Danby Wiske - Westerdale           50.5 km  (31.4 miles)

 

       Looking out of our Velux windows first thing on day 5 was not exactly inspiring, grey, wet and windy (again). After breakfast we

          headed to cowley cycles  in Northallerton. The guys there were fantastic, Ian & Lees bikes were topped up with Hydraulic oil & brake

          pads changed. Ian also had his inner & outer rear gear cables changed. Cookie was actually waiting for us, not the wine store opening!

   

 

           The guys did a great job quickly and gave us discount due to our charity cause. Lee checked our route with one of the lads who was

           a keen cyclist. He told us our planned route over the moors was bad at the best of times and under the conditions today would be

           very hard to pass over. We came up with a sensible alternative which was a longer route by road but would mean we would have a

           shorter day tomorrow to finish, as we would be doing extra today. We were on our way at about 10:30, a bit later than planned

           but unavoidable due to our repairs. Terry hung about for a while as Cowley cycles were also doing some repairs on Rays Cannondale

           which was now our spare bike. After about an hour we came across a snack bar near Ellerbeck and had a nice warm cuppa, by this time

           we were already soaked (again).

            After another 2 hours on the roads and some hairy moments with HGV's on a short section of the A17, we were in Great Ayton.

            We were making good time and as it was about 13:15 stopped at a pub for several cups of tea and jacket spuds. There was an

            alley down the side of the pub which was great for stripping out of our wet gear. Terry wasn't far away  in our  back up vehicle

            and called in for a bite to eat. We were back into our wet gear and away just after 2pm.

   

            Back at it on the roads towards Guisborough we were looping around the Cleveland hills which would have been dangerous and

            near impossible to get across. We followed the A171 passed Strangehow and Moorsholm moors. The rain was relentless and the

            spray from the road was making visibility poor. The higher we got the more the wind picked up. Did someone say road riding was

            supposed to be easy? One of our team commented that we were mad, other than ourselves we had only seen 4 other cyclists

            this whole week, 3 of which were on day one! As we approached Scaling dam reservoir it was quite apparent how bad the moors

            were flooded, picket fences were half submerged in water. The mist/clouds made it impossible to see into the moors at all. We

            dropped off the 171 and headed approx. 4 miles down into Grosmont through some steep winding and slippery roads.  We had

            arranged to meet Terry at 16:30, we made it in at about 16:50 just as Terry was arriving. Our digs were back in Danby head,

            Westerdale which meant a couple of trips back in the van. Ian & Cookie took the first run back and were happy to dive into the bath

            for a soak. Ray and Lee waited in Grosmont for about an hour for Terry to make the round trip, but had the steam trains coming &

            going to enjoy.

   

            Our B&B Sycamore House was great and our hosts Jack and Mary were very welcoming. Our bikes were stored in an out building

            where Lee quickly sprayed with GT85 and duck oil ready for the morning. Jack & Mary were brilliant as they dried our clothes and

           kit for us and even phoned a local pub to book our evening meal. The pub in Ainthorpe was brilliant, absolutely packed with

           a marvellous log fire etc. We had our meal in the dining room with a drink and chatted about the final day ahead of us.

               

        Another 43 soggy miles knocked off today, Robin Hoods Bay here we come!