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21 Mar 2017
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21 Mar 2017
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Whitby is another seaside town in North Yorkshire
Still not sure about the legality of parking our bikes on the sidewalks. So we hide them behind this metal box and hope nobody notices.
You can barely even see them. We should be okay...
Man, if this were North America, our bikes would have been ticketed and towed over a hundred times by now!
What can you do in Whitby? Eat, drink, shop... also take some boat trips up and down the River Esk
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21 Mar 2017
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Neda looks cold
So we go find a place to eat and drink and warm up
Our quest for the best fish and chips in the country continues. We did a quick Google search for "Best fish and chips in the UK" and the Magpie Cafe came up consistently. Since we were in the area, we decide to drop in and give it a try. We arrived right during dinner hour so it was a bit of a long lineup to get a table. But when the food came:
Nice! That noise you hear is the sound of my arteries hardening
I'll admit our Google search turned up many places that claimed the best fish and chips in the country. After trying Magpie's f&c, I don't know if this is *THE BEST* we ever had, but it was very good. The batter was very light and crispy and equal attention was paid to the chips so that they weren't overly fried or soggy. Delicious! But our fish and chips quest has only begun and there are many more notches I can still undo on my belt before I have to buy new pants, so...
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21 Mar 2017
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Red roofed houses crowd all the way down to the shores of the River Esk
Ed Sheeran Jr doing some fishing in the River Esk
The streets overlooking the river are lined with shops, bars and restaurants
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21 Mar 2017
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What else is there to do in Whitby? What's that up there on the hill?
Whitby Abbey. It's already pretty late in the day, so we'll have to visit tomorrow
There is a beautiful campsite right next to the abbey. We pull in and a person from reception walks over to us.
"Sorry, no motorcycles allowed. There's another campsite a couple of miles down the road"
Discrimination! I get that some motorcycles are loud. I get that there is a perception that motorcyclists are unruly. But our bikes are whisper quiet and so are we. So if a guy in a loud muscle car pulls up with the tunes cranked and a two-four of bitter (do they have two-fours in the UK?) on the front seat, they'll let him in over us?!? Sucky policy.
Our new campsite is not as nice and doesn't have a view of the Whitby Abbey
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21 Mar 2017
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Neda's bike is a bit low on oil. It's only been a thousand kms or so after the last service? Is she burning oil or is there a slow leak somewhere? We'll have to keep an eye on that.
When you have tools, you become a very popular person at a campsite
The guys beside us were having problems with their cooking gear and needed some pliers to get the line reconnected to the gas tank. Nice guys. We may not have a primo view or a swanky camp ground, but our peeps here aren't snobs! 
I crank up the tunes and I pull out a two-four of bitter out of my topcase and we party with our new friends! Neda revs her engine in rhythm to the music! PAR-TEEEE!!!!
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21 Mar 2017
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Next morning, we head out to check Whitby Abbey just down the road
Whitby Abbey is a Benedictine abbey dating back to the 6th century
Beautiful gothic ruins!
It's been said that Whitby Abbey was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. After visiting Transylvania, we're now adding this to the list after Castle Poenari and Bran Castle. Any other buildings want to claim inspiration for Dracula? Might as well also claim that these castles/abbeys also make the best fish and chips as well!
If you read it on the Internet, it's basically true.
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21 Mar 2017
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21 Mar 2017
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Very cool ruins, glad we stopped by!
Much has been stripped away from Whitby Abbey. Time and the elements have not been kind. You could say it was roofless.
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21 Mar 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexminors
Really enjoy following your adventures.
The head nodding is just our way of saying hi and not slowing down to do it.
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Thanks Alex and Sue! Cheers! 
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25 Mar 2017
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/349.html
We are going to hang around the North York Moors National Park for a couple more days.
Riding into Guisborough on the north-western edge of the park
We really enjoyed walking around Whitby Abbey the other day, so we are going on an Abbey Ruins tour. Abbey Ruins was supposed to be the name of the follow-up album to one of the Beatles most popular records, but it was never completed. You can blame Yoko Ono for that.
We heard there were some Abbey Ruins here in Guisborough. Unforunately, when we got to the entrance, it was closed for the day! We picked the one day of the week that it was closed! Damn you, Yoko!
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25 Mar 2017
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The Guisborough Priory peeking out from behind the walls
We had a bit of a debate about whether to hop the wall or not, but in the end we decided not to, since the Brexit vote, the authorities have been itching for any excuse to kick EU nationals out of the country. That's Neda, by the way...
Okay, there's another abbey in the western part of North York Moors National Park called Rievaulx Abbey further inside the park. It's another nice ride through the Moors, but when we got to Rievaulx, we discovered that they wanted $15 each for entrance! That's steep for a minor-league abbey... We had to have yet another mini-huddle and discuss whether or not we wanted to pay for this.
In the end, we decided not to. But I dashed into the gift shop and took a picture of the abbey from their window...
So cheap...
Deeply disappointed that we didn't see any abbeys today. If they're all going to be priced like this, I think we'll have to follow in the Beatles' footsteps and cancel the Abbey Ruins Tour. At least it made for a nice excuse to criss-cross the National Park. It's getting kind of late, so we find a grocery store along our way.
The town of Thirsk. Neda finds a grocery store while I stay with the motorcycles
Across the street a busker is playing in the town square, but everyone is paying
more attention to this old couple dancing to the music instead. Awww....
I like the cap someone knitted for this pole in the foreground.
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25 Mar 2017
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25 Mar 2017
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It's not until almost noon that it gets warm enough to ride comfortably, and that's when we continue our trek northwards along the east coast of England.
My GPS is still losing power intermittently. It's bugging me a lot, so I had to stop to work out the problem
I have to keep reseating the fuse under the seat to get the power flowing back to the GPS mount. I checked the fuse and it seems okay, but I bit the bullet and bought a new fuse anyway. The new one seems to work perfectly. I stared at the old fuse in the sunlight. Perhaps it had just enough material left for current to intermittently get through? If this fuse was partially blown, I know exactly when it happened: when we tried to jump-start Neda's bike in Hungary. 
I hate wrenching. I like to ride and take pictures. I can wrench, but there are a million other things I'd want to do with my time other than fixing my motorcycle. I know a lot of riders live to fiddle around and work on their bike. That's why those guys ride KTMs...
Hitting the east coast: Riding into Tynemouth looking for a place to eat
Someone left two steak and kidney pies lying on the table of this pub, so we just sat down and ate it. But then we had to pay for them...
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25 Mar 2017
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Hey, more castle ruins! This one was free to walk around the grounds. Cool!
Tynemouth Priory and Castle
British beach weather. The locals are trying to squeeze in the last few weeks of warm(ish) weather
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Next HU Events
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2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
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Membership - help keep us going!
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
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Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
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