Cycling From Scarborough to Ravenscar
When I woke up this morning and looked out of the window, I saw those pink clouds and couldn’t resist the draw of another sun-rise. So I dressed quickly and walked down to the beach, I timed it just perfectly as I arrived the sun crested Bempton cliffs, five minutes later and it was lost behind clouds. It was a stunning experience, just those few minutes alone made my trip to Filey worthwhile and there have been a lot of them. Learning to appreciate the wonders around me really has been the secret to happiness in retirement! While capturing the sun-rise I was standing right on the tide line, to get the sea to dominate the foreground of the picture, and a rogue wave soaked my shoes, then a few minutes later I became fascinated by a lava-flow like mud slide and tapped my foot on the surface to see how soft it was? Very very soft I discovered as it completely envelop my foot before I could react and pull it back. So now I had very wet and muddy feet, good job I had spare shoes with me. Embracing the opportunity, I then walked back to The Bay wading through the sea with my trousers pulled up, I might not have paddled with bare feet in January, but this was pretty close to the experience, good fun and cold, but my shoes were mud free by the time I got back to the path (they are now nice and dry thanks to the radiator).
After swapping my shoes and socks, I had breakfast and then headed up to Scarborough, parking at my usual spot on the south cliffs. I then cycled into town and picked up the Cinder Track, just behind Sainsbury’s. The sun was shining and the wind had my back as I cycled through the suburbs and I was soon out in the countryside. The first part of the path was tarmacked, but it was badly eroded and quite tough on the arms, I was pleased when it transitioned to cinder which although a little wet and rutted in places was actually a great cycling surface. I cycled for about an hour (9 miles) through wonderful scenery and then as I approached Ravenscar I came across workmen doing some drainage work, they’d been resurfacing the path as they completed the work and this stretch of new cinder was superb. Unfortunately as I passed them I realised why the path had been re-surfaced, all the heavy vehicles that they were using had turned the path into a muddy field, that last mile was hard work and I was very relieved when I finished the climb and inspected my mud covered bike, it survived and so did I.
I decided to make the return journey on the road which turned out to be smooth and quiet, but unlike the relatively gentle climb of the old railway line, the road was quite hilly, I had to walk twice, for about 10 minutes out of the hour’s total and I was starting to feel a little weary as I arrived at Scarborough prom and enjoyed the flat and windy last few minutes of the ride. I parked up near Brunswick centre, had my packed lunch and then settled down in the cafe for a further 30 minutes, before cycling along the south cliffs to my car.
Not only did I physically challenge myself today, but I was also taxed by my current book, The Beginning Of Infinity, an exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today’s great thinkers, it’s extremely well argued, but intellectually demanding and occasionally difficult to follow while powering up a hill, on a muddy track against the wind.
It was a fantastic day, sometimes challenging, but full of thrills. When I arrived back at the apartment though I was pleased to jump in the bath and have a nap. As I’ve typed up these notes I’ve been watching an episode of Coast In The Netherlands, which was excellent. In a few minutes I’m going out for a walk, well before high tide and then I will have a relaxing evening in, packing my bags, reading and watching TV.
