Westerdale - Robin Hoods Bay     58.6 km  (36.4 miles)

 

        Day 6, our final morning was a pleasant surprise no rain or wind! Spirits were high as we were on the home straight now. A great

           breakfast set us up for the day. It was nice to be putting on dry shoes for a change. As we had done extra miles yesterday our ride

           today was shorter so we had a little later start. We were outside at 9:15 loading the bikes into the van. We were travelling to

           Grosmont where we had finished yesterday. Jack from Sycamore House generously offered to give us a lift to save time by making

           only one trip with the van.

   

            We arrived in Grosmont put the bikes together and had a few trips to the loo. We were ready and off at 10:30. We were back on our

            pre planned route and headed out of Grosmont up a 33% incline to black brow & Sleights moor.

   

            As the weather was better than the past few days and my camera had dried out a little we took the opportunity today to get plenty

            of shots in. Up on Sleights moor it was good to see some locals, six years ago with foot & mouth there were none around at all.

   

            At the top of Sleights moor we took the bridleway to Sneaton high moor. We had been riding for well over an hour by now so

            took 5 minutes for an energy bar. The weather was taking a turn for the worse for a change! So out came the rainwear AGAIN.

            The Bridleway led us into the woods on a nice track for a while before bringing us out onto Flyingdales moors.

   

            The terrain over Flyingdales moor was very hard work, the recent rain was streaming down the rocky track, which gave us our

            second puncture victim of the week Cookie.

   

            We were back in the saddle for a short while before stuntman Cookie took another dive, thankfully no more injuries. Then the

            bridleway changed to a clay pit, our bikes were covered and it was very hard work to keep moving and keep upright.

   

           The weather started to improve a little and the rain jackets came off for a while which was welcomed. We were now heading

           down high moor to Jugger how moor. At the bottom of a very steep walk down a waterfall like track into the valley, we had to cross

           Jugger how beck via a wooden bridge. The water was fast flowing and was showing signs of the destruction over the past few days

           carrying broken tree branches etc. We dipped our bikes in to try and wash away the clay but it just seemed welded on. After a

           steep climb up Jugger how, we had a well deserved rest, our mobiles came out and were all checking on family & friends progress

           into Robin Hoods Bay for our finish.

   

                The end of our journey was nearing now, the seagulls were in the air. Thinking about what we had endured and achieved over

                the past few days was starting to put the smiles back on our faces. The track out of Flyingdales moor led us to the A171 which

                we briefly rode down before turning off onto the bridleway towards Howdale Moor. We were going to meet up with Terry who

                was at Ravenscar but had to keep moving to keep our estimated arrival time of 3pm. True to form the crap weather was back

                almost cartoon like, the big black rain cloud would hover above us all the way in. At Flying old hall we dropped onto the asphalt

                Moor-to-sea cycle route for our final stretch into the bay. We arrived at the old station at the top of the bay, made a few calls

                to see if everybody was at the bottom of the bay. A couple of our supporters who wanted to see us arrive were just making

                their way down. It seemed a little bit of an anti-climax as we waited a couple of minutes before making our final descent into the

                bay. The rain was beating down on us as we slowly meandered down, with our brakes pretty much shot again. The bay hotel was in

                sight, we could the sea. We could hear all our drenched friends and family cheering us in. The tide was in and we were straight

                down into the sea and seaweed with our bikes. Coast2coast.....215 miles, we had done it!

   

   

            True to form Cookie finished in style, straight over his handlebars as he hit the seaweed, a classic moment. We celebrated our

            achievement in style with some bubbly before heading back up to our digs for a well earned shower and change of clothes.

            Everybody met back up at 5ish for a few celebratory drinks before making our way back down the bay for our evening meal.

   

       

 

            Well done to all four riders for a great achievement for a brilliant cause. A big thank you to all who sponsored and supported us,

            especially Terry for his daily support which was very welcomed and needed.

            COAST2COAST never again.................?