Charlotte and I had been wanting to try out riding a tandem, and the best place to do this is at JD Tandems in Gargrave, North Yorkshire, which just so happens to be about 15 miles from the checkpoint at Settle.
One way of picking up cycle quest checkpoints is by taking advantage of being in a different part of the country for another reason to squeeze in a day ride. Just one such circumstances arose whilst Charlotte was giving a lecture at Edinburgh University, leaving me with 6 hours in the Edinburgh area to explore. With input from a friend who lives in the area, I plotted a route of just over 40 miles, taking in three cycle quest checkpoints and a real variety of riding.
A day off work and a weather forecast of clear skies and 10C in February provided a good excuse for a day trip to the North York Moors to collect the two cycle quest checkpoints within the National Park and to make an attempt to ride the somewhat infamous climb of Rosedale Chimney, sometimes referred to as the steepest climb in the country.
I had never imagined that I would be able to combine a club ride with collecting a cycle quest checkpoint, but the suggestion by a fellow club member of a ride in the Eden Valley starting and finishing in Brampton was a perfect opportunity, especially as the ride was planned to start and finish at the checkpoint itself!
