Beadle's Bash (or How to Keep your Man Happy) Day Two

Right from the offset it was the consecutive days of cycling that I was worried about but I felt in fine fettle after my enormous breakfast at the Mallyan Spout at the beginning of day two. The route heads out of Goathland across Wheeldale Moor on a track that I had cycled previously in the other direction. It's brilliant in either direction and was the perfect start to day two - the sort of biking that you never want to end however tired you are. Next was a Forest Drive road through Cropton Forest and then tarmac down to Levisham Station which is only a short distance from Levisham village and the Horseshoe Inn.

A 'short distance' can disguise a multitude of sins. In this case it involved a very strenuous climb which lulls you into a false sense of security half way up before setting off again on a second  up. Still it was a great day, we were cycling, together, the views were fab, there was a pub just up ahead and actually I quite like climbs. What more could you want ... in hindsight we should have had an early lunch rather than grabbing a quick coffee but we were feeling good and decided to push onto the pub at Newton on Rawcliffe. This would have been a good idea if the pub in question had been open but unfortunately it wasn't. What's more we had encountered some very muddy fields on the way - the kind that common sense tells you to push through but you ignore common sense 'cause its a bike ride not a walk!! There had also been what the guide described as an 'exhausting climb' yeah got that right ... so all in all it was quite a disappointment not to find of any kind of sustenance in Newton on Rawcliffe at all.

Shortly afterwards we had the inevitable spat that is part and parcel of mountain biking as a couple. There was I feeling chuffed to bits that I was speeding along in top cog, on day two, despite no food; when a voice muttered something about 'feeling cold cos we're going so slow'. In response I felt it necessary to point out that it wasn't the pace that was a problem but the lack of attire given the cold and windy conditions. While I was snug in my cycling tights, he was sporting shorts ... blah, blah, blah. Still, the huffy silence only lasted until we tracked down food at the Forest Retreat at Keldy. We arrived on a Monday which was change over day and meant no cafeteria food but we could buy groceries - I think my meal consisted of cold tinned tomato soup (thankfully a pull tag tin), crusty bread, lashing of hot chocolate and numerous chocolate bars. There was some too-ing and fro-ing before we managed to extricate ourselves from the numerous forest tracks and roads and make it onto Hamer Moor. More vast open skies and bridleways snaking into the distance soon raised our spirits and brought back memories of doing the Lyke Wake Walk and other mad adventures. Day two finishes with a very dramatic bit of road cycling which swings round Glaisdale Head and turns almost vertically down Caper Hill before swooping you along Glaisdale side and into the village itself.  More fabulous food and beer awaited us at the Arncliffe Arms where we had booked in for the night. We elected to roast ourselves next to the wood burning stove in the bar where the food was every bit as good as fancy restaurant fodder. I felt like I'd definitely earned my supper!