Saturday, 18 September 2010
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Monday, 13 September 2010
Day 9 Braemar to Aberlour 77 miles
Didn't get off to the best of starts this morning discovering I'd left one of my pairs of cycling shorts in Dunfermline, so I'm down to one pair now. hmmmm. Said goodbye to the guys and headed off about 10am. It was yet more hills. up and down and I didn't seem to be making much progress. I figured I was just tired from the past two days of 80 miles. Actually my lock had been rubbing my wheel for the past 33miles, which I discovered at lunch time and things got a lot easier after that.
Today's highlights included an old railway carriage on top of a hill, I have no idea how it got there and seeing Balmoral Castle even if it was a tiny blip on the landscape from my perspective.
The rain came in at about midday and didn't subside until about 4pm. Still I made good time and my host tonight Robbie asked if I had wings when I texted him at 2.30 to say I was only 25 miles away. I was tempted to say they were water wings due to my current sodden condition. Literally I had two buckets of water on my feet most of the afternoon. I got into Dufftown at 4.30pm and sampled some of Scotland's finest before doing the last 7 miles up to my final destination. The day culminated with a tasty dinner with Robbie and Nancy and a wee dram.
Today's highlights included an old railway carriage on top of a hill, I have no idea how it got there and seeing Balmoral Castle even if it was a tiny blip on the landscape from my perspective.
The rain came in at about midday and didn't subside until about 4pm. Still I made good time and my host tonight Robbie asked if I had wings when I texted him at 2.30 to say I was only 25 miles away. I was tempted to say they were water wings due to my current sodden condition. Literally I had two buckets of water on my feet most of the afternoon. I got into Dufftown at 4.30pm and sampled some of Scotland's finest before doing the last 7 miles up to my final destination. The day culminated with a tasty dinner with Robbie and Nancy and a wee dram.
Day 8 Dunfermline to Braemar 76 miles
Was up early in fact just after Sarah who'd woken at 7.30am. Well burns tend to keep unsociable hours. By 9am I'd cooked dinner and made lunch. At this point I decided to sort some accommodation for the next few days as currently I was going to be camping for 10 nights in the Scottish Highlands, brrr. This brought me to 11.30 before I finally left but not to worry as I only had a short day ahead of me, Blairgowrie around 40 miles.
The roads were good and I was stopped by a sweet old couple who gave me £7 in Kilnross. On I went and was given another donation when I stopped at a cottage to ask for directions. A good day unfolding and lovely weather. I loved Perth and vowed to go back. while I was there I looked for a bike shop for minor servicing but both were closed. My directions had come from the guys in Millets where I bought a fresh waterproof to replace the leaking pink one and an extra thermal layer.
On the road to Blairgowrie I passed Scone Palace and Old Scone both names amusing me and arrived in the township at around 4pm. Deciding there was still plenty of day left I chose to carry on and was glad I did because what lay before me was my first real taste of the Cairngorm mountains. Initially they were long, moderate inclines. but then came a 12% that went on for what must have been 2-3 miles. I was bucketing sweat but also running short of water, so limited my intake which wasn't helping. when i finally got to the top I filled my water bottle from the toilet sink of Glenshee ski resort that resided at the summit run down to Braemar. For I feared that I wasn't going to make it to Braemar before night fall with several miles still to go and the day pushing on.
As it was it was all down hill from there on and I got a good speed of about 23 mph all the way making it to my destination well before dark. The assistant warden kindly donated my spot for the night at the campsite on the edge of town and I settle in for a good evening of beer and conversation with the 4 Belgium gents who were pitched next to me.
The roads were good and I was stopped by a sweet old couple who gave me £7 in Kilnross. On I went and was given another donation when I stopped at a cottage to ask for directions. A good day unfolding and lovely weather. I loved Perth and vowed to go back. while I was there I looked for a bike shop for minor servicing but both were closed. My directions had come from the guys in Millets where I bought a fresh waterproof to replace the leaking pink one and an extra thermal layer.
On the road to Blairgowrie I passed Scone Palace and Old Scone both names amusing me and arrived in the township at around 4pm. Deciding there was still plenty of day left I chose to carry on and was glad I did because what lay before me was my first real taste of the Cairngorm mountains. Initially they were long, moderate inclines. but then came a 12% that went on for what must have been 2-3 miles. I was bucketing sweat but also running short of water, so limited my intake which wasn't helping. when i finally got to the top I filled my water bottle from the toilet sink of Glenshee ski resort that resided at the summit run down to Braemar. For I feared that I wasn't going to make it to Braemar before night fall with several miles still to go and the day pushing on.
As it was it was all down hill from there on and I got a good speed of about 23 mph all the way making it to my destination well before dark. The assistant warden kindly donated my spot for the night at the campsite on the edge of town and I settle in for a good evening of beer and conversation with the 4 Belgium gents who were pitched next to me.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Day 7 Wooler to Dunfermline 87 miles
The day started off wet and after having said my goodbyes at the hostel I was flying through the lanes. The surprise that I'd covered 15 miles in the first hour made me feel good. Bend after bend with long slow climbs a made my way up, a sign greeting me as I crossed into Scotland at Coldstream. I had lunch overlooking a wind farm and enjoyed laying in the grass against my bike watching them rotate as I ate. I was soon off again and made it to Edinburgh at about 3pm, having grown a dislike for Jaguar drivers who seemed to make me a target for the afternoon.
Having spent an hour riding round seeing all the points of the city yes I was lost I found my way out onto the A90, but about half way down it said no cycles not i saw no way foo so I just kept going Hoping that the Forth Road Bridge allowed bikes across otherwise i was in for a 40 mile round trip. Luckily it did and I had reached Dunfermline by 5.30pm having narrowly avoided being struck by a couple of cars.
Tonight I stay with an old Uni friend Rach, her partner James a good lad and their lovely daughter Sarah. And if your reading this Rach, I loved the chilli Spaghetti Bolongnase.
Having spent an hour riding round seeing all the points of the city yes I was lost I found my way out onto the A90, but about half way down it said no cycles not i saw no way foo so I just kept going Hoping that the Forth Road Bridge allowed bikes across otherwise i was in for a 40 mile round trip. Luckily it did and I had reached Dunfermline by 5.30pm having narrowly avoided being struck by a couple of cars.
Tonight I stay with an old Uni friend Rach, her partner James a good lad and their lovely daughter Sarah. And if your reading this Rach, I loved the chilli Spaghetti Bolongnase.
Day 6 Newcastle to Wooler 60 miles
Left Newcastle at about 10am and got half a mile to the pedestrian tunnel under the tyne where i was told the lifts were out of order and I needed to be shuttled over to the other side in an mpv with a trailer. Had a chat with the Raleigh racer rider who'd just got of work about the renovations to the tunnel and then was off again through the back lanes of northern Newcastle. I got lost and spent quite a while looking for the A192 but finally found it on a slip road and was away again.
This led me to Morpeth where i had lunch in the shadow of the war memorial. having set off again i discovered a beautiful flower garden just around the corner where i could have sat instead. still. A fellow cyclist complimented me, I think, on my outfit. telling me the colour suited me down to the ground followed by a horse laugh.
I headed for the A697 and was on the A1 for all of 30 seconds before filtering off onto the picturesque lanes of the Northumberland countryside. Several points of interest broke the monotony apart from the scenery. they included a cattery called Complete Catisfaction (you can see what they did there)an overgrown old style garage and a telephone box with its door ripped off and left at a 45 degree angle inside the box. The rain was intermittent and it had been raining on me for 30 sec before i noticed it but i managed to out ride the rain clouds and didn't get too wet. I took a quick detour to see an old Tor which saw me sneaking through a farmers field for pictures before returning to my route and heading up to the YHA hostel that had kindly been donated by Mic the owner. Though i did call him Chris when i arrived, doh.Fairly standard YHA room and had a chat with some walkers Mick, Bob, and Ruth before heading to bed.
This led me to Morpeth where i had lunch in the shadow of the war memorial. having set off again i discovered a beautiful flower garden just around the corner where i could have sat instead. still. A fellow cyclist complimented me, I think, on my outfit. telling me the colour suited me down to the ground followed by a horse laugh.
I headed for the A697 and was on the A1 for all of 30 seconds before filtering off onto the picturesque lanes of the Northumberland countryside. Several points of interest broke the monotony apart from the scenery. they included a cattery called Complete Catisfaction (you can see what they did there)an overgrown old style garage and a telephone box with its door ripped off and left at a 45 degree angle inside the box. The rain was intermittent and it had been raining on me for 30 sec before i noticed it but i managed to out ride the rain clouds and didn't get too wet. I took a quick detour to see an old Tor which saw me sneaking through a farmers field for pictures before returning to my route and heading up to the YHA hostel that had kindly been donated by Mic the owner. Though i did call him Chris when i arrived, doh.Fairly standard YHA room and had a chat with some walkers Mick, Bob, and Ruth before heading to bed.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Day 5 North York Moors to Newcastle 66 miles
Woke up twice this morning once at 4am and then again at 8.30am I decided to get up on the second occasion but it was very hard to get back to sleep following the first. The cold was bitter and there was a layer of water in the inside of the tent. However the view that met me when I woke more than made up for it. The low mist covering the moors made them look stunning.
I set off at 8.30am more to warm up than anything else taking it slowly through the winding roads that rose and fell frequently. Once off the moors I started off up the A19 but switched to quieter roads quickly the lorries getting decidedly close today. It was a good choice and I soon found myself in Hartlepool, where I had lunch on the dock.
I then took the coastal road to Peterlee before rejoining the A19 hoping for a quieter ride further north. I was in luck and I made good time up to Newcastle getting in mid afternoon. I had a lovely dinner with the O'Dohertys and then went out for a few drinks with Gavin.
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