Tuesday 4 May 2010

On getting ready for the road

Well, I've done York. I done most of the things you can do in York without getting obsessive. They have tours by boat done by a company called York Boat. I was amused by this name as I believe in Canajun context, a York boat is what was used on rivers and lakes out West by the Hudson's Bay Company.

Yesterday, I rode from the London Youth Hostel to King's cross station where I caught the train to here. The only real complication was hauling Leonardo up and over the tracks in York. I probably could have looked harder and found the lift but I was feeling macho. After lunch at a pub, I headed to the Youth Hostel, where I checked in, and then spent too much time waiting for the St-Henri Caisse Populaire to tell my that I was SOL as far as my debit card was concerned. Consequently, I have put as much cash as prudent from bank account into my credit card.

As I got ready to do some sight seeing in York, I noticed that I had left my clear cycling glasses behind. I picked out a bike shop from the cycling in York pamphlet I had acquired from tourist information and made a bee-line for it. Fortunately, the bike shop had what I needed, if not at the price I wanted. Still they gave a discount so I can't complain (£34.99 instead of £39.99)

At breakfast this morning, there was an older man in bright spandex biking togs in front of me. I made a comment about how I was glad I wasn't the only fool on bike around. I don't think he heard me. When I was walking to my table, I saw that he was one of party of four cyclists, all of them, apparently, Dutch, all older men and women, and all in bright spandex. I later saw them setting off on what seemed to be mountain bikes with road (smooth) tires. Not very fast looking, so I wonder if there is any chance of me bumping into them further along the road.

I took a walking tour of York this morning. I am pretty sure the guide was exaggerating the height of the Roman soldiers as being on the order of 4 feet (sic). After a quick bite, I took in the Jorvik centre, the walls of York, the Richard III museum (I couldn't stop thinking of the Black Adder version of events), the Guild of Merchant Adventurers and finally the pièce de résistance, York Minster.

There is a weakness with the Lonely Planet guide as the featured restaurants tend towards the exotic or artistic rather than the filling. Then again, maybe the problem lies with the restaurants of York! As tomorrow I hit the road, I wanted a darn good feed rather than a culinary experience. Consequently, I went into a pub listed in the guide as featuring real ale. As it served food, I ordered their grub and filling it was.

Time for bed.

Oh dear. It seems that the volcano in Iceland is acting up again.

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