The 2011 Superbike Adventure.

We decided for our 2011 adventure to go on some recommended roads and to revisit Olivers Mount.
As this ride was a day shorter than the other trips we have been on and no passports, documents or cheese and pickle sandwiches were required. Col andI decided to take just the one bag of luggage. Packing the night before Col rang to tell me that he had a problem fitting everything in. The solution was to put his shoes in a plastic bag and bungie them to the top of his luggage. I managed to fit everything inside my luggage holder but it was fit to burst. Jon decided to use both his bags as his pants take up so much space!
The journey to Scarborogh went smoothly and we avoided any rain that had been forecast. On arriving at the hotel, Sandra the owner told us it had been chucking it down all afternoon until about half an hour before we arrived and we expected to get a soaking the following day.



The train at Pickering

We set off to a town called Pickering recommended by Col and stopped by an old railway station. The train was leaving so we stayed and watched the old steam loco disappear down the tracks before heading to a village called Goathland where they filmed Heartbeat. As non of us had watched Heartbeat since Nick Berry was in it about 20 years ago we didn't recognise what we were looking at, so had an ice cream and left for Whitby with the tune of TV show ringing in our heads. Da da.de.da,da etc.
We arrived in Whitby just as the heavens opened so found a Pub to wait for the weather go by. Later we went back to Scarborogh via Robinhoods bay. We found the race circuit on Olivers Mount and filmed some laps to put on our youtube channel.
The followong day we left Scarborogh heading for Kendal and the Lake district.



Robin hood was ere!

On the way is a road that a magazine called Ride had recommended, so we thought it would be a shame not to have a look on the way through. The B1257 runs from Stokesley to Helmsley, it started off fairly average but after 10 minutes or so we could see why it is thought of so highly as it twists one way then the other for miles, making it on to our ultimate roads list, Most enjoyable.
 Next we followed the A684 to a village called Aysgarth to look at the 3 tier waterfall famous for being a scene in the film, Robin Hood. Free parking for bikes, most welcome.



Buttertubs pass

 Our next destination was Buttertubs Pass, a favourite road of Top Gears. Having not seen the Butter Tubs we thought we could stop for a viewing while along the road.



The deep Buttertub

The road was not one that makes it onto our ultimate roads list as there was lots of sheep wondering around on the road, most of the surrounding hill had slid down onto the road so lots of gravel was on the steepest bit, and there was a bloomin great drop just the otherside of a wire fence for a mile or so.


We stopped at the Buttertubs, so called because local farmers who got fed up of carting their butter from the village to market used to store it in the cool cave like holes. I am sure health and safety now adays would have something to say about that!We re joined the A684 heading for Kendal, what a road. It twists and turns for miles, infact by now we were begining to want a straight bit of tarmac for a rest.




We arrived at Kendal and found the Sundial Guest House, another lucky find as it was a lovelly place and ideal for what we wanted.
The next day we went looking for the Hartside cafe near Penrith. I had been told it was a bikers cafe on top of the mountains along the A686, but that was all. 


We found biking heaven! Infact we all agreed that the road should go straight in at number 1 in our ultimate roads list.

Hartside Cafe




The Cafe is the highest in England  at 1904 feet. It was July when we were there and when we went inside the fires were on as it was so cold up there. The ride down was even better than the ride up, so we did it again!

You can see our film of the A686 here.





Right at the top of the road.

 Afterwards we headed West around the coast road and eventually found our way to the Hardknott Pass. This is one of the steepest roads in England with a gradient of 30%. In places the corners were so tight that my bike didnt have enough steering lock to navigate around them with out stopping and reversing a few feet first. Col was the only one to stall on the steep part, but he was stuck behind a Volvo at the time.
You can watch our short film of that here. 
On the way back to the Sundial we descided to cross lake Windermere on the ferry.




On the ferry across Windermere

The next day we returned home and for a change it didnt rain.
 Our Eco Challenge resulted in Col in 1st averaging 52MPG Fireblade
                                                 Phill 2nd Averaging 49MPG R1
                                                  Jon 3rd Averaging 47MPG GSXR


Summary
Date:- 9th - 13th July 2011
Weather:- 4 dry days, 1 raining
Hotels:- Rosedene (Scarborogh) / Sundial Guest house (Kendal)
Miles:- 770.
Fuel cost per litre:- 1.34p to 1.39p a ltr (7 petrol stations)
EDSBK Riders:- Phill,Col,Jon
Aim:- Lap the Olivers Mount road racing circuit in Scarborogh,
 ride along the B1257, see the Buttertubs,
ride along the A686 to Hartside cafe,
 and ride one of the steepest roads in England over the Hardknott pass.