Weather was looking better.Sun and SW wind 5mph.I was heading North West so shouldn’t be a problem.You may wonder why I was obsessing about the wind so much.Yesterdays story says it all.
At a steady 15 miles per hour 80%+ of the work you do is against the wind.If you have a 15 mph tail wind then you reduce the energy you need to keep a steady speed by 50 to 80%.It is also the reason why with a tail wind you don’t hear any wind and all seems tranquil-you are in a bubble of moving air.If on the other hand you have a 15 mph head wind then to keep at 15 mph steady speed you have to overcome 30 mph of wind.The amount of wind resistance rises exponentially with the speed so you would have to put out an increase of at least 120 % to keep your speed.Basically you can’t, so you slow down until your maximum energy out put balances the wind resistance-(ie pitifully slow) and you have to maintain a maximum out put(ie you get knackered).These are also the reasons why professional bike riders have an aerodynamic uncomfortable position(reduce wind resistance by 20 to 30 per cent ) and also why they ride in a peleton(reduces energy needed by 30% if you are in the sheltered middle.
None of the above information is the slightest use or conciliation when faced with a head wind.
My first stop was in York.The York Cold War Bunker is in the suburb of Fulford.It was built in the early 50s as a command centre for the area in the event of nuclear war.
The idea seems to have been that numerous 3 man bunkers scattered though the country fed their information on detonations and fall out readings to the larger bunkers which could then create a map of what had happened ,where was safe where the fallout was going etc.They were supposed to get this information by phone.Would they have be working?
It was manned, but not all the time, by the Royal Observer Corps.They were a voluntary organisation set up in WW2. The bunker could be sealed , had air filters water and food for 1 month and was supposed to have 2 shifts of 60 people manning it.Quite how they would get there with a 4 minute warning is unclear.
The inside was really quite big,but not for 120 people. They had instruments for radio activity measurements, blast detection etc.The control room looked remarkably like the control room at Duxford aerodrome.After 1 month that was it-you would have to leave.You would probably want to after sharing a bed with the night shift and nobody had washed for a month.The place was a very strange combination of nuclear war paranoia and dads army plans.
The bunker was shut in the late 70s and sealed for 9 yrs.The Observer Corps then got it opened and maintain it for English Heritage.It was originally in the orchard of a grand house used by the government department for listed buildings.When they were moved and the land sold off, the bunker had to stay because they had listed it as a national monument(just like Stonehenge) so no-one can touch it.It now stands in the middle of a housing estate (see PIC)which is incongruous to say the least. The bunker was shut for such a longtime that it remains pretty much as it was and the observer corps ran practice exercises in it when it was re opened. The maps papers lists and plans are all still there. They also sell fridge magnets.
The ride towards Masham was a delight.No hills to start with and lovely sunshine .I passed near Ripon. A sign indicated a village called Wath. What a lovely word-it means a Ford in Old Norse.Them Vikings again .Quite a lot of the roads had been recently repaired ready for upcoming World Cycling Championships based in Harrogate. I made good time and had scrambled eggs and bacon for brunch in the lovely Market Square in Masham..The Market Square cafe was very popular with cyclists, motor cyclists and people on day trips.
My next destination was the guided tour of the Theakston’s brewery.I love their Best Bitter, though you cant get it down South,just that strong Old Peculiar stuff.The brewery was impressively old fashioned and the tour conducted by the inevitable slightly abrupt,dour Yorkshireman. He was very enthusiastic about beer which more than made up for his Yorkshire demeanor.
The brewery has huge copper vats and works on gravity- so they take all the ingredients up to the top floor the trickle them through various processes until they emerge as beer barrels on the ground floor.The smell of yeast and hops was fantastic.
The process was suitably low tech. The entire cycle of making a brew takes 8 hours plus settling time.They can work 24 hours a day but don’t as they make it more or less on demand.The keg beer which goes to pubs will last a month before it goes off.Bottled beer will last 6 months as it is sterilised and carbonated.All the left over hops ,malt and yeast is sold as fertiliser or animal feed locally.
After an hours tour we adjourned to the Black Bull in Paradise which is attached to the brewery.Sampling was very scientific with small glasses.The sampling confirmed my favorite by miles is their best bitter, though it was nice to have the other half dozen to compare.
After the tasting I went back to the market square and had some tea and a sandwich.I was gettting tired and though I didnt have far to go that day I knew I really needed a rest day.I had also really enjoyed the days when I had seen more and cycled less.
So change of plan .
Rather than spend the night at Scotch corner then cycle to Newcastle the next day,I would instead cycle to Northallerton and get the train to Newcastle late afternoon and have a rest day in Newcastle.Happy with the new plan I headed off.
There was a huge hill just outside Masham on the road toward Bedale but I managed to crawl up it in my lowest gear.From the top of that hill to Bedale was all downhill and even the Bedale -Northallerton stretch was just rolling.I made good time leapt on a train and before I knew it I was in Newcastle a day ahead of schedule.
Newcastle station was crowded with tired runners from the Great North Run.Some sported achievement T shirts and others space blankets and wobbly legs.I discovered the Tour of Britain finished in Newcastle the next day.Impressive -sporty Newcastle.So the next day I could watch a cycle race as well as visit a few places.Things were looking better and better. There was no rain and I cycled down the riverside to Gateshead Travelodge.The hotels in Newcastle were all full due to the Great North Run but I knew the cycle routes down the river from a previous trip on the C2C cycle route.
After showering I went out to eat and had a couple of drinks. I was heading back to the hotel when I was greeted by a party of jolly ladies in fancy dress.They had done the Great North Run and then been on a pub crawl to get back to Gateshead.I congratulated them and they whooped and hollered in reply.It was lovely not to be the only one with wobbly legs and exhaustion.
Place name of the day- Pity Me- a village outside Durham.
Food of the day- scrambled eggs and bacon in the sunshine.
Place of the day-Masham market square.
Wandering North 