line with level 2 on the standard scale, so I have no idea of the value.
We are all in the same hotel tonight, except for a couple of guides who came over to dinner. It is interesting to arrive and be asked to order dinner as you check in, trying to recall what you ordered can be the hard part as a few hours have passed in the meantime. I enjoy dining together and comparing how the day went, and finding out what other people saw as we often see different things along the route travelling at different speeds.
No comments:
Post a Comment