Coast to Coast

I've returned, hung myself out to dry and re-greased my headset (as well as my rear wheel hub - and now my sprokets even need doing!) after completing the coast to coast over the wettest weekend northern England has experienced in years.

PHOTOS

More pictures from the trip on my flickr site - click here

My dad and I took three days to complete the 140-mile route from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Tynemouth in Northumbria.

We experienced everything from rain ... to complete downpours. At one point we were warned by a concerned motorist not to go over the moors, and at another point we were laughed at by a couple of firemen (ooh, terribly non-PC!) pumping water away from houses trying to avoid the floods.

They mocked, and they were right. It was a stupid weekend to do the C2C but this had been a long time in the planning.

The route isn't such an easy one to just stop and nip on a train if you want to give up, either! We had a car at each end, too, so basically we had to make it to the east coast once we'd started.

In the terrible weather, you barely noticed the big climbs, the one out of Stanhope being the biggest of the lot from what I recall. This is where a driver flagged me down to tell me not to carry on.

After consulting the map, and dad, we decided to go for it anyway.Near the top of the hill, gravel from the hill's "escape lanes" had spilled across the carriageway, so we had to walk and drag our bikes through it.

Blow out

Over the top of this hill we were well and truly on the top of the moors - and the near gale force wind was right in our faces. After battling in first gear, and a little bit of walking, we copied the local sheep by sheltering behind a wall for five minutes before carrying on at our painfully slow pace.

A brew at Parkhead Station was most welcome but we still had around 40 miles to go at this stage.

Thankfully the going got easier - even if the weather didn't get any better.

Then, as we rode through Newcastle, my tyre completely blew out! I'd been meaning to replace them for a while but thought they would last this little ride. Apparently not.

I sent dad on a mission to find a bike shop in the city while I got the old tyre off and got set to fit the spare inner tube (which I always carry).

He returned eventually and we got on our merry way to Tynemouth Priory - the end of the C2C!

There was, however, one final little episode in this soggy tale...

Between Tynemouth and Holywell, where dad's car was waiting, our path was blocked by knee-deep water where the river had burst its banks.

The water was static, so dad just waded in, pushing his bike through it all! I waited to see how he got on, then - concerned for that lovely lubrication in my bike - follwed him in carrying my bike, panniers and all, above my shoulders for the four or five hundred metres to dry land on the far side.

It was nice to get a brew and a buttie at the end, I have to admit! But I'd really like to do the C2C again -on a dry weekend!

Parts of the route looked really good, if you had the weather to appreciate them, and it was great to see so many businesses thriving from cyclists passing through the various towns and villages.

Link - www.c2c-guide.co.uk

3G Challenge

I've just completed the 3G Challenge - a 48-mile mountain bike epic in Glen Affric. See website for results and info! It took me six-and-a-half hours which I was quite pleased with. The photo shows me just after I'd finished, back in the car park at Cannich Village Hall.