Doncaster to Selby

Today we moved for 4 hours and 43 min at a flying average speed of 9.1 mph (14.6 km/hr) to rack up a startling 44 miles (71km). At least the average is 2 miles better than yesterday.

After a few miles winding our way back through the streets of Doncaster in heavy rain we rejoined NCN62 towards York, mercifully skipping the 2 flights of stairs I carried everything up in the rain last night. It turns out my father is right and it really does just rain in this country all the time. It didn't let up all day from when we left to when we arrived in Selby. Apart from wet feet we survived it just fine in our trend setting jackets. Not too many pictures today though, mostly it was just too damn wet.

The first main section of train follows disused railway lines which are flat, well graveled and completely flooded when it rains; so our shoe covers did a great job for about 5 miles and then after that it was pretty much a squish-a-thon. Next we took a little 'detour' down the Greenland way, which is very pretty, very smooth, very fast, and also about 6 or 7 miles out of our way ... oops back we go. Once we picked up the trail again we rode through the center of Barnsley and then back out into farm land. I think the next section was the highlight of today for me, we wove our way through farmers lanes, bridle ways and dirt tracks through classic middle english farms full of cows, sheep, lambs and quite a bit of canola. Following these National Cycling Network routes might not be direct, or even very fast sometimes - but it's very pretty and also quite safe. The driving of the British off the motor-ways and A roads can only be described as incredibly polite.



Lunch in a bus stop (Yes dad, still raining), and then back onto the farmyard trails.

Apart from a few mile section along side a canal, the rest of the trip followed quiet country roads with the odd small town to break up the monotony. In Australia we think mudguards are kinda dorky, over here it's hard to imagine riding without them. For the bike nerds, it's also kinda hard to imagine riding a road bike here at all, the road quality is terrible, the only vaguely well kept roads have masses of traffic and no shoulder. Anyway on our tractor bikes, with their full length mudguards, there are worse things to do than spend a day splashing about in the rain.



Henry can jump puddles

Tomorrow: A shorter day with the trip to York, apparently there is a whole solar system on the trail.