Newcastle to Darlington - The Wind Was Behind Us

Threatening clouds were nearly upon us as we set off from Newcastle - 15 mins later and the waterproofs were on. We thought we could outrun it but we were wrong! As we crossed the river Tyne we felt we were in it rather than above it.

There were numerous cyclists standing in a bus stop laughing at us as they knew what was to come - another mountain of inconvenience, 738 feet and a few hundred yards later we were searching for a brown paper bag to regulate breathing.

However, into County Durham we went...

Further on through Sunniside village (it was actually sunny by this point) the maps flew off again - seriously need to do something about the that folder. Just for a change my sun specs flew off as well - however Phil was there to pick up the pieces.

Graeme at the top of Daisy Hill

Phil at the top of Daisy Hill

We then rattled down the A167 and had lunch in Darlingtom. Into M&S for a BLT sandwich.

Then off to Croft-on-Tees, very scenic as can be seen by this photo.

Finally we made our destination at North Cowton, with Ellie as host. Dinner at a local pub as Ellie only had beer in the fridge!

Next up York/Pocklington.... can the weather hold out for 4 days of sunshine on the trot????

Graeme & Phil (29th August 2010)

Kelso to Newcastle - Many Hills of Inconvenience

Many Thanks to Jane and Ted for looking after us and providing a full Scottish Breakfast in their beautiful surroundings of Kelso!

We said goodbye to Mike as he headed north back to Edinburgh and Phil and I headed south to Newcastle.

As we passed through Coldstream we crossed over into England (there was a tiny wee sign saying England - blink and you would miss it).

Stopped at a garage on the way to refuel with a Mars Bar.

As we headed to Rothbury it all got a bit hilly, with more than one shout of 'not another one'. We have come to the conclusion that they built hills around Rothbury to keep the cyclists out and the locals in. When we got there this was confirmed as no other cyclists to be seen.

Phil, just after climbing the first hill of inconvenience, 100 more to follow...

Graeme, just after climbing the first hill of inconvenience, 100 more to follow...

We stopped at a lovely pub called the 'Queens Head' where we furnished our stomachs with hamburgers and chips.

Soon after we hauled ourselves out of the pub and then up a 1:12 gradient hill - kept looking down to see if I had any gears left to use going up the hill but alas no.

Again, the SPOT tracker managed to dislodge itself again, usually at the bottom of a hill to stop the momentum of climbing the next hill of inconvenience.

Just to add a bit of spice the maps, quickly followed by the waterproofs managed to fly of my bike, again at the bottom of a hill -luckily Phil was there to pick up the pieces.

After Scots Gap Phil was like a dog with a bone going for home aka B&B in Newcastle.

Dinner at the Wheatsheaf followed by a jar at Newcastle Falcons/Gosforth Rugby Club. where Phil seemed over confident to thrash me at pool - he lost the first game very quickly and nearly lost the second and decided a score draw was sufficient. In bed for 10pm and lights out!

Next up Darlington.....

Graeme & Phil (Saturday 28th August 2010)

Day 1 - Road to Kelso

Left Balerno High School at 8:30am (ish) - Thanks to everyone who turned up to wave us off - greatly appreciated. Also thanks to Nigel who cycled a bit of the way with us to Currie before he headed off in another direction to his work (shame that eh ?).

We arrived in Dalkeith to be met by Mike who at the last minute decided to accompany us to Kelso (he returns to Edinburgh tomorrow).

As we left Dalkeith the sun came out and it got very warm, even warmer as we cycled up through Pathhead and Soutra!

Hunger pains were abating and just after Pathhead we spied a 'Bacon roll' van - Magic! After stuffing our faces with bacon, link sausage and black pudding rolls we were on our way again (check Graeme and Phil stuffing their faces in the photo!)

As the carbs were recharged we headed of for the long climb up Soutra - to be honest, it was a bit of an anti climax if you have ever done Dukes Pass near Aberfoyle, unless you had a link sausage like Phil as he seemed to struggle slightly up that hill.

A few miles later and the first incident of the day - my chain decided to remove itself from all the cogs - need to remind myslef I need to be in middle cogs before changing gear in future.

The sun was shining and a small tailwind as well with rolling scottish borders countryside, however, a piece of the A697 that can only be described as 'off road' led to my tracking device dislodging itself from it's holder - luckily it was attached to another part of the bike or I would be getting a bill from Tom in the post.

By 1:30pm we were in Kelso and spent 30 mins trying to find a pub with seats outside so we could keep an eye on the bikes. Phil, in his usual investigate self manage to locate one and our first drink of the day was consumed.

Graeme and Phil in the centre of Kelso

Then, up to the in-laws for a swim and a chinese carry oot.

Next up Newcastle but we probably won't have access to the internet so next blog will probably be Sunday.

Adios for now...

Graeme & Phil Friday 27th August 2010

Got up this morning at 6am and decided to cycle all the way to Carnwrath - 18 miles into a strong headwind. Took me an hour and a half to get there and only 1 hour to get back!

36 miles done and all while Phil was snooozing........

Graeme

Sky Blue - Loch Katrine

The training is going well, however, I have had to deal with the tragic loss of my mother who passed away a few days ago. A supposedly routine operation went completely wrong and now she is no longer with us.

Life doesn't get any easier but I will just have to pick up the pieces and carry on.

The pictures shown here are from a training run earlier up at Loch Katrine on a beautiful summers day - that doesn't happen often these days in Scotland! We started off in Aberfoyle chose the clockwise route around the loch.

After about 7 miles we stopped off at a lovely Tea room called "The Pier". We tucked into our bacon sandwiches and a cup of tea and watched the "Maid of the Mist" Steamer dock there to let some passengers off. There was the slight temptation to just push our bikes onto the boat and sail across to the other end of the loch but that would be defeating the purpose of our training run! It was tempting though!

As you can see from this picture on the left the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. When the sun shines in Scotland there it's difficult to find a more beautiful place than here.

The next stage of the run around the loch provided some cracking scenery with many undulations of the narrow country road/path.

The picture to the left is looking west along the loch with only a few hundred yards before the next pit stop.

We had another stop at the other end of the loch as you can see - who's the steamer in that photo?!!!

I was incredibly thirsty, so went across to put some money in a machine to get some juice, only to discover the red light showing on my choice of drink - pushed button to get my change back and only 80p of the £1 I had put in came back - typical - you're gagging on a drink and this happens. Thankfully the store that owned the machine apologised and gave me my cold Fanta and a bottle of water as an inconvenience. That was very kind of them.

Next up - Dukes Pass and a very, very, very, very steep and long hill to get over and back down to Aberfoyle - it just keeps climbing, and climbing and climbing - makes Soutra look like a doddle - at least I hope so!

30 miles done and into the pub at Aberfoyle for a light refreshment, bikes in the car and back to Edinburgh. T minus 9 days to departure.

Graeme

Training is in full progress after a dodgy scare a couple of months ago when I picked up an injury on my right knee - painfull just to climb stairs. However, back to normal with some Sports Physio and complete rest for several weeks.

Both bikes now fully serviced and ready to go thanks to The Bike Chain.

Cycling to work and back which equates to only 10 miles each day but with longer rides of 40/50 miles at weekends. Although Phil couldn't make the run to Aberdour last Sunday (he was too busy running around in his new convertible mini, top down etc) he will be coming up to Loch Katrine for a training run (assuming I can fit his bike in my car - certainly won't fit in his)

If you are wondering about the Canadian cycle top.... I used to live in Vancouver in the early 1970's and my good friend Sue brought that back from Montreal last week to remind me of where I used to live.

Next update will be after Loch Katrine.....

Coming Soon

The blog will start shortly.

Graeme