Mad day out in the Lake District

[Bingo]

So our long trip away was delayed so we took a ride out over to Alston - Penrith Hartside pass and down to Ullswater on the BV 350. What a hoot. Arctic conditions to wall to wall warm sunshine. Superb fun and on the way back home over the A66 on a downhill section I had the Bev off the clock 100mph+ (real speed probably about 45)

Captions please

[horobags]

, nice one..

[OneFootInTheGravy]

Captions please

Right then, who's up for a wheelbarrow race?

[OneFootInTheGravy]

Captions please

I thought you said I'd be able to ski down it!?

[Bingo]

Gooduns!

I think this was what I was thinking

[Bingo]

A few more details of our epic ride out yesterday. I live right at the top of the North Yorkshire Dales in the sticks between Barnard Castle and Richmond so every direction is a good ride out. Yesterday we rode up from here to Alston all the way through Teesdale. Basically from Barnard Castle to Alston and then left up the Hartside Pass is just up and up and up all the way. The Hartside pass especially the section between the top and Penrith is an absolute hoot on any bike. Loads of twists, switchbacks and tight bends. It was bloody freezing at Alston and at the top though which is just shy of 2000ft, one of the highest passes in England.

From there it was a cracking ride down the shores of Lake Ullswater which just never grows old (and it was a bit warmer!). The road is first class and a superb ride, stopped off at Glenridding and watched a big Herc Fly down the lake before joining three other random bikers for a blast up the Kirkstone Pass. Back to Penrith for a small beer and a Kebab before belting down the A66 home. If you are ever up this way its a trip well worth doing.

Few more pics.

[knight2]

Bingo, definitely a good run, did Hartside last year going the other way from Penrith up to Haydon bridge. Also did Kirkstone, starting from Penrith along Ullswater over Kirkstone down to Bowness. Then took the A5074 down to the a590, A65. I did the two passes on different days as I live in South Yorkshire it's a fair hike. Was hoping to get some decent photos from the top of Hartside but it was too misty.
I've been planing to go to Hardnott roman fort riding up from Duddon Bridge to the fort then turning around and riding back down Wrynose for about two years. Might do it this year but it's a six or seven hour ride so I'll want a decent day.

[Bingo]

Sounds great! I find though that six hours out which is about what the last two trips were is a bit much for both of us. We did the Yorkshire coast the other day. Both rides in total were about 150 miles which is not much but its the time spent on the bike, on and off.

I did the Hardknott on the little Vision back in October when we were away with the motorhome and a couple of others. The Vision actually stopped on the final bit on the one over to Buttermere. Shortly after we got home the belt broke. Im convinced thats why.

[knight2]

The one over to Buttermere would be Honister, we first did Honister many years ago on our first motorbike "tour". It didn't turn out to be much of a tour, we booked into a B&B in Keswick for two days and liked it so much we spent the whole holiday there.
You've brought back some very happy memories, we had a Honda CX500 with a barn door size fairing and a fibreglass top box (I made) about the size of the barn. It also had an alarm which my wife made ( shaz was very handy with a soldering iron) it worked very well. The weather was kind to us for the whole week, unusual for the Lakes. That must have been about thirty years ago. It seemed like a long way to go then, but we've been many times since on day trips.
BTW I've still got the top box it's been used as a toolbox for many years.
Nice photos, like the one of the Airbus A400 been trying to get a photo like that for years

[Bingo]

The one over to Buttermere would be Honister, we first did Honister many years ago on our first motorbike "tour". It didn't turn out to be much of a tour, we booked into a B&B in Keswick for two days and liked it so much we spent the whole holiday there.
You've brought back some very happy memories, we had a Honda CX500 with a barn door size fairing and a fibreglass top box (I made) about the size of the barn. It also had an alarm which my wife made ( shaz was very handy with a soldering iron) it worked very well. The weather was kind to us for the whole week, unusual for the Lakes. That must have been about thirty years ago. It seemed like a long way to go then, but we've been many times since on day trips.
BTW I've still got the top box it's been used as a toolbox for many years.
Nice photos, like the one of the Airbus A400 been trying to get a photo like that for years

Actually I dont think it was the Honister we got stuck on. We manged to get over that one but only just. We had spent the night in the motorhome right at the bottom of the Honister which goes over to Borrowdale. The Vision was down to a crawl at the top but just made it. Where it got stuck oddly was on the last bit of the pass that goes from Braithwaite to Buttermere, right here.

https://goo.gl/maps/CNKuNNaKd2PLnoa37

Yes I was dead lucky with the plane. Got four shots off.