A few bike miles

The Herb's daughter's birthday today, so he was commanded to be home for 11.  We were keen to get some bike miles in though, so we set off at 9 over Halton Heights towards Barden.  For some reason that hill, which we ride over almost every time we go out never seems to get any easier - not sure if it's because it's at the start, but it just always seems to require an effort out of proportion with its height and steepness.

Damp brakes and wind meant the descent was more staid than usual, and we turned left for Burnsall with the sky getting darker.  Shortly before Thorpe it really started to lash it down, so waterproofs were put on, and we made out way into an increasingly breezy breeze down the tiny road from Thorpe to Cracoe.  I kept saying to The Herb that it was all downhill to Gargrave, but somehow the wind made it feel more up than down.

Because of the birthday celebrations there was no time for tea in Gargrave so we pressed on over to Broughton and onto a road we rarely ride, down to Elslack.  I had memories of the climb onto the moor from Elslack, which involved pushing my brand new first ever road bike up an endless incline, completely buggered.  I managed to scare The Herb with this tale, so as the road went up he slowed down conserving his energy.  In the end it's not that bad - about a mile of climbing, never grindingly steep - but you certainly know you're on a hill!  A left turn and a brilliant descent into Carleton, with the moors above Embsay looking spectacular in the sun, saw us hit 50mph with wet brakes - goodness knows how fast we'd go if we were confident we could stop!

A steady pootle through town and back up to Embsay gave us 28m in 2hrs, which is ok given the conditions.

I do feel I'm letting the cycling slip - 30m at the weekend is ok, but it needs to be backed up with at least one commute - but I suspect I'm going to struggle this week with 2 nights away again, plus out for a pizza on Tuesday as it's my birthday.  Maybe bike tomorrow, but I'll see how I feel...