I – Patti – forgot to include this photo of “Brindall”, a tiger-striped Greyhound who was in the pub last night while we enjoyed Friday night Fish and Chips. Isn’t he pretty? I love #pubdogs. The British ones are exceedingly well-behaved.
John here: Saturday morning, Northumberland threw everything it could at us on this 76 km ride from Bellingham to Tynemouth: long steep climbs, misty rain, exhilarating descents, many sheep, a blessedly flat riverside path along the Tyne, and high winds. Look at the angle of Patti’s flag to feel the wind! In fact, later on that day, my flag completely detached itself from the pole, and I had to fix it with trusty Ty-Wraps that evening.
Luckily, we had fortified ourselves with a hearty, early breakfast at a cafe in Bellingham that was open early. (We were concerned about getting a good start on our big ride day so we’d make the ferry on time.) We shared the cafe with a bunch of Emergency Mountain Cycling Response members, ordering their scones and Breakfast Baps. The bap, below, was Patti’s. John had a sensible poached eggs on toast brekkie.
A well-located bike shop just outside of Newcastle (right before we got on the ferry) had a spare chain connector link for us (good to have back-up) and a top-up of chain oil. It didn’t hurt that they also had espresso and dark chocolate cake…
The ride ended at the Tynemouth Ferry dock after passing through Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Here is our post from last spring about Newcastle. We joined the line for the ferry behind a rough-and-tumble group of Belgian riders.
The boarding of vehicles seemed to take a long time, but eventually we set our brakes on a small platform in the bowels of the “Sea Captain” among many jam-packed cars and lorries. We moved our rear-view mirrors to the left side (because in Holland we’ll be back riding on the RH side of the road) and bade the trikes good-night.
We sailed east out of the River Tyne to the North Sea, passing by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station, Tynemouth Priory and Castle, and the Tynemouth Lighthouse (all which we had visited by land in the Spring!)
Speaking with bikers, they complained about the cost of the ferry from the UK to Holland: our very modest 2 person cabin, with dinner and breakfast, was about $750. It’s not cheap, by any stretch, but it’s the only safe way to get our bikes across that stretch of water.
The overnight on the ferry was better than expected: we enjoyed exceptionally delicious, well-prepared dinners and a clean and functional berth, I (John) was on the top bunk because Patti anticipated her usual 3-4 visits to the loo.
Patti had a great sleep (perhaps assisted by two Gravols?). John mastered the terrifying top bunk ladder descent after a couple of middle-of-the-night insomniatic (a new word?) ascents and descents. Breakfast was good and almost worth the insane amount the ferry company charged for the privilege of not arriving in Holland with an empty belly, craving coffee.
Disembarking took a while – there are new regulations about non-EU visitors checking in – but then we were on our way. We rode a very flat 53 kms, often beside or crossing canals, with a quick 150 metre ferry to rest the legs. (And its cost was around $5 CDN. No breakfast though….)
Our stop for the evening is in a charming town called Alphen Aan Den Rijn. The region appears to be quite affluent, with much flower growing and processing. Tonight we will enjoy Italian food and a sleep without a ship’s noise and rocking. Tomorrow, Gorinchem. And a flat flat flat route!