I guess the hotel being that close to the station does have drawbacks with noise of train movements at the station, especially if there is no AC needing the window to be opened. (The Travelodge in Leeds city centre springs to mind, as does the Rugby Travelodge). Ideal for someone just wanting a place to crash for the night who didn't fancy walking to the Easy Hotel!
What was the quality of the path like at the bottom of the sea defences at New Holland [assuming you weren't foolish to ride along the path at the top!]
And agreed, the original 321s sound better than the refurbished ones, especially on the section north of Colchester where the drivers open them up.
Ah yes I know what you mean about Rugby Travelodge, I was initially thrilled to have a room overlooking the railway. I wasn't a few hours later with all the noise!
The route via the seafront was pretty decent in general, a few areas where the tarmac/concrete needed replacing or where there was some gravelly bits, but overall I would say I enjoyed that bit. Helped no end by the wind being behind me, rather than fighting it!
I had a really good run to Colchester out of Witham, but I agree the later ride from Colchester to Ipswich was amazing
I managed to get all my photos captioned, titled and tagged on Zenfolio this morning before work, so the final few trip reports will not take as long to get shared! Without further ado, here is Day 4:
09/09/2021 - Tech's Second Cycling Holiday, Day 4
Another patchy night of sleep, and at 0552 the screeching of a train coming to a stop woke me up. I had considered leaving getting up to the sound of the alarm at 6am, but I've not done that for a few days and I didn't feel like hearing that sound before Monday if I could help it. So a mighty good de-rance was had, that felt better and I had well over an hour until I wanted to check out. Time to put some music on then while I left a cuppa brew and cool off, as well as decide what I wanted to do for breakfast. I had a rather raging stomach, and I wasn't convinced a visit to Greggs at the station was going to cut it. There was one thing I knew for sure, that when I eventually move I'm not going to a place too close to a railway station. The amount of 66s I've heard moving about, the sound of a 66 pulling away on a heavy load is mighty impressive it must be said, but I couldn't put up with that every night!
Eventually I was out the door and on the way to the station, ready to find out what 755 would take me to Peterborough. First up though was filling my bottles and a visit to Greggs. It wouldn't tide me over for long, the lengthy break in Peterborough had already been scheduled for sourcing supplies anyway. The food in Greggs was barely warm at all today, not what I expected a little after 7am! I had brought my recycling out of the guest house with me, as I had figured I'd seen a recycling bin on Ipswich station, and I wasn't convinced I could trust the guest house owners to actually recycle it. Turns out I was wrong, and must have been remembering the one in Norwich. So I ended up disgracing my inner self and had to chuck it in a normal bin!
Back over to platform 1 and the Norwich trains were all sorts of mixed today. 0711 was 755423, 0741 was Stansted Express 745109! Of relevant note, out of the 10 745/1s I only need 3 of them for sight and all but one of the 7 I've seen have been on non-Stansted Express workings!
Winner 755424 was on the 0801, and I boarded nice and early to ensure my bike was on. It felt wise to make sure, and I had time at a table seat next to the power pod to finish filling in my maps. Which is what kept me busy, and my cuppa was not pleasant in the end, as the tea bag had burst so most of it ended up as bits in the bottom of my cup. Yuck! I had wondered why my train was being so quiet, then I remembered the 755s run on electric to Stowmarket. The 755s aren't terribly exciting on electric, as I'm sure it can be imagined, and the power pod switched on at Stowmarket ready for the train to head west on the diesel-only route to Peterborough via Bury St Edmunds and Ely.
My peace and quiet was now gone, as the train got super busy with students. Joy! Soon I would be leaving Greater Anglia terrain behind, to join the ECML and later arrive on Northern terrain. Excitement was getting major, and my first LNER Azuma journey was coming up. The last time I was on this route with Greater Anglia, it was all 170s and the upgrade is very significant! Soham's new station was coming on really well, and eventually I arrived into Ely. By now, the maps were all up to date, and it's fair to say my Norfolk map looks a lot better following the big ride on Day 2!
I could just see part of the sidings where lots of trains are currently being stored, awaiting disposal, which looks really quite sad. I managed a quick look at Ely Cathedral, my word that looks stunning. I bumped a visit to this part of the world right up my list of plans as a result! Arrival into Peterborough was 1 minute early, and after some queuing for and using lifts I was outside. I had planned to go to the cathedral while in Peterborough, but the trip to Asda took much longer than I had anticipated.
With that all done, I rode back to the station via a cycle-friendly route and ended up in Pumpkin on platform 4 for a cuppa. I had figured I'd go for a decaff coffee, alas it was out of stock so I went for a tea instead. PG Tips, ugh, really...Both the staff were a bit clueless, putting milk in without asking first was not really clever. Mind you, if I'd asked them how many fingers a human hand has I doubt I would have been given the right answer!
After that, I saw 717001 had arrived on some sort of empty stock move. I don't know why it was up there, it was soon off to the yard and looked like it was staying there for a while.
Sadly my train was short-formed, from a pair of 5 car Azumas to one 5 car 801. "Oh that's going to be fun" I told myself, but figured it would be fine. Time next for some proper food, in the form of 3 rolls filled with Quorn vegan chicken slices. My first time trying those and they were surprisingly nice. A vegan version of a Kinder Bueno followed, much better. I felt less irritated all of a sudden, good news. Caffeine management improvement is still ongoing, but I'm doing far better than before so I can't complain. Not long ago at all I'd have had lots of coffee this week, with that amount of cycling it would have been guaranteed. So all things considered, I'm very pleased with progress!
Winner 801102 rolled in and I was back to irritated. This was my first journey with LNER, and I was not impressed. The bike space in coach D was only open a few inches, it had been put that way by someone else and there was no-one around to ask for help. So I left the bike propped up against the door and would have to attend to it at Doncaster. In the meantime, I had a cuppa to finish and to be fair it went down well, helped no doubt by the sugar!
On went some proper fast-paced music for the non-stop journey to Doncaster, and I had considered alighting early. I'll be forwarding my comments to LNER, as I sure don't want to do a long journey with them again any time soon. Quite, the cycling trip to The Fens will get done on Greater Anglia or Great Northern/Thameslink! I would even go on XC ahead of LNER!
So will I be red-penning any Azumas on this trip? Absolutely, short leaps without the bike from Leeds to Wakefield will still be fine, but not a chance will I be taking my bike on LNER any time soon! Today was about trying to clear my 333s, a mission that has been waiting to be finished for a long time. I had seen just 2 of the 4 allocated when I looked, so I was not looking to clear the class after all. Progress towards doing so though was fine. There was also a ton of Transpennine Express stuff, my last two Northern 158s as well as any 331s that were about. So in short, I had plenty to hunt! A shame about the evening peak time thing, but it is what it is.
Eventually the train arrived at Leeds and I got my West Yorkshire Daysaver Train Only for £8.30 nice and fast. Originally, I was going after a 158 which was coming back from the Harrogate direction. So I joined 170461 for a leap to Horsforth out of platform 0. Or so it was going to be…
The train shut down whilst waiting for its driver, and by chance a 333 I needed was rolling in on platform 2. The plan changed very quickly and I was soon on my way to join winner 333005 instead. Out I got at Shipley, which involved two lengthy ramps to get to platform 2, and after an attempt to fix that weird plastic ring around the back of my gears cassette, to stop it attacking the spokes, I joined winner 331106 for a short journey to Bingley.
A can of Rubicon Mango was very much enjoyed there, and I planned my afternoon out. Sadly, due to the weather forecast, I wasn't going to do any riding between Skipton and Steeton & Silsden after all. It was looking a bit iffy as to whether I would get to do my planned ride to Dewsbury as it was! A better fix clipped that plastic ring back on, and I joined winner 331103 for a one stop leap to Saltaire. That place looks beautiful, and I need to explore it properly one day. With more planning of journeys, I joined winner 331108 for the journey to Leeds. There was another 331 I needed out, my logic was it should still be out later when I return for the other 333s. I also fancied some Azuma scoring while I could, so the plan became locking the bike up and doing a couple of leaps before the evening peak restriction kicked in.
A toss-up between LNER and Transpennine saw the balance fall in favour of LNER somehow, and I joined a very busy 800209 for a leap to Wakefield Westgate. For whatever reason, 91101 was on its own on the through road at Wakefield Westgate, so a photo of that meant I had to move my derriere to get back to Leeds.
That produced winner 801201, another busy train. Upon arrival in Leeds, it was decided to check on the afternoon weather forecast then plan from there. No nearer to a decision, I waited so long to get off the Azuma I ended up getting a fast march on to base camp, on this occasion it was easyHotel Leeds. It is very central to the centre of Leeds, and not that far from the station.
With a backpack now nice and empty, I investigated my options and got my march on back to the station. I made it back and unlocked the bike just in time to join the 1526 to Skipton, in the hands of 333010. Dud, but a good long run on a 333 had not been had for a long time. The logic had been, partly at least, that the 2 333s out that I wanted would be out on the Skipton line later anyway, so it made no sense to put myself miles away in Dewsbury.
Almost 11 minutes late and I was on the way. There was excitement in the air, what would be the main event of the cycling portion of the day was about to begin! The weather attempted to dampen the mood, quite literally, as arrival at Keighley was into the rain. Into the coat and waterproof trousers then!
Originally at Steeton & Silsden, I was going to ride over to Cononley, as I wanted the station visit done. However, I turned to the south and rode to Keighley where the rain got heavier. I also didn't realise how hilly Keighley is before, and at one point in a place called Hainworth I think the road became a cobbled surface for quite some distance. Which was bad enough in the dry, let alone the wet. Add in a 20% gradient too and it was a receipe for disaster! My footwear of choice at the moment is a pair of Nike Downshifter, which are designed more for running than this sort of adventure!
The views up the top, and yes I did have to push the bike for around 0.35 miles, that was a challenge on its own, well the views were beautiful. This was proper West Yorkshire territory, the sort of scenery you think of when someone says Yorkshire! At the next road junction, a flash of lightning reminded me during a brief dry spell that there was a yellow warning for stormy weather in place across much of England and Wales.
Therefore I needed to get going, and there was soon a long constant 14% downhill gradient which really tested my nerves. I don't like steep hills, especially on roads I don't know well, and in wet weather with wet tyres, wet brakes and wet rims…
I got back to Bingley, and I did consider ending the ride there, locking up and getting food. After eventually keeping the screen clear of water long enough to check Maps, I figured I might as well go for gold and ride to Bradford. The evening peak was still not finishing for quite some time, and there was nowhere even slightly dry to lock the bike up and get my pizza. The ride was wet, unsurprisingly, but I made it quite well to Bradford city centre. The last mile and a half on a busy big road wasn't much fun mind! Still, near Forster Square station I discovered Bradford have a bit of London in them, as they have a Cycle Superhighway. Marked in light green and segregated from the traffic, it looked like a good idea and a route I'd have to look into on a future visit.
I had planned to stop for a proper meal, but I ended up in Greggs. Again, I know! The little sister rang just after I got that, and I am still proud of how I managed to do the, admittedly, short walk from where I had locked the bike up to Bradford Forster Square station with the phone call and a cup of tea in my hand. Getting on the train, as well as through the barriers, was an achievement with the same cuppa and phone call! Sadly, like the morning's cup, the tea bag had burst so it wasn't a great drink. 1830 from Bradford to Leeds was 331106, which I took to Shipley. The sister now got off the phone while she went to a shop on her way from work, and at Shipley I locked the bike up at the rack on platform 3. That would make my evening much easier!
Over to platform 1 next for winner 333015 to Leeds, and I had options available. My first port of call was to go to Sainsburys for a big bottle of water, and I got some Nakd Blueberry Muffin bars too. I highly recommend those bad boys any day of the week! I still had ages, so dived into my first Starbucks in months for a small decaff americano. That was nice, fair play! Over to platform 0, as I had a 158 to score. A check of my moves confirmed this was a good move, and at 1929 I had my last 3 car 158 in the book.
It was only with a short leap to Burley Park, but it meant getting more scores quickly so that was fine. Once there, the sister was back off the phone, and thankfully there was a waiting shelter as the rain had resumed.
170476 eventually arrived and was a few minutes late. If it had arrived in the bay platforms, as I had expected, my next connection would have been easy. No, the plan was going too well, the 170 was put at the furthest away point possible on platform 9! I was convinced I'd not make the 1956 Skipton now, as it was 1953. I looked and no, on platform 2 it was 333015 on an Ilkley. Oh, well, never mind, I obviously missed it. Walking back around, the screen said the 1956 was there on 2b. Oh of course, I didn't think about that, ran back down and made it by seconds thanks to the guard having not quite dispatched it at that point.
Winner 333002 was now in the book, confirmed as it left Saltaire. Challenging to do in the dark mind, but it now left just 333004 to clear the class. Would I have that luck on Day 5, the final day of the adventure? It seemed doubtful, but it was all to play for. The same with the last Northern 158, which was ending its day in Sheffield after a load of Adwick services. For a leap to Bingley, I scored winner 331112, and I'd had to sacrifice also getting 331109 which was going the other way. Would I get that later on? It was all to play for!
333008 took me back to Shipley, as by now I was wanting to pick up my bike. 331109's next move had been worked out, and to do that and a certain Transpennine journey would be tough to work out. A decision was to be made, get a known winner in the book and return to base camp at a reasonable hour, or go for some 68 action with Transpennine but not get back to base until well after 2300. Honestly, I was torn between the options!
In the end, I got off at Shipley at 2045, with a fast walk to platform 3 to pick up the bike and back to platform 1, I still managed to arrive in time for 158784 on its way from Carlisle at 2051. At Leeds, it was a bit of fast moving needed again, as it was to the far end of platform 9 again. I had around 10 minutes this time, and by gum aren't the lifts in Leeds slow! The bike got locked up at the space by platform 1 and I was on a march up to platform 7. Not that I really bother with such things now, but that was a platform I'd not used before, a nice little bonus. Platform 14 will be a challenge to get done!
158790 took me to Garforth, where there was a less than pleasant smell in the air. I can't even describe it, this was my first visit to Garforth and it looks unlikely I'll be returning! I finally got some healthy food into the system, as I remembered to retrieve the punnet of black grapes I'd sourced in Peterborough from my pannier bag. Those got enjoyed during the 17 or so minutes waiting for my final train of the day.
I had positioned myself in Garforth to pick up a Scarborough to Manchester Piccadilly service which had a Class 68 and MK5 coaches on it. The red pen got put away, as it was dud 68022. There wasn't too much racket in terms of duration on this journey, and by now all I cared about was getting out of the soaked socks and trainers, into a hot shower and collapse into a deep sleep.
After picking up the bike, it was back to easyHotel as fast as possible, and that shower was so good! Oh my days I felt better for that, what a way to round off Day 4! No noisy 66s to keep me awake, or door alarms on passenger trains, in this hotel. I had booked a windowless double room, which I find quite decent normally and this was no exception. I had a double bed and it was a little firm as all the easyHotel beds are in my experience these days, however this was not a worn out bed like the one in Ipswich, and here I had proper quality bedding. This was the way to do things, much better!
More to come next week too, slowly I'm getting caught up with my video clips!
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