Bothies in the mist

Brand and Marketing Manager, Alex Dyson took Restrap ambassador, Seun Alaba on his first bothy trip. They were joined by Restrap founder Nathan, and spent just over 24 hours crossing the Yorkshire Dales as winter began to make its presence felt. Over to Alex...

“I’m up in York on the 6th-7th of November for work, are you free for a ride?”

“I think so…”

“Ever stayed in a bothy?”

It’s nice when you meet someone that is easy-going, yet excited about new experiences. It’s nice when you are presented with an opportunity to create memories with friends that you don’t get to see often. It’s nice when a plan is formed so easily. A couple of Whatsapp messages exchanged; the seed of an idea planted. 

 

I first began speaking to Seun when he was training for the Pan Celtic Race at the same time as me. I had a lot of admiration for him to line up for an ultra race as his first toe in the waters of bikepacking, yet felt like he might have skipped a few steps.

As time went on, we spoke more and more frequently about our opinions on the racing scene, cycling industry, bikepacking and adventure riding as a whole but it was rare we actually got to ride together. And recently, when we have, it has either been for work, or both toeing the line at The Land Between. In fact, both of us have ridden to race almost exclusively this year. So, when Seun had a spare weekend in our neck of the woods, we decided to make the most of it. The only non-negotiable we both had was that this was to be a fun and sociable two days, rather than a smash-fest. After a long summer of our own challenges, we were craving for a slower-paced, more relaxed approach to riding.

The plan

“A more relaxed approach to riding”... I pulled together a route that b-lined straight into the Yorkshire Dales via stabby road climbs and off road tracks. To be fair, this was not down to any sadistic tendency and more a matter of not having a great deal of choice when it comes to traversing the Dales. And the trade-off would be spectacular views of Yorkshire in its finest autumnal livery. Our destination was a game-shooter’s hut that is left open and available for the public to use. I’d ridden past it earlier in the year, during the Dales Divide weekend and it’s conveniently located a short distance from Leyburn. This would allow us to stock up on food, Guinness and wood from the small supermarket, before riding the final few miles along gravel tracks into the moors. 

The reality 

We set off from my house before the sun crept up over the horizon and into the mist, meeting Nathan just north of Headingley to begin our journey out of the city and into the hills. It had the potential to be a long day out and I was keen to arrive at our 5 star destination with daylight to spare.

As blocks of flats and four-way junctions gave way to stone-built cottages and bridleways, our relaxed but efficient pacing opened up for more photo stops and playful piss-taking while I nursed three rear punctures in the first 10 miles. This was clearly the last of this tyre’s 1,500 miles of fun.

I was only fulfilling half of my ride promises, the hills were indeed steep but the views were replaced by a thick layer of mist concealing anything beyond a few hundred metres ahead of us. As the hours went by, the blanket slowly dissolved at the perfect moment. We had slid through the last of the valley mud and were making our way up the steepest climb of the ride up to Low Ash Head Moor just East of Lofthouse. Cresting the never-ending slog we were treated to a wide vista. Looking north, our double-track snaked down as far as the eye could see.

After a flying descent to the tune of high pitched whoops and Tyler The Creator’s new album, we came across a small pub in the middle of nowhere with a roaring fire. We all dismounted and huddled in for a round of full-fat cokes and Guinness while our fingers defrosted.

After checking on our progress, we agreed not to enjoy the warmth of the pub for long; we weren’t far from our planned shopping stop but the always-present threat of an early sunset made us keen to crack on.

Following the quick ride to Leyburn, the packing puzzle began.. How do you transport a sack of wood, food and beers for three by bike in a safe and functional manner off-road for seven miles? The answer is fast-straps. All the fast-straps.

Using a ‘bag for life’ to keep the logs together, we attached the fast straps together to reach the required length to attach to Nathan’s handlebars along with attaching to the stem to anchor the bag and prevent any nasty tips. I can’t say I’d recommend this to anyone… but it worked without a hitch. Seun carried the food in his Hydration Vest and I carried the beers in the left-over space in my Bar Pack and a Race Musette.

The final leg of our journey was slow and steady while balancing the pack of wood on handlebars. This allowed us to really take in the scenery as the lighter shades of grey began to fade around us and the bothy appeared as we swooped round a loose corner. It was bigger than I remember and the open fire had been swapped out for a proper fire-stove. Win!

New friends

We got a fire going, changed into warm clothes and began setting up a space to sleep in when a couple of hikers arrived with plans to sleep in the same bothy. We welcomed them in to find they had brought more wood, coals and a buffet’s worth of food - if that doesn’t make you friends with a stranger quickly, then I don’t know what does! The rest of the evening was spent sharing stories of adventures and working through the copious supplies of fuel before the final load of coal went on the fire and we all made our way into our sleeping bags.

Returning home

We had a shorter but even steeper journey planned for the Sunday and less time to complete it in. That meant the morning rolled around a little quicker than we might have liked and we packed up in the dark before embarking on our return leg – a punchy route towards Ribblehead station to catch the train back to Leeds in time for a Sunday Roast in our local pub.

We worked our way over the trails hiking up 25% climbs before the swoopy fluid gravel descent to the road into Muker – maybe one of the best gravel sections I’ve ridden. Next up, the landmark climb Buttertubs was on the menu. I specifically picked this route to share as much of the local landscape as I could with Seun and he wasn’t mad about it.. Until the rain came in.

We climbed over and descended into Hawes as the SPAR opened and allowed us to stock up on some snacks for the train home before our hilly journey to Ribblehead station, next to that other Dales icon; the Ribblehead Viaduct. 

Once again, the weather denied Seun the full glory of the view, but there were enough arches towering out the gloom to give an indication of its scale. 

Deeper meaning

Stories like this are meant to have a conclusion. Deeper meaning. What did we learn? Well, winter riding can be nice and feel adventurous without being an epic. Hanging out with friends is always good. And the feeling of content tiredness during the post-ride hot shower is never not amazing. Oh, and a Sunday lunch is an institution best enjoyed with some winter miles in the legs. 

And perhaps that’s what we learnt. Not that “good things are good”, but that sometimes it pays to take a step back and enjoy them with a new sense of appreciation. There’s a lot to be said for racing. There’s a lot to be said for pushing yourself. There’s also a hell of a lot to be said for going with the flow. 

 

Photo credits: Colour images – Alex Dyson, B+W – Seun Alaba