To Louth

July 6, 2022

I had plans for a longer post today, but they were dashed by a response from Susan Carpenter to a comment I dropped on her ride through Slovenia. It prompted me to go back and reread some of our journal from when we were hiding out from Covid in northern Croatia two summers ago; and by the time I pulled away from reminiscing and back into today’s world I’d used up most of my time budget. So if you feel shortchanged, go visit Susan’s blog and complain to her.

So, just the basics. We start the day with a repeat of the same fine breakfast we enjoyed yesterday and then walk over to the Stump for a quick look as soon as it opens at 9. Worth the trip over for sure, and fortunately I’m saved from my foolish plans to climb the tower by the fact that it’s currently closed. We do pick up a very nice current scone to supplement lunch on the road from their gift shop/cafe though.

A very big Stump indeed, as you can see.

The vast interior of St. Botolph’s, an immense space - one of the largest parish churches in England. The ceiling is really beautiful.

the dizzying view up the great Stump, to the floor 190 steps up (about halfway to the top). There’s a well placed mirror you can look down into and see the reflection upward and save your neck.

Looking down the Witham on the short walk back to our hotel. The white building to the right is our hotel, the White Hart. The colorful bridge is the Town Bridge, recently sand blasted and repainted.

Leaving Boston. Rachael looks uncertain about it all. It’s very windy, and she wonders if I’m going to be dragging her into the gravel again.

The ride begins easily, with a flat twelve miles as we bike across the northern edge of the fens.

The Witham, the Stump, the foot bridge, the White Hart Hotel, a moorhen.

Unlike yesterday, the team navigator shows Rocky a good time today. Pavement the entire way!

Anton’s Gowt Lock, where the Newham Drain empties into the Witham. I joined several guys watching the lock slowly fill so the vessel could proceed up-drain before deciding I’d be waiting forever.

Raising a small disturbance. We were glad he was well away from the road.

A last look at the fens, our stomping ground for the last week. So long, it’s been good to know yuh, fens!

We almost don’t make it out of the fens alive, as Rachael narrowly avoids a crushing with the Lincolnshire Wolds rising just ahead.

The last two thirds of the ride are something completely different, and shock our climbing muscles out of their fen-induced stupor. We’re in another Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for most of the rest of the day, the Lincolnshire Wolds. After our first visit to one now, we’re starting to notice a pattern about these AONB’s - they’re not just beautiful, they’re lumpy. We note that England has not preserved a Fens AONB, for example.

And they are beautiful, with no doubt about it. The next 20 miles are a procession of one knockout vista after another, almost entirely on low traffic paved lanes. We’re in Louth for two nights so we’ll get a second look at them tomorrow.

One note about the ride: lying RideWithGPS surprised us again today. It’s not with gravel this time though. If you look at the ride profile you’ll see the maximum grade listed at a very manageable 7.6%. So it’s an unpleasant surprise when we hit 13% on the climb away from the River Waring at about mile 25. Hard enough, though rewarded by a stunning view at the top. But it softens us up for the second 13% groaner a few miles later, and then the last one that hits 15% really does almost bring our feet to the pavement. So that’s a caution to keep in mind if you come this way. Bring your camera, but bring your climbing legs too.

An interesting fence line bordering a small chapel.

Fantastic country, in all directions. This is the view south from Bluestone Heath Road, a gorgeous ridge ride.

Video sound track: All of My Life, by Classic Dream Orchestra

So we come to Louth (pronounced like the compass direction, just so you know), where we’re staying at The Masons Arms for the next two nights. Nice place, nice town, and a nice Italian restaurant (Montebello) where we enjoy chatting with our pert young waitress who looks and sounds British but surprises us by informing us that she’s from Milan.

More on Louth and a second look at the Wolds tomorrow, but for now let’s not forget the maddening Nespresso machine in our room, with a different design than any we’ve seen before. Why are there so many designs, with so many unique features that you have to master just to brew your damn cup of coffee? This one’s quirk is the water container, which comes with a lid with three small illustrations on the lid explaining how to use it. No words, save for Snap! above the second image, apparently showing how you’d lock the chamber against the brewer.

We each give it several tries without success, so I resort to downloading the manual. No help. It’s in sixteen languages, but they say nothing more than what you can see on the lid. In the meantime I hear an unprintable oath behind me. Rachael has somehow dropped the lid into the slot behind the shelves the Nespresso sits on. It’s a narrow slot, perhaps an inch wide. The lid is behind the shelves, somewhere near the floor, out of reach and out of sight. The shelves are built in and unmoveable, so there it sits. We’ll leave a note with apologies for the hotel when we leave.

Stupid inanimate object! I was thinking I’d include a picture of the useless instruction diagram, but it’s on the lid behind the shelves.

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Keith AdamsYOW! Tht change in topography is dramatic, and I can see why it came as a rude surprise. (Bearing in mind that when viewed on a phone in portrait mode the distance scale is very compressed but the vertical scale is not...)
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1 year ago

Ride stats today: 38 miles, 1,800’; for the tour: 739 miles, 27,700’

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 739 miles (1,189 km)

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Rich FrasierFwiw, I’ve found that RidewithGPS consistently underestimates grades in the route planner. When I compare my rides with the routes, it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s the same ride.
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1 year ago