Despite it being Valentine’s day we had a good turnout this morning with new boys Malcolm, Jamie and Dan joining Karl and James.  We started with a bumpy route out to Fountains Abbey through Hampsthwaite, Shaw Mills and Markington before heading down through the Deer Park at Fountains.  We were rewarded with great views down the Avenue towards Ripon Cathederal and beyond.

From Ripon we headed to Boroughbridge and a stop at Gilchrists Tea Rooms, very good as usual except Malcolm’s eggs were most definitely not poached!  From here it was a return to Harrogate via Minskip, Staveley, Arkendale and Abbey Road in Knaresborough.

Once again we were blessed with some nice winter sunshine for what was a very enjoyable 41 miles.

View the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24682425