Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Yesterday we got the motorhome prepared and loaded up, then drove to the beautiful market town of Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales (see picture taken when I walked the Pennine Way three years ago) to stay at the Caravan Club's Brown Moor site on the outskirts of town.
All seemed to go well apart from the fact that the fridge wasn't working en route, and although it was fine once we got hooked up to the on-site electricity supply, we found ourselves a bit marginal for ice for the pre-prandial G&Ts!
It's a very good site and the wardens, Ian & Ros McCall, were really friendly - Ros even made a donation to Cancer Research UK once she found out what we were doing. The cooking facilities worked fine and so did everything else, and we learnt a few things about the heating system (very necessary as it was freezing last night!)
The satellite dish does lots of whirring and direction finding but we couldn't get a picture on the telly, so I suppose we'd better get that sorted out! As you can see the sleeping arrangements are fine - mattresses slightly hard but OK. The smoke alarm started making a beeping noise every time we got near it or went over a bump in the road, but as soon as I took the battery out it was fine (OK, I'll fix it, don't worry). Contrary to what most people on Facebook think, the bottle of wine isn't empty (or at least it wasn't when the photo was taken...)
Water & sanitary appliances all OK but I'm not sure I like emptying the toilet cassette thing. Val says it's a man's job but I disagree. I think it's anybody's job providing it's not me!
Driving very steadily I managed to get just over 25mpg, so the fuel sponsorship we've received from Primrose Garage, Texaco and Shell is very welcome but if any other oil companies are reading this, don't feel that you need to be left out! By my calculations the sponsored fuel will run out after 1,900 miles and we've over 4,000 miles to do!
Next up is a briefing for all drivers on Saturday, the day before I do the Bay Dash, a 60-mile 'easy' sportive in the South Lakes, with two of the cyclists who'll be joining me for part of the Big Ride.
All seemed to go well apart from the fact that the fridge wasn't working en route, and although it was fine once we got hooked up to the on-site electricity supply, we found ourselves a bit marginal for ice for the pre-prandial G&Ts!
It's a very good site and the wardens, Ian & Ros McCall, were really friendly - Ros even made a donation to Cancer Research UK once she found out what we were doing. The cooking facilities worked fine and so did everything else, and we learnt a few things about the heating system (very necessary as it was freezing last night!)
The satellite dish does lots of whirring and direction finding but we couldn't get a picture on the telly, so I suppose we'd better get that sorted out! As you can see the sleeping arrangements are fine - mattresses slightly hard but OK. The smoke alarm started making a beeping noise every time we got near it or went over a bump in the road, but as soon as I took the battery out it was fine (OK, I'll fix it, don't worry). Contrary to what most people on Facebook think, the bottle of wine isn't empty (or at least it wasn't when the photo was taken...)
Water & sanitary appliances all OK but I'm not sure I like emptying the toilet cassette thing. Val says it's a man's job but I disagree. I think it's anybody's job providing it's not me!
Driving very steadily I managed to get just over 25mpg, so the fuel sponsorship we've received from Primrose Garage, Texaco and Shell is very welcome but if any other oil companies are reading this, don't feel that you need to be left out! By my calculations the sponsored fuel will run out after 1,900 miles and we've over 4,000 miles to do!
Next up is a briefing for all drivers on Saturday, the day before I do the Bay Dash, a 60-mile 'easy' sportive in the South Lakes, with two of the cyclists who'll be joining me for part of the Big Ride.
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