Was yesterday...?

[Arch]

... "Yorkshire get out on your bike day"? I did 50 miles and lost count of the number of other cyclists I saw - from the roadie club group in the cafe in Tadcaster to all manner of individuals and couples, some on road bikes, some on hydirds, at least one on a sit up and beg Dutch style town bike. It must have been the weather. Certainly the chap riding bare chested in Wighill was enjoying the sun.

It was a great ride - I only meant to go out for the morning, but it was so nice, I just carried on. I saw all sorts of things - I found a lovely little cycle track, a retail park for Hobbits, a chap on a bridge over the railway, trainspotting, clapped me and said "50 today?" to which I replied "36 so far and looking good" before wondering if he'd been questioning my age and birthday, and just coming into Bishopthorpe, two girls riding bareback, one leading another horse, who cheerily thanked me for my 'hello'. It was just all perfect. And I got two cafe stops in.

 

[Crackle]

OK, just a minute, rewind that, "A retail park for Hobbits". Did you ride through the looking glass, out the back of the wardrobe or something new?

 

[Piemaster]

a retail park for Hobbits

Eh? Please let this place really exist

More details Arch! Weather was really nice yesterday, some sun and no wind I think explains all.

edit: Boo. Crackle beat me.

 

[Crackle]

edit: Boo. Crackle beat me.

He means ..."to it," m'lud as I've never met before now.

 

[Arch]

Thorp Arch (great name!) Retail Park. I dunno what it was before, maybe a military base, maybe just a municipal stores or something, but there are about 7 or 8 stores (DFS, an electrical place, a garden centre, a bed shop etc) and each one has a normal frontage, but the store disappears into a grass covered hillock, like a Hobbit house.

Add in the pirate ship theme playground, with full size galleon, and it was all a bit surreal.

 

[PaulB]

We were out riding in Yorkshire yesterday, for the majority of our ride anyway. The scenery was created by God to compensate for populating the county with Yorkshiremen you know. Although I have to say we thought it was "Yorkshire, get out on the loudest, smelliest and fastest motorbike you possess" yesterday as we were constantly strafed by the buggers for hours.

 

[Piemaster]

Thorp Arch (great name!) Retail Park. I dunno what it was before, maybe a military base, maybe just a municipal stores or something, but there are about 7 or 8 stores (DFS, an electrical place, a garden centre, a bed shop etc) and each one has a normal frontage, but the store disappears into a grass covered hillock, like a Hobbit house.

Add in the pirate ship theme playground, with full size galleon, and it was all a bit surreal.

No, no, no, no, Arch. A retail park. My imagination was running riot. You should have made something much more interesting up, and then added that the next York CC ride will be having a cafe stop there.

 

[vernon]

Thorp Arch (great name!) Retail Park. I dunno what it was before, maybe a military base,

It was a munitions factory and was a filling station for shells for WWII and the Korean war

 

[Globalti]

Were some schools off for Eid yesterday? I went out and there were kids everywhere.

 

[Arch]

It was a munitions factory and was a filling station for shells for WWII and the Korean war

oh, that would make sense, it had a military look to it.

Piemaster, as a matter of fact, I'm thinking it might make a good cafe stop, yes. I'm intrigued by the Bistro/cafe which claims on its sign to have "Conservatory, Terrace and Pond" - I'm not sure if you eat in the pond, or sitting next to it....

It's also just down the road from the Northern arm of the British Library, BTW. And Cyclesense have a showroom nearby....

 

[postman]

Thorp Arch munitions factory.All very hush hush.Had it's own railway and 18,000 people worked there during the war.

Very bad working conditions but things were different then.

 

[Cathryn]

There's a GREAT bike shop in it!! Cyclesense in Tadcaster apparently have a second branch there with BIG things in it, including a bike rental scheme. So not only is it very intruiguing (I agree, we explored it when we stumbled on it earlier this year) but it has a bike shop in it!!