24th June 2025

Alnmouth  -  Berwick on Tweed       78kms   1562'

I know the blog is late and all will become clear as you read on. I think that I already mentioned the route can be influenced by many factors. Yesterday all the negative ones contrived to make a 78kms journey into a bit of an epic - we arrived in Berwick at 19.30! On a different occasion the same distance allowed us to arrive at 15.00. Let me explain the anomaly.  Once again the wind were strong (as bad as yesterday) but this time, for the last 40kms we were riding directly into it. Even downhill, not that there was much, we had to pedal. Add to that the wierd and wonderful cycle paths we were obliged to follow, slow and slower spring to mind. We have experienced some excellent tracks but these were none of them. Single track, wheel width, dikes, and endless gravel of all varieties. But we got here! All in one piece, if totally knackered. Enjoyed the delights of two dried pasta meals which Al had carried since Land's End and a hot chocolate. We know how to live.

Sadly, this is to be our last blog entry. We had decided at the beginning of the day that we owed it to the rest of our lives to accept that we were no longer the spring chickens we had once been. Accepting that we were not going to finish at John o Groats was not easy. We have thoroughly enjoyed this journey although at times it has been very demanding. Much of what we have achieved has been , in no small way, aided by the support and encouragement of family and friends. We are deeply appreciative of follower' s comments as long as they have been nice! Seriously, I will miss you all.

Before we hang up our boots/bikes, I have to thank Master Navigator for his everlasting competence and for also, always finding appropriate accommodation at the end of each day. We have also to thank profusely, our son in law, Mike for agreeing to make the journey up here to pick us up. Way beyond any call of duty, especially as all our Old Bones are intact if very sore.

So adieu. I doubt there will be another long ride, at least on a bike. Thank you all for being with us.

 23rd June 2025

Blyth - Alnmouth         50.5 kms      955'

This might look like a take it easy day. Not so. The most significant thing, for me anyway, was the strength of the wind!!!!! And as you may have guessed it was indeed, a NOSTRIL wind. I am very proud of the fact that we have made 50 plus kms when one considers, that according to the weather boffins, we had gusts of 50kms an hour. I think that is quite a lot. Just as we were coming into Alnmouth there was a hill with the wind behind - I hardly had to pedal at all.

The other, and much more pleasant aspect of today, was viewing the beautiful North East coast. For much of the route today we spent on tracks or no through roads which ran parallel to the dunes and the beaches. Despite expectations of rain, we had none and the sunshine was reasonably abundant. Did think about a paddle but didn't  want to get sand in between my toes. Nothing to do with the temperature of the water! Virtually no building development for miles but quite a few caravan sites. What a fabulous place to enjoy your holiday.

On the meet and greet front, we shared our dinner time with a group of lads who had just biked, in relays, from east to West and then turned round and ridden west to east, all to raise money for charity. Mind you, they spent a bit on celebratory drinks. A good bunch though. We also briefly encountered a gentleman bending down over his bike so we checked he was okay - which he was  - but then he spotted Al's shirt and we spent a good few minutes while he reminisced about north Wales.

This was one bit of the journey that I was really looking forward to and it has not disappointed in spite of the fight with the wind. Wouldn't really be an Old Bones journey without me moaning about a NOSTRIL wind. I suspect I  might have another go tomorrow, at moaning, I mean. 

  22nd June 2025

Sunderland  -  Blyth          34kms!

An interesting and unusual Sunday day. Read on to find out more.

On our arrival yesterday into Sunderland, Al had contacted his cousin Dawn who takes care of his uncle John and Aunt Cathy neither of whom we have seen for a long time. In his youth, Al and his uncle, the much younger brother of his mother, had spent a lot of time together walking the fells and enjoying each other's company. The decision to call in was a good one. Clearly, John was delighted to see Alan and even Cathy in her reduced state recognised Al. Quite an  emotional visit but so glad we took the opportunity to call in.

Having stayed a little longer than planned in Sunderland,  we set off to the coast and a new but unfinished cycle route. A short crossing of the Tyne on the S Shields ferry and we were into Northumberland.

These north eastern folk are a hardy bunch. The weather was, admittedly dry, but not that sunny or warm and very windy. But where was everyone? on the beach of course - some even swimming in the North Sea. Chapeau to the lot of you. The coastal path was very busy with all these folk talking, walking, looking at their phones and some on bikes. Pretty chaotic but in a good way. 

I mentioned that the weather was windy, well it got a lot windier and then the rain began. We were already well behind any normal schedule and very anxious not to repeat our experience of the earlier storms in Devon, we chose to curtail the day and stop in Blyth. An excellent decision. Missed the storm ( as in not in it) safely ensconced in our hotel room. Still blowing a hooly  but momentarily the sun is out again. Much cooler than of late but very fickle is the weather. The short distance we have covered today is small price to pay for seeing John and our comfort and safety. Must be getting old! 

Weather not very good for tomorrow but we will wait and see - can't really do much else!

P.S. 1067 kms cycled in 17 days. We're slow but we're getting closer.

 21st June 2025 & Seren's 21st birthday & the longest day.

Northallerton - Sunderland       78kms      1926'

Last night's stopover was in the Village Inn in Brompton, which was one of the nicest of the pubs we have stayed in and the food was excellent. 

We got off to  another really punctual start and the first 20 kms flew by. The flying finished when we reached Yarm. Seems like the whole of the local population was making a visit. Bit of a log jam, and after such a gentle start.

Another quite complicated journey, made more difficult by the absence of clear, or even  any signs. The actual path was often accessed via a tiny single line mud track before turning into the M1 of cycle paths. Actually, when we found them, they were excellent and we spent a good part of the day on dedicated byways. However,  as always, much time was taken circumnavigating complicated roundabout systems.  Nonetheless,  today we reached the North Sea, which was a grand view in spite of the potholes and the traffic.

As I am writing this from the security of a room in a Premier Inn, there is a thunderstorm lurking. Really pleased not to be part of it!

Very inspired  by having reached Al's birthplace and hoping to call on his uncle on our way further north, tomorrow. 

It can storm all it likes tonight, even I won't hear it.

 20th June 2025

York  -  Northallerton         67kms    720'

Our air b&b was a haven of peace and tranquility and really gave us time to draw breath.  However, we did join the thousands of visitors to the city and took in the ambiance. We duly admired the minster from the outside ( 20quid to go in !) We wandered the walls, the gardens, the posh shops and the river, vying for space with the multitude. However, beyond the centre, York was much like any city and M & S was never far away! So armed with two microwave meals, we eventually found our way back to our house. Glad we had the opportunity to see the old town.

This morning, Master  Navigator played a blinder getting us through the endless traffic and onto finding our route north. On our way along another cycle lane blocked by cars, we were taken aback by the fact that the offending vehicles were all German registered Aston Martins of the type that you might view on Top Gear. Why they were in York, I have no idea. Couldn't see any cameras! Ironically, only around an hour later, on much quieter highways, we were beguiled by the appearance of truly vintage cars with drivers and passengers all dressed up. Once again I have no idea where they were off too either. 

We enjoyed a couple of meet and greet sessions. This time I was joined by a gentleman who decided to ride alongside me and explain how he had lost his confidence on a bike although had been a bit of a whizz in his day. Now he was riding a top of the range electric bike which he had acquired from a friend. Somewhere in the telling of the story, I lost the plot - sorry. Nice man though. As we were heading through Northallerton, we passed a Tesco (don't they just get everywhere?) Anyway,  needed cash and cold sore cream, so Al was left in charge of the bikes while I shopped. He made the mistake of sitting on a bench! When I returned, he was being chatted up by a great grandmother! Anyway port in a storm. No, she was quite harmless and had made the ride to John o' Groats some 25 years ago and was sure that we were in need of invaluable information on the topography of Scotland in particular. She had obviously thoroughly enjoyed her experience and wished us all luck.

It has been a good day, if very hot and now quite humid. Still, much better than the rain. In fact, we have made such good time, that I am writing this before dinner so am slightly less befuddled than usual. Tomorrow, it looks as if we will make Al's home town - Sunderland - for those who are new to this blog and to Old Bones. It's yet another little milestone. Be lovely to see the sea.

 Wednesday  18th June 2025

Thorne  -  York    58kms   not much in the way of height.

What a truly splendid day.I

It didn't start quite so well, as our overnight accommodation was in yet another pub clearly marked for closure or upgrading. Just one member of staff on duty for breakfast and a cook. No breakfast was, apparently, available when we showed up except for a hot water urn with instant coffee or tea bags. We were instructed to take a seat and wait for our order to be taken (all with a smile). Cooked or cooked? Alan asked after the possibility of cereal only  to be told that was a available at weekends only! So, we had cooked. Sometimes , you just have to roll with it.

Today was a day for meeting and greeting. We stopped for our coffee break on an old airfield and hailed a passing dog walker. Not always a wise move. Clearly our dog person was  keen to chat. After 20 minutes of explaining his life history in the army followed by a  career as a dog handler in the prison service and how the latter was / had gone to the dogs, we did finally manage to explain that we needed to move on. As we left the airfield, a glider came in to land. Such a peaceful and graceful craft.

Having found ourselves on the trans pennine way, we then found ourselves off it and almost into the middle of the  canal (my shout). Fortunately, a nice young man redirected us to a route which should take us into York. We only got so far when we spotted a bench on a college green and, it being around lunchtime, decided to stop. We shared the space with a guy on a very engrossed  phone call  and  we consumed sandwiches and coffee. His call complete, we seemed fair game for a chat! Another life history - a very highly qualified decorator who had worked for royalty. You couldn't make it up.

We now, eventually found our green Lane into York which went through the York race track before we found ourselves consumed in crowds of people, one of whom provided good advice as to how to locate our destination. It wasn't his fault that we got lost dicing with death with cyclists, buses not to mention,  cars. Master Navigator found our house. Should never have doubted him. Took a while to access the key. How many codes does one need? 

All sorted now. A decent  microwave meal and a  bottle of wine and we will take on York tomorrow  -  for good or ill. 

 Tuesday 17th June 2025

Southwell - Thorne             85kms!!   Height gained  -  not much

Well, apart from the obvious ( we are k.....nackered) we have reached Yorkshire or we think we have. We definitely passed a sign but maybe we left again.

Last evening was unusual, in that we arrived and stowed the bikes and then discovered the pub didn't do food. Directed by our landlady to the Chinese. I should have known that a meal for two would be far too much - it was. To our amusement, what we couldn't eat was devoured by other clients in the pub! Great,  no leftovers and lots of satisfied punters.  Our room was situated on a busy road junction and Al was afraid the traffic noise would keep me awake. No chance, but when the traffic finally went to sleep and had not disturbed me at all, the church clock dinged every quarter of an hour and the wee waah of a police car woke everyone at around 04.30! Hope it was important. Over breakfast, which was really good, we were regaled with our landlady's tales of woe with which we were sympathetic but needed to get on the road.

Lovely and dry again and a fairly flattish ride. Great for legs, not so good for bums. Fields of crops. Mostly green (Not good on wheaty things) but fields of blue and gold marred a little by the bashing of the side winds. I have tried to avoid commenting on road surfaces as I realise this is a bit of a sore subject, but today they have been bad to atrocious.  Probably added a few kilometers with all the weaving around really  nasty potholes and very uneven surfaces. I have to confess to a few expletives when I have been nearly thrown from the bike.

I must confess that after 70kms, I was beginning to believe that Thorne existed only in Al's imagination. Thankfully, the land was flat but without any habitation in sight. We did encounter our very first car driver who had pulled into a passing place and waited patiently for us to pass. What a nice man. Thank you, whoever you were. You compensated for the yob who had previously hurled some sort of unintelligible abuse from a passing car. Was hoping he might stop!!! The kms rolled on, the legs complained and then the wind turned and old nostril was back just when we really didn't need it.

Nonetheless, we are now fed and watered and looking forward to two days in York. Alan has never been  before and it is years since I have been ( nearly seventy) actually.  Probably changed a bit! Will let you know how we get on.

 Monday 16th June.

Loughborough  -  Southwell    57kms    1,027'

I forgot to mention yesterday the warm welcome and the sorting of the bike storage. Everything was done with a smile and efficiency. Does make all the difference. So well done the Link Hotel  in Loughborough. 

Today has been very hot and fascinating. I think we were both a bit worried about traversing Nottingham so we made the most of the tranquil countryside in the morning. Found a delightful spot for coffee on a traditional village green, the name of  which eludes me. It wasn't long before we made the outskirts of Nottingham and the increase in the volume and the noise of traffic. While the way through entailed a lot of stopping and  checking,  the guys in the office had made a good job finding the interesting and the picturesque.  Very noticeable is the amount of new housing areas being developed and thus a few roads going in new directions. Master Navigator was on top of the job and made never a wrong turn and believe me, there was plenty of opportunity for that to happen. We followed paths through houses, paths through playing fields, tracks along the river and the canal and along the tramway - we crossed the river over a stunning bridge to which folk had added padlocks - not sure what that is all about but very pretty they looked glinting in the sunshine. We passed lots of university residences and colleges, all of which looked well cared for. Lots of cycle tracks and lots of, mostly young fit guys, using them. You may have guessed, we were impressed with Nottingham although once we got onto the main drag out of the city, we must have passed an Aldi or a Lidl at every roundabout and the traffic was incessant. The good news was that cycle lanes ran alongside the road.

We did manage to find a haven of peace in a churchyard with a shaded bench and a lot of dead people. It was at this point that we made the, very sensible decision, to not ride another 30 kms. Instead, we opted for a much less ambitious destination at 12 further kms. A bit disappointing not to have added another monster ride, but good sense prevailed and in view of the hills we encountered on the way to Southwell, it was a decision well made.

I think tomorrow may be hot again and we do have to factor that in when we attempt the next stage. Still, much easier to manage than the rain!

 Sunday 15th June 2025    

Haseley - Loughborough  80.5kms    2,100'

Well, an interesting day and a father's day to remember. If anyone had asked me a few weeks ago if I would consider riding 80 kms on a laden bike I would have laughed! Very tired but very chuffed.

Anyway, I feel I must comment on the Indian meal which we enjoyed last evening. It was quite exceptional and the chef is, apparently, a Michelin star chef who has taken on this restaurant.  A real treat. 

This morning, all went smoothly and we took a punt and started the ride by bypassing the route and following a main road with only Sunday traffic using it. Saved some time which, in retrospect,  was a good thing as we didn't arrive at our accommodation until around six this evening - a little weary! Tonight's understatement! 

Weather has been very kind and lunch was a pleasure taken on a proper bench surrounded by ,kiddies playground activities. At this point we  made the decision to book tonight's hotel and thus commit ourselves to a long continuation. It started so well. Lots of very fit cyclists on unladen bikes waved and hailed the old couple on the heavy bikes. Their day will come. No, really delighted to see so many people of similar mind. The terrain had ceased to be up and down and was nearly flat for quite some time and we were making really good time and then we entered Coalville and the route went haywire following tracks which were badly signposted and then others which were so neglected, they were unridable. However,  the tenacity of Master  a gator untangled the devious paths but we lost a lot of time. What we did do though, was cross the M1 which seemed quite a milestone.

Planning on tomorrow being a little shorter as we have to conquer the maze through Nottingham.

 Saturday 14th June 2025

Tewkesbury  -  Hasely 77kms   1752'

I  must start by thanking Wendy and Paul for providing us with a very comfortable day off! We washed all our very smelly gear, Al changed my front brakes and generally checked the bikes. My sister provided delicious food and everything else to make our stay a delight.

We set off in good time this morning and we're soon dicing with death on normally quiet roads (it was Saturday!) No they were okay and just at  coffee time we passed a village hall where a van was providing coffee and  cakes. Very English villagey and very good coffee.

We chose to ride this route from south to north based on some knowledge of prevailing winds and today was a good example. Fot the most part, the wind was behind us and very strong. When we changed direction cross winds could be guaged by the flattened grass in-between the hedges. Certainly made me wobble but fortunately it was blowing me into the side of the road and not into the middle.! 

Unexpectedly, because I had forgotten that it was Saturday, Evesham was heaving and the way through took a while, entailing some careful route finding. The final approach into Stratford was a joy, along the Stratford Greenway - several kms of flat well surfaced path and lots of folk to say hello to. Stratford town was pretty  chaotic ( I think I  mentioned it was Saturday) and then tourists were out in  full, wandering aimlessly, unaware of two cyclists trying to get to the other side of town. But we did.

We had stopped for lunch on a suitable bench and researched possible accommodation for the night. Options were so limited that there was only one, and that was a teeny bit further than we planned. How unusual is that!  Anyway it was duly booked so we  had to make the extra distance which we did and , in the process accepted that there is a general improvement in our performance which is increasing our overall confidence. The latter has also been enhanced by the encouragement of our followers and folk along the way. Thanks all.

Must tell you this - at some point we took a  cycle path, the easy access to which was a gate, well two in fact and both were locked! The only alternative was a bike hike over two wierd wooden steps. Quite a challenge with heavy bikes. Al went for it and then man mountain appeared and asked if I wanted help. 'Oh yes please," I simpered. And with that, he picked up my bike, panniers and all, and waltzed over the obstacles! My hero! 

Anyway here's to tomorrow, the route of which Al is working on right now.