A Canny Ride Out

The smell of wood burning fires rising from the chimneys in the hamlet of Uldale brings an inward smile to me, it is yet another of the senses to be enjoyed when riding a motorbike. The smell of heaps of steaming cow dung maybe doesn’t quite fall into the ‘enjoyment’ category, but it adds to the ‘ambience’ of being in rural England. 

Temperature played a big part in choices for today’s ride, the Rocket or the Panzer? The dawn of a cloudless sky was all I needed to be enticed to roll out one of my steeds. As the temperature was hovering in the low single figures I took the sensible option and plumped for the BMW with its big screen, this would at least stave off the windchill factor for a while. The northern Lakes beckoned me, on such a beautiful day how could I resist?

As I meandered over Caldbeck Common, taking some previously unridden (by me) back roads, I pondered the title of this post. The temperature gauge on the bike nudged 0c and ice was prevalent in the gutters of the less used lanes. I thought ‘I need to go canny’ along here, canny in the sense of being cautious. I would not be throwing caution to the wind on any of this ride, taking it easy was definitely high on my agenda. 

As the sun rose higher in the sky I thought ‘I quite like this motorcycling malarkey’ which made me realise that this was in fact becoming a ‘canny’ in the sense of ’nice’, ride.

Braithwaite seemed the perfect stop for a bacon butty and cuppa before the climb over the sun starved road of Whinlatter Pass, the temperature had now climbed to a tropical 4c, but a break would give a little more time for any icy patches to thaw. The prospect of riding over the forested Whinlatter Pass was not as daunting as the huge bacon roll staring at me! Food is now my biggest challenge, or at least getting it into the engine compartment,  but a tasty bacon butty is a difficult thing to resist. The freeway leading from my mouth to my stomach isn’t particularly ‘free’ at the moment, but roadworks are due to start soon thereby allowing digestion of a full English.

Suitably refreshed, Whinlatter was a joy, I snuck down the back road into the village of Lorton before heading for Crummock and Buttermere.

Riding alongside Buttermere I felt seventeen again, I was experiencing one of those moments that you just treasure, you know it won’t last and because of that it becomes more valuable. When I was seventeen I worked in my parents cafe, the phrase ‘full time employment’ was an understatement! All I wanted to do was ride my bike with Rachel. My mum would occasionally allow me two hours off in an afternoon and Rache and I would head off up the Lakes. I was frequently late back and got a tongue lashing from mum. But those two (& a bit) hours away I valued so much, they were so precious to me. Now, being retired, I have all the time to choose what and when I want to do things, so it came as a surprise to feel that feeling again. Maybe as we get older the goalposts change and the realisation of those special moments come from being in a different place? As a teenager there is no ‘end game’, but as a sixty something there’s no doubting we’re into the second half! Here’s to extra time and penalties!

I take a moment to park up in my favourite place at the end of Buttermere, a place I sometimes swim from, maybe I should’ve brought my wetsuit today? Passers by stop to chat and there is a general air of wellbeing amongst everybody.

By the time I return to the Braithwaite cafe via Honister Pass and Borrowdale Valley it has warmed sufficiently to turn down the heated handlebar grips and peel off one of the many base layers. After a brew it was the A66 then the back roads through Mungrisdale and eventually home.

Yes this definitely was a canny ride out!