106 km, 420 metres climbed
As we were already on the outskirts of York in the direction we needed to go, there was no convoy to get out of the city.
To start we had a bike path, then out onto the main roads which because it was a Saturday morning it was not so busy.
- Kaye and Shirley Fry on the Humber Bridge.
We made really good time as the terrain was pretty flat and got to the hotel at 1:15 pm and yay the room was ready. After a shower, I managed to have a video call with Tracey and Jasper. Jasper blew lots of really cute kisses.
We then headed out to have a look at the town. Currently Grimsby is voted the place least wanted to live in in England, but in its hey-day it was a very prosperous sea port. In 1950 it was the busiest sea port in England with a fleet of 750 boats. The boats were after cod, the cod were depleted by over-fishing, leading to the “cod wars” between Iceland and England. This was because as with the European Union (EU) there are open borders and all the EU can fish these waters. There were three court cases, each time Iceland won. There is some hope that this can be reversed with Brexit, as England will be able to introduce the 200 mile limit.
The area looks like a high rate of unemployment, with lots of budget shops such as “pound stretcher” which is the NZ equivalent of the $2 shop.
We went into a bar called the Curious Cat because we liked the name, then into a bar called The Bar That Rocks. Then back to the hotel for riders meeting.
- Brett at the Curious Cat
We weren’t eating at the hotel, instead we were going to an American Bar just nearby called the Smoke House. It was not fun. we got there at 6 pm and left there after 8:30pm, in which time they managed to serve two courses.
The first course there was no choice – fried cheese balls and fried jalapeños, which were ok. Then for the main, unless you were a vegetarian or vegan, the choice was ribs and brisket with mash or chips! Given the limited choice you wouldn’t have thought it would have taken as long too cook. The ribs were average and the brisket was too tough to eat, even given how hungry I was. A couple of the riders walked out without waiting, which would have been a good plan, and found somewhere else.
We passed the time chatting. Was talking to Bryce and Becky who did the South American ride in 2017, they said the food the great. A different chef made all the difference, plus of course TDA may have taken on board the rider feedback about the inadequacy of the food in 2015.
The other good news was they have abandoned the race component for the ride. I was really pleased to hear about both as the race lead to some unhealthy rivalry building up over the months and some dangerous rider behavior.
We have an easy day tomorrow, 76 k and only 350 metres to climb.
Kaye's Awesome Adventures 