Roads to remember with a smile: part 2

After some time in Sweden I was well fed and rested. Nevertheless, the problems with my feet and legs remained and it took some time before my smile returned. I had good company which helped to boost my spirit and leaving Sweden on the bridge to Denmark felt great. Remembering the debate regarding the harm to marine life that the building of the bridge would cause, I felt a bit guilty for liking the view, but it is amazing.

I struggled with my riding for a couple of days, and if the bike had been stolen one of these nights it would have been kind of a relief. But fortunately I could continue and finally had a break through and found my way back to being positive again waiting – or rather not needing to wait – in a 3 km queue for the Elbe ferry.

On the other side of Elbe there was a rather new view for me, I think I’ve only been this far west in Germany once before and it was exciting, and very windy. Nevertheless I felt the freedom of riding my bike stronger than the problem with my legs, finally. We continued on through the Netherlands and even though we didn’t ride any particular curvy scenic ultra fantastic biker roads we had a very good time.

Visa Öresundsbron, Sweden – Harwich, Enlgand på en större karta

Riding was in the rough wind and day after day was wearing us out and we welcomed a half day rest before battling the last bit of highway and getting on to the ferry to Harwich. On the ferry we saw the news and they were reporting the terror in Olso, Norway. Anneli and I were staring at each other repeating “it doesn’t make sense”, “not Norway” and “I can’t get it in to my head”. The outside world entered our biker holiday bubble. It was scary to think that lunatics could linger even in small peaceful countries. This gives me perspective on life and an even greater urge to enjoy every day living.

 

the bikes are tied down good – we’re ready for a new and exiting country

The next day was all bright and new. Almost like a new continent since we had to ride on the left side and all, quite exotic. We had a long distance to cover this day but we started early getting off the ship and hitting the road. We were riding north in England in the sunrise and life felt fantastic. We stayed on the small roads, taking our time but keeping a good pace. We enjoyed every minute of the day and the smile was ever present. I think I have given pretty detailed description of the roads before but this is how we ride more or less, memory being a factor. We did a bit of motorway up to Bury St. Edmunds and then smaller roads on to Kings Lynn. Even the motorway was pleasant because of the green countryside next to it and at this hour we were almost alone on the road. I love to see the green countryside on a sunny day. I just love it! On the other hand I’m not quite as happy to be there when the rain nurtures the grass and trees. In Great Britain I was very fortunate, I saw lots of green, but hardly any drop of rain. That on its own is a reason for a smile.

After King’s Lynn we continued on A17 and A16, both beautiful roads but traffic was sometimes scary. We tried to keep the speed right, transferring the miles to kilometres in my head was not always easy and the passing traffic always seemed to be speeding. Judging from the road signs and roadmarkings there was a campaign going on to slow traffic down. Anneli and I decided to keep our steady legal pace and not let the passing traffic stress us. Nor did we pass queues on the white line nor did we stop beside the road unless there was a parking space. Riding on the left side is very different and we wanted to be cautious. Simply ride to enjoy ourselves while slowly approaching our destination. Because of our decision not to stop on the side of the road, I have fewer pictures to post, but that is a small sacrifice for safety.

I was over all happy with the selection of roads. Since we had a far off destination we could not allow ourself to stray much from the most direct route and had to pass on many of the suggested biker friendly roads. Never the less I found the roads in good condition, twisty and nice and with a nice view.

Later in the day we rode the Humber Bridge, which had a beautiful view. We were both very happy about this, since we like bridges. Now we were getting to the area that I had looked forward to, the Yorkshire Moors. I was happily surprised by the fantastic riding so far during the day, and knew that now onwards was going to be even better. The roughness of the Moors and the sea view was fantastic. We passed Scarborough where a big biker event had taken place, I have rarely seen so many bikers at the same time, mainly sports bikes and there was a massive bike-traffic-jam. Entering the Moors and riding the last bit up to Whitby was indeed fantastic, we enjoyed it fully to the very last bit. Whitby itself was everything I had expected and more, staying at the hostel next to the ruined Abbey felt amazing. I had been smiling all day and I had fallen in love with England.

Riding through the Yorkshire Moors and Dales the next day was a pleasure. The only thing that tainted the happiness was the intensity of the traffic. We kept getting passed but continued not getting stressed about it. Riding the road for the first time we have to take it nice and slow. We rode A171, later A173 and B1257. Then on to A170 and some how we crossed over to A684 and the Yorkshire Dales. We had lunch in a bikers café in Hawes and around this area we saw many bikers, I could see that this was like a bikers’ paradise, apart from the heavy traffic it was perfect. About then we also started to see fellow WIMA riders which indeed was a pleasant sight.

I had been in the Moors before in a car so I knew the wonders to expect but the Dales were a new view for me. Amazing green rolling hills, and sheep. We had to be on steady alert for sheep on the road. The roads here were generally made of rougher tarmac, roads built to handle lots of rain I thought. Probably true. The landscape was hilly, more vast in the Moors and than in the Dales. Many corners are blind but we took no chances. The really scary bits were when we were riding roads with tight hedges on both sides like on A683. Meeting cars slightly on my side of the road made my heart jump, in case of an accident there was nowhere for me to go.

We had such a good time and enjoyed our slow but steady pace riding so much we even got late for registering for the WIMA rally and were hushed onto the welcome dinner in our biking gear… but what can you do, it’s all about the riding, everything else is second. And we had had a great day, our smiles were still plastered on our faces entering the dinner hall and getting our pints of fine British ale.

During the rally there were plenty of opportunities to part take in games and activities. I must say that my participation was down to a minimum since I wanted to ride as much as possible, but also needed to rest my body. I spent two days riding in the Cumbria mountains and Lake District, one day with Anneli and one day solo riding. The area is truly fantastic, both the scenery with mountain views and the lakes of course. There were plenty of mountain passes to ride and curvy roads to enjoy. The downside was of course the traffic, being tourist season the roads were busy and for example Windermere was a nightmare getting past. The quality of the roads varied, some of the small mountain passes had very rough roads and some were single lane, with hedges. I would say that you don’t go to this area to ride fast, but to feel the adventure and enjoy the challenge and the view. Most of the roads in this area are great for this kind of riding but I especially want to mention the Ullswater pass and road A592 which I enjoyed riding from both directions.

After the WIMA rally I travelled to Chester and sticking to the small roads were a challenge. This area is rather crammed with cities and it was indeed a challenge to make my way around them. I parted from Anneli who had to make her way back to Estonia and from now on I was back to solo riding. I entered Wales and smiled my way through it. It is such a tiny country but really I think I could spend weeks riding there due to all the good biking roads. I took road A5, a rather big road, but perfect for riding. I rode only in the corner of Snowdonia and know I have to come back for more since time was short this time. The roads in Wales had rough tarmac resembling the roads in the north of England, so it probably rains a lot there too. The scenery was ever so green and the mountains seemed endless. Since this was a non rainy day the roads were full of bikers and they all waved friendly and passed me quickly. Riding south on A470 I enjoyed a full day of twisty bits and stunning views before crashing out in a friendly hostel in Brecon.

The following day I enjoyed my last bit of road in Wales and was too soon back in England. The area around Bath where I had chosen to stay is indeed beautiful too, but in the south of England the roads were even busier than in the north and that brings down the overall impression of the riding. My days of travelling were coming to an end. The last thing on my agenda was to pass Stonehenge to see if it was as touristy as I remembered. It was indeed, but I once again enjoyed the benefits of travelling by bike, no parking fee. I didn’t enter to see the stones from close up, can’t stand crowds really. I had some biscuits contemplating my journey. I felt content. I had seen and experienced a lot. Britain was all and more than I had expected, I loved every bit I had seen and knew I had to make my way back to see more, much more!

Visa Touring in Britain på en större karta