Wet then wetter

A two day catch up on my blog today as the Guiness go in the way last night !

Day 4...... wet wet wet plus stormy but the Himalayan took it in its stride. Started the day in the cheapest B&B of the trip and I also slept with the landlady ! 

I had been tracking the weather and had pleasingly built in a light day of around 80 miles. Last night I plotted two other routes to avoid going ‘ over the top’ of Holmes Moss .... I decided to make a decision in Glossop as it was my first and only stop on the trip.

So roads in my back garden to start in windy and wet conditions .... still enjoyable as I was all waterproofed up. Buxton first where there was loads of oil/diesel on the route through .... Coffee stop in Glossop where despite dayglow yellow rain coat a woman pulled out in front of me despite looking directly at me, then up the road the other way then out she came .... the ABS kicked in on the back wheel and she drove off no apology! 

I’d decided I was going over the top and it was a good decision. Blowy and wet but I had much of the road to myself. I then took another route not done before and it was the A640 New Hey Road that was a challenge as the wind was strongest here as it was over the tops .... then over the M62 felt a mile high (!) the bridge with diddy traffic below.

New Hobbit hotel in Sowerby Bridge tonight ..... nice room nice welcome. Bigger miles tomorrow as I leave England and enter Scotland .....

Day 5 .... and it got a lot wetter. Raining when I went to breakfast, helped myself to lunch there by way of my bacon and toast saved as well as an apple and a muffin... worked out well as the cafe in Hawes was closed ! 

Just short of 170 miles today, wet but very enjoyable, right gear right bike etc. The road between Settle and Hawes was flooded in a few locations, one 'flood' was the other side of a dip so I hit it at speed that pulled both my feet off the pegs !

 

I'm in Moffat tonight at the Buchan guest house, been here before a nice place nice people. I've stayed in Moffat quite a few times but never arrived on the route travelled today. The last 20 odd miles were on logging roads  - a real mix of good and bad roads but quite twisty.Perfect for the Himalayan 

Ferry ride tomorrow and ever closer to the other end of Great Britain..... just short of 1,000 miles done now.

Lejog day 3 into Wales

I think the North Devon coast is well underestimated compared to its Cornish neighbour - I'd take the likes of Lynmouth and Lynton over Newquay and Padstow every time plus you have the lovely A39 to ride on and up and down.... some of the 25%'s were engaging as was the views.

240 miles today over the Seven bridge and up the less attractive (after Monmouth A49) I managed to dodge some serious looking rain clouds again today - I doubt I'll do that tomorrow and Friday ! Might have to rig a sail for tomorrow !

I did have a few concerns about crossing the Seven bridge due to an increasing wind ( from the weather not me) but as it turned out it was pleasant and the views were amazing.

Actually back at Ivy cottage for tonights stop - made no sense coming back this way and not sleeping with the wife and no charge !

I chose the latter part of my route today to come under the A5 Stretton aqueduct .... only a few weeks ago we were going over it !

LEJOG day 2 Lands End

Lands End really is not a place I'd want to live. It is stunning but there is only one way to travel and that would frustrate me  - a lot ( plus there are no canals )

It seems my hotel yesterday was the place to be for Scilly Island holiday makers with all breakfast companions this morning either going to or come back from the islands. In fact one lady had been holidaying there since 1969!! All very friendly and interesting conversations.

Packed up paid up and on my way to the end of England and the United Kingdom. Quick photos then northwards on some back lanes and then the A39 Atlantic Highway which is a great biking road, then more back lanes and 180 miles later I'm in Coombe Martin in a splendid B&B cheap very clean posh excellent service and great food.... 

My 6.30 am view 

Camelot Castle hotel Tintagel,  we've stayed there a couple of times in the past 

I even managed some impromptu fishing - more of that later ! 

Tomorrow over the Seven Bridge and into Wales and to the best and cheapest B&B on the whole trip ....

LEJOG to Penzance

 To get to the start I had to go a long way down ...330 miles to be precise. 

My mileometer before a wheel was turned .... on the Sunday afternoon hence the time 

All ready to go .....

Started well with the now seemingly obligatory chat about the bike to someone  - I've never owned a bike that attracts so much positive attention. That was Worcester services after about a hour and a half, however on setting off my sat nav seemed to have added two hours to my journey,  it was right of course as there was a two hour delay on the M5 between junction 19 and 21.... The Sat nav offered me another route (what did we do apart from getting lost a lot before sat nav's - they were designed by men for men as we now have not reason to stop and ask directions  - not that we did before !)  Anyhow I got an impromptu tour of Bristol and saw the Clifton suspension bridge.

The much loved sat nav then took me on some little lanes to miss a lot of queuing traffic on the A38  - this is most obviously not the M5 ....

Then it went dark around Taunton with thunder and lightening as I had lunch in a Sainsbury's car park - and yes another fella came chatting, so keen was he to talk he left his car door open and someone reported it to security !!

The rain started as I left and it got cold and wet but I was well protected. On this bike its top speed is about 75mph so 60 mph is a good cruising speed. I spent time following HGV's at 58mph until a hill appeared then I'd overtake. You got to know the unloaded ones as they lost no speed up such hills ! Plus it was a risk to follow the slower ones up the hills as the unloaded ones caught up and came right up behind before swinging out at the last minute - scary to observe in the rear view mirrors slowly becoming a HGV sandwich.

The problem with Cornwall is there really are only two roads in and out of it and the A30 is a slow road - even on a bike doing lots of overtaking - a good reason to visit infrequently even if it is a lovely place.

Got to the hotel at 5.30pm after setting off at 9am. Lovely sea view room, nice couple running it. 

Not seen St Michael's mount for many many years 

  Had a pint in pub plus a meal  - a date to remember for good reasons hopefully 

Tomorrow - 10 miles to Lands End then point the bike north for 8 days - first stop North Devon, Coombe Martin to be precise. 

Another adventure .....

I've an ear worm tune in my head now..... 'It's my party I'll cry if I want to'. It is there because I'm about to blog about motorcycling as I'm off on a  decent trip and this blog sortof'ish has more canal content but ' It's my blog and I'll blog about shit if I want to' ..... you see where the ear worm came from?

What a load of drivel, anyhow in the next day or so I'm off on a trip I have wanted to do since as long as I can remember. LEJOG.... Lands End to John O'Grotes one end of mainland Great Britain  to the other. I had planned it on a cycle but my legs don't have the miles in them anymore I feel so it has to be powered (I harbour a plan to do it on my electric bike but time will tell) I could do it on my big BMW built for touring but I want to explore some of the lesser lanes along the route so to test me and my smaller bike I'm loading up my Royal Enfield Himalayan, 'Built for all roads and not roads' is the slogan. It'll see 330 miles on mainly motorway to get me to Penzance but then no motorways  ( apart from the M4 as I nip over the Seven bridge into Wales) for the rest of the trip to the tip of Scotland ( Sorry Ireland you'll have to wait until next year !) 

So a little adventure to plan ( extensively) and all hotels so I've had to wait for the 17th May and hope nothing changes. In fact an hour before I typed  this I got an email from CalMac ferries to say my 12.10 sailing from Malaig to Skye has been bumped to 4pm so thats a bit of route recalculating to do. I'll end up exploring Skye in the evening  - but that might be a bonus if I get the right light for some photographs ....

So hopefully daily blogs about progress and experience  - doing this by myself as Rachel is working and friends only have the big bikes not really suited to the route I've planned.

So join in or look away for the next couple of weeks, boaty blogging to be resumed on my return !

Retirement - best job I've ever had.

Before I retired I was offered a farewell meeting with my boss's boss - the second in command at the University. As an aside he was someone I had no respect for, in my world respect is earned and not decreed by status, anyhow I digress. One thing he could not understand was why at 55 I was retiring ( he lived for work and had no hobbies it transpired in my cross examination of him!) I put him right on the very long bucket list I had and despite my reservations I held about him I was a little sad for him as unlike me he had little outside of work and no reason to retire and explore life.

That was a long winded introduction to my last week - after we returned from Percy I had agreed to meet friends for an outside coffee and bacon catch up  - 150 miles into north Yorkshire. They were coming from Ayr, Middlesborough and Lincolnshire. 

A great ride on a great bike, I've got to consider it the pinnacle of my biking career ( to date as there is still that DCT Goldwing to consider !) 

I've a year ( hopefully) of biking adventures lined up on this bike and my other bike a Royal Enfield  Himalayan. That bike is just about set up now for my LEJOG ( Lands End to John O'Groats) all by side roads over 11 days. I'm doing that on my own and I finished packing one full pannier with all the 'stuff' I hopefully will not need. I've some extra front rack panniers being delivered this week and I'm hopefully set ! 

We are on the big bike just after I get back from LEJOG for a few days with friends so I rode one of the routes I have planned that was again glorious until I pulled into the Cat and Fiddle where it started to snow ! 3c at the pub and 10c off the Buxton plateau ! 

More to follow ..... hopefully. 

Boating but not on Percy ...?

When we were out the other week we were doing that boating thing of leap frogging another boat and that boat was Jubilee Halfie and Jan's boat. Whilst we were winding and heading back they were heading off on the four counties with a trip up the Caldon. As we live above the Caldon on the stretch between Consall lock and Froghall tunnel we agreed to meet up and take them some post they had forwarded to our place.

So yesterday we walked down and met them as they were on their way to the 48 hour visitor moorings. John initially moored up and put the kettle on then a decision was taken to cruise on and with little encouragement we hopped onto the foredeck and enjoyed seeing our bit of canal from a boat rather than walking (which we do a lot) 

With the extra weight (!) and a willing pair of guiding hands a quick risk assessment was taken and the intrepid couple decided to go for the basin - through the very low Froghall tunnel....

My all time favourite canal bridge - Cherry Eye Bridge

John turned the engine off and with him on the stern and me on the bow we handed Jubilee through  - it got very tight at one point with literally an inch each side at the front .... but we got through 

(Pictures by Jan  -  pinched from NB Jubilees site  - here for another perspective )

Success !

John then expertly reversed into a pontoon in the basin and joined an elite club of boaters who have taken their boat into the basin.

Sadly there are some that cannot respect the countryside  - I speared it and took it home 

Skip forward the next day and we returned to help 'hand' Jubilee back through the tunnel. John had been proactive and found more wood and cut it and stacked it on the bow. He'd also topped the watertank back up and added a bucket of water and a bottle of water on the bow and some paving slaps he found dumped on the stern - that's proactive.

Success, seemed easier no doubt in part due to the few steps John took.

Yes we also met another boat on the narrows  - great to see boats coming up our canal. They reversed and we cruised on.

We live up there ...

We even met our neighbour Margaret and her family at Consall lock. We brought Jubilee up ( despite the boat we passed in the narrows leaving one of the paddles two click up  - John spotted it as we hovered close to the top ! 

Off they cruised to hopefully get past the river section before the predicted heavy rains that'll bring the Churnet up for sure. 

It was lovely to meet them again on home turf and help them get into and out of the basin. It also reminded me how much we miss Percy and what we could and maybe should be doing more of.  We walked back home up through he woods for some gardening ( Rachel) and some motorbike fettling (Nev).