Nowadays some would argue that our ‘adventure scale’ has become risk-averse. Technology, specifically mobile connectivity, provides us with a great sense of security and a ‘never get lost’ feeling.

But what if we flip it and argue that technology actually lets us be even more adventurous - giving us the freedom to un-plan and be spontaneous, to go where the wind takes us, and surprise us with what we find along the way.

On a recent bikepacking trip in the Yorkshire Dales I put this to the test, by letting our navigation be driven by technology, specifically, the route planning app, Komoot. We had some key destinations: the Dales Trail centre, Tann Hill Inn, the beautiful village of Hawes, and some tree houses on a 200,000 acre estate. But in between there was no fixed plan, just a few digital devices to help us escape the masses whilst also pointing us in the right direction.

DAY 1: PHEASANTS, CAKES, A 24% BUMP, AND AN EERIE INN

Departing Harrogate later than planned didn’t stress us as with only 70km to do on the first day, we’d be well on time for dinner….depending on the level of adventure.

After one hour of riding and a gate crash into the beautiful country estate, we were already taking a quick coffee and adjusting the path ahead towards Dales MTB Centre.

We shied away from the MTB trails and chose instead to pop into the bike shop on site where we received some advice from the owner that would change the course of our remaining kilometres. Apparently the southern ascent of Tan Hill would avoid the predominant north westerly wind on the other side of the dale. Local knowledge is valuable, but there was a price to be paid.

Mist bubbles: a Dales Phenomenon

Dusk set in, and it seemed like we were making slow progress on windy, lumpy roads. By the time we hit the bottom of the Tan Hill climb, it was dark, we were weary, my bum hurt, and we still had a haul ahead of us.

Then we saw the sign for a 24% incline, Josh let out some murmurs punctuated by expletives, and we began to crawl up the steep incline. Our little group spread out pretty quickly as each of us dug into our personal pain caves to get on with the job at hand.

Climbing is like that. All of a sudden, everyone goes quiet. I was surrounded by a bubble of mist, my absence of bike lights sharpening my other senses. If a pin had dropped, I would have heard it a mile away. But there were no pins, no wind, it was just incredibly quiet and still. The landscape (what I could make out of it) reminded me of an old Irish legend of a chieftain who used to set his fork into a spin in the mist so no one could find it.

Once over the top and through the last kilometres, the reception I received on walking into the Tan Hill Inn is like what I imagined an old Western saloon to be like. No one even really looked up from their food or drink, least of all the barman, who ignored me for about five minutes.

There I was, exhausted yet full of happiness to have landed...and no one seemed to care. AT. ALL...except for an Australian man in lycra nursing a pint in the corner. He asked me if I had come far, and I said Harrogate...he said “oh that's a decent ride”...I subsequently found out he had ridden 150 km that day and was expecting to reach the Scottish border the next day to visit his sister!

DAY 2: BUTTERTUBS, CHEESE AND SWINTON ESTATE

After a big breakfast we prepared our bikes and considered our route with Komoot. Meanwhile the Australian was ready before us - he knew where he was going already. We, on the other hand, were all about discovery and the road untravelled (and taking SO MUCH time to get ready).

Ok. Perhaps Buttertubs, the mountain pass we would need to climb over to get to Hawes, our first stop, is more travelled than untravelled. This windy climb was the 2nd mountain classification in the 2014 Tour de France, its name hailing from the time farmers would lower their butter into potholes on hot days when taking breaks from the arduous ascent over the pass. On an unloaded bike, Buttertubs would be a good climb, not too long, a bit steep at the beginning but...fine. On loaded bikes, it is a completely different story.

Conclusion – you can never have too many gears when in touring mode.

With a ‘mountain’ climbed, the culinary crusade continued. At Hawes we feasted on homemade soup and giant sized Wensleydale cheese sandwiches. This perhaps influenced the decision to take the flatter route to Castle Bolton, which also allowed us to make a coffee stop in the woods at the side of the road. Making quality coffee in random places is hugely underrated.

That stop turned out to be our saviour as the backroads took more turns than expected and once again we were riding through the dark towards our tree house accommodation on Swinton estate. Riding on narrow, windy backroads in the dark has the effect of slowing everything down a notch – and with friends it was surprisingly relaxing rather than haunting.

On arrival it turned out our tree houses were actually ground-bound rustic cabins. But hot showers washed away the disappoint on missing out on a bed between the branches.

DAY 3: HARROGATE-BOUND THROUGH BLUSTERY WIND AND RAIN

As expected, we woke to high winds and pelting rain. There was nothing else for it - we reverted to stuffing ourselves with tasty food to prolong the moment we would have to get on our bikes and make our way back to Harrogate. I was beginning to detect some behavioural patterns in our group...

Our trip coming to an end prematurely, I felt like the best part was yet to come and I wished we could have carried on. There was so much to see and explore in the Dales we had barely scratched the surface.