lynck49
Guest
ROUND THE COAST – June 2006
This was my first trip of any significance since returning to biking 7 years ago. Started out on the longest day (21/6) and got back Friday afternoon, 30/6, after 3316 miles in 10 days. All kinds of riding experience and when put with a time constraint, a superb challenge for anyone.
A big factor is striking the right balance between riding as close to the coast as possible and making sufficient daily progress to meet your time scale: sat nav is a great help.
On reflection (and I guess I knew before I started), 10 days was tight. Not really any time to relax and sight see: result – fewer photos than I’d wanted and a numb bum.
Why 10 days? Simple, that was the extent of my pass out. Ideally two weeks would have been better but I didn’t want to push my luck! 
I greatly under-estimated how slow progress would be in some areas due to very steep roads, twisting and turning and summer road repairs!
What I did get right (or was lucky with) was the weather; in 10 days I rode in rain for about half an hour in total: in the Scottish Highlands and on the north coast run I had unbelievable bright sunny days. 
I converted the bag in the top box into a camera bag so I could take camera and a couple of extra lenses etc. Big mistake – too heavy and slow to access: there were many roads where I couldn’t safely park and shoot. Must save up for a decent pocket digital.
Highlight? Has to be the ride to the most westerly point - Ardnamurchan Point. Simply the best! If you've been there, you'll know what I mean.
Worst moment? Nothing really bad. Got stuck in the car park at The Lizard and had to offload everything so I could turn the bike round.
Then after 5 days hard riding, I suddenly remembered to check the oil – no sign of a level, needed almost a litre!!
Day 1 - Woodbridge (Suffolk) to West Bay, Nr Bridport, Dorset - 394 miles
Chose the longest day (21/6) to start so that I could maximise riding. Started out at 5:00 a.m in light rain for about 20 minutes, made a late minute decision not to go via Harwich and Clacton then back roads to Southend and M25. Instead, opted for the direct run to Dartford crossing and then on to the A2 to Margate. The A2 was terrible; 18 miles in one hour! Nice run down through Deal, Dover Folkestone and Hythe before breakfast at Dymchurch. Zipped through Romney Marshes and came to a complete standstill in Rye: road works on the worst junction. The next 10 miles saw five more sets of road works and time slipping away so aimed for A27 to Brighton, along the seafront then out to M27 to get round Portsmouth and Southampton. Dropped down into Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole, then Wareham which was originally going to be my stop over; instead, pressed on to Bridport area and ended up in West Bay in a grotty B&B. Relieved to have survived the first day.
Day 2 - Bridport to Bideford, Nth Devon - 344 miles
Early start at 6:00 a.m. Through Lyme Regis (fantastic descent into the centre), round Exeter and into Dawlish all before 7:30. The A379 from there right through Torquay, Paignton, Dartmouth (nice little ferry crossing) and round to Kingsbridge is where I realised I wasn’t going to make fast progress on steep, twisty roads.
Pressed on through Plymouth to Liskeard and then St Austell to Mevagissy where I took a map check and got nabbed by two Mormons of all people. Why pick me out? Sorry guys, God was a spaceman and right now I want Scotty to beam me over to The Lizard…got there about 3:00 pm and promptly got stuck in the car park. Quick off load to manoeuvre and point the right way then out with camera for first pics. A Swiss couple pulled up on a K1200LT (and didn’t get stuck); designer leathers and no helmet hair, very smart. They took a couple of pics for me and I was then on a dash to Lands End.
Not so much a dash, more a crawl with all the coaches and camper vans. Now 4:30 and still a way to go. Bikes free into the Lands End area and can be ridden right down to the famous signpost. Pressed someone into taking a pic….
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….before moving on to my B&B in Bideford area: needed to make the 130 miles as directly as possible. A30 (complete with miles of road works) to Launceston then A388 via Holsworthy to Bideford (Westward Ho). Arrived at 7:15 p.m. Superb B&B overlooking Bideford Bay: had a 1:4 driveway but space for the bike in a garage.
Day 3 - Bideford to Cardigan (Molygrove) - 308 miles
Late start at 7:45; through the ‘rush hour’ traffic in Bideford and on to Barnstaple, Braunton, Ilfracombe and Combe Martin. Slow progress again so when I saw a sign for the M5 I unfortunately followed that way: ended up down near Tiverton instead of up at Bridgewater! Lesson – trust the sat nav, not your nose. Took the motorways round into Wales stopping at Buster’s in Swansea to collect my AirHawk seat. Severn Crossing was very impressive.
From Swansea, picked out the coastal route via Llanelli and on to Carmarthen, St Clears, Pendine, Amroth, Saundersfoot and Tenby. Unannounced visit to cousin in Tenby backfired – not in, gone shopping! Just as well as time was moving on and I still had to get to Molygrove, via Tesco’s (petrol) in Cardigan and fish and chips in St Dogmaels: some incredibly steep roads in this area. B&B run by a young Polish classical violinist who had retired from the concert scene because of the stress; she’s now teaching music p/t in a primary school.
Day 4 – Molygrove to Garstang (Nr Lancaster) - 324 miles
6:15 a.m., start taking A487 to Aberystweth then on to Machynlleth. Good roads and no traffic so early: seemed as though the Welsh were sleeping-in.
Took A493 via Aberdovey, Tywyn, Dolgellow; superb views. Missed Harlech etc and went to Porthmadog. Rained for the second time – 10 mins max.
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Moved on via Caernarfon, Bangor and A55 taking in Rhyl and Prestatyn. Ugh!! On to Flint and Queensferry then M53 and Mersey Tunnel - easier than I expected but coming out to Bootle – so depressing and intimidating. Got through ok and up through Formby and Southport to Lythem St Anne’s where I’d hoped to stop. However, in LStA there had been some fun day event and the place was literally heaving with people, so decided not to stop. Quick reprog of sat nav to avoid the whole area – and ended up riding the full length of Blackpool sea front, terrible!!! Took 45 mins to do 6 miles: speed cameras (joke) everywhere and hordes of half-pissed people walking across roads without a care.
Got to outskirts of Lancaster and spotted a police motorcyclist; PC Mark Proctor – what a star! Asked if he knew of somewhere to stay: yep, the Royal Oak Hotel in Garstang run by his mate, an ex-biker. PC Mark used his own mobile to book me in and then led me 10 miles to the garage door!!
. Bike spent the night in a heated garage!! Just as well as the heavens opened overnight. The Royal Oak is a great pub with accommodation and good food; well placed for a stopover.
Day 5 - Garstang to Troon - 335 miles
Late start at 9:00 a.m. as the hotel didn’t wake up too early on a Sunday! Straight on to the M6, then A590 to Ulverston and the A5087 coast road to Barrow-in-Furness: a surprisingly good ride and scenery. Through Askam and Broughton (both “-in-Furness”) to Whitehaven: another great ride with sweeping bends, tight corners, undulating and steep climbs/descents. Unfortunately the stretch to Carlisle via Aspatria and Wigton wasn’t as good and the area had seen better times.
Still, onwards and upwards. Through Carlisle to Gretna and then Annan where I picked up the very well signed B725/725 Galloway Coastal Route (GCR) to Ayr. Scenery and roads well worth the effort.
Stayed with the GCR through Dumfries to Dalbeattie and then Kirkcudbright: plenty of sea views along the way. A75 to Newton Stewart and then had to look for petrol so missed the Wigtown/Whithorn loop and headed for Stranraer. Eventually found petrol in Castle Kennedy: well worth knowing on a Sunday.
Turned onto the A751/A77 northwards: good roads and the views are getting better. Major downside through to Troon – the number of linked SPECS cameras monitoring average speed! Between Girvan and Troon there must have been 5 sets of SPECS cameras monitoring average speed and the sat nav didn’t alert me to any of them.
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Also, not long after Girvan I passed through Turnberry – a fantastic set up for golf and clearly a place where you need £££/$$$. Shortly after, there was the scenic coastal route into Ayr: very quiet and no cameras.
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Troon is an unusual place: the golf means £££/$$$ yet I found the town centre to be scruffy whilst surrounded by wide streets/roads of impressive housing. A very nice B&B at 31 Victoria Drive.
Day 6 - Troon to Fort William (via Isle of Arran and Ardnamurchan Point) - 235 miles (and 4 ferries)
An absolutely superb days riding!! Excellent weather, superb roads and spot on timing with four ferries. An 8:15 start saw me in time to board the 9:00 ferry to Brodick (Isle of Arran) instead of the 9:45. A quick dash over the 14 miles to Lochranza and there was the ferry just loading. Off at Claonaig and on to Tarbert and Oban.
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Great ride to the Corran Ferry and almost straight on for the 5 mins crossing.
What a ride to the Point! The first 12 miles is fine on the A861 which then becomes the B8007: a total of 32 miles of single track with passing places, great for bikes but not for cars. Road surface is generally very good. The road climbs steadily through ‘villages’ and in/out of woods for about 22 miles. Nothing hairy, just demanding in terms of concentration. Just when you think you are there, a sign says a few more miles (10 I think). A lot steeper and tighter with the last few hundred metres controlled by traffic lights. All in all, about 2 hours riding but well worth the effort. AND, you get to do it all again downhill!! Nobody driving up at 5:00 p.m. so progress faster.
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An alternative ride round the coast...
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Got to Fort William about 7:00 p.m. Didn’t fancy the 70 miles to Kyle of Lochalsh area so stayed put. Stayed in a hotel where a coach load of German tourists arrived: they were on a whisky tour and drinking the stuff like there was no tomorrow!
Day 7 - Fort William to Keiss (between Dunnet Head and Wick) - 364 miles
Another superb day: weather and riding fantastic. More single track, lots of steep climbs/descents and north of Ullapool, the nearest we have to a proper wilderness.
6:30 start and the 70 miles I needed to make up were slow because of the fantastic views.
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This is the stretch where I could have done with 2 days and/or a more convenient camera arrangement. The Eilean Donan Castle is a real magnet....
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And just past Shieldaig....
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Once past Ullapool there seemed to be photo opps round every bend but the road wasn’t particularly safe for stopping. I also needed to press on. Just when I though it couldn’t get any better, I was at Kyle of Durness near Cape Wrath…
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Cape Wrath Hotel was soooooo appealing...
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…and then on to the north coast road. Brilliant white beaches, turquoise and dark blue sea rfound every corner (almost).
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Eventually got to Dunnet Head at 6:30 p.m. Only me and one other bike (2 up) that was seeking out the clues/answers to the Round Britain ride/Rally.
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Overnight in an out of the way “hotel” in Keiss. Not recommended.
Day 8 - Keiss to Peat Inn (Nr St Andrew's) - 375 miles
A 6:30 start and once through Wick, back to traffic! The A99/A9 are not good roads – some poor surfaces. Funny but somewhere along here the mountains disappeared and I didn’t notice.
Called in to the BMW dealer in Inverness and had the dipped headlight bulb replaced, then today was about making progress so as to have a good start tomorrow on the home run. By late afternoon it was getting arduous. The highlight was St Andrews - impressive but no overnight stop available. Same through the other coastal towns. Used the sat nav to locate accommodation and found the 'village' of Peat Inn, and the top class restaurant also called the Peat Inn - complete with luxury accommodation. FANTASTIC!!! Talk about customer service, they helped me unload the bike and even got the housekeeper up at 6:00 a.m next morning to make my breakfast!
Day 9 - Peat Inn to Beverley, East Yorks - 335 miles
7:00 a.m. start after a great breakfast. Good quick ride to Edinburgh and over the Forth Bridge to North Berwick and the coastal route down to Berwick on Tweed and then Newcastle. Wonderful scenery in great weather. Why does the Tyne Tunnel charge bikes?? 20p and a lot of fiddling to find the change; definitely slowed and upset quite a few cars.
Down the coast, through Whitely Bay, on through Sunderland and Seaham, Hartlepool and Seaton Carew. Interesting to see the social make up of these areas. Used the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough and on through Redcar to the east coast run through Whitby, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington. One constant stream of traffic and no chance for overtaking to make progress. Down to Hornsea but absolutely nowhere to stay overnight. After a few calls ended up in Beverley: not on the coast but well placed for the Humber Bridge.
Day 10 Beverley to Woodbridge - 302 miles.
Great start soon lost in the Lincs east coast run – Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe, Skegness. Sorry people, but probably the worst part of all the ride. Still, I had a bit of entertainment just outside Boston. Stopped at a café and got talking to a guy riding a trike - what a machine - designed, ordered, built and delivered from Germany all in 3 weeks. Porsche 1.8L engine! Never did find out the cost but he was planning on fitting a turbo booster to take it up to 2.2L, once he could figure how to keep the front wheel on the road!!.
Zipped on to Kings Lynn and then a major hold up and need to rethink a route. Got onto the Hunstanton road and a mega traffic queue. Filtered for half a mile but no sign of movement – only cars turning round. Decided to back track, pick up the Cromer road for a few miles and then rejoined original route at Holme next the Sea. The north Norfolk run is great: but not today – too much slow tourist traffic and very frustrating.
Biggest disappointment was the most easterly point in Lowestoft: no photo opportunity as no people around and there was no decent acknowledgement of the point itself.
From there an easy run home via well known roads, arriving at 5:30 p.m. I felt a sense of elation but soon deflated when it was apparent none of my biking neighbours had missed me!! Ah well, there you go….
K.
This was my first trip of any significance since returning to biking 7 years ago. Started out on the longest day (21/6) and got back Friday afternoon, 30/6, after 3316 miles in 10 days. All kinds of riding experience and when put with a time constraint, a superb challenge for anyone.
A big factor is striking the right balance between riding as close to the coast as possible and making sufficient daily progress to meet your time scale: sat nav is a great help.
On reflection (and I guess I knew before I started), 10 days was tight. Not really any time to relax and sight see: result – fewer photos than I’d wanted and a numb bum.
Why 10 days? Simple, that was the extent of my pass out. Ideally two weeks would have been better but I didn’t want to push my luck! I greatly under-estimated how slow progress would be in some areas due to very steep roads, twisting and turning and summer road repairs!
What I did get right (or was lucky with) was the weather; in 10 days I rode in rain for about half an hour in total: in the Scottish Highlands and on the north coast run I had unbelievable bright sunny days. I converted the bag in the top box into a camera bag so I could take camera and a couple of extra lenses etc. Big mistake – too heavy and slow to access: there were many roads where I couldn’t safely park and shoot. Must save up for a decent pocket digital.
Highlight? Has to be the ride to the most westerly point - Ardnamurchan Point. Simply the best! If you've been there, you'll know what I mean.
Worst moment? Nothing really bad. Got stuck in the car park at The Lizard and had to offload everything so I could turn the bike round.
Then after 5 days hard riding, I suddenly remembered to check the oil – no sign of a level, needed almost a litre!! Day 1 - Woodbridge (Suffolk) to West Bay, Nr Bridport, Dorset - 394 miles
Chose the longest day (21/6) to start so that I could maximise riding. Started out at 5:00 a.m in light rain for about 20 minutes, made a late minute decision not to go via Harwich and Clacton then back roads to Southend and M25. Instead, opted for the direct run to Dartford crossing and then on to the A2 to Margate. The A2 was terrible; 18 miles in one hour! Nice run down through Deal, Dover Folkestone and Hythe before breakfast at Dymchurch. Zipped through Romney Marshes and came to a complete standstill in Rye: road works on the worst junction. The next 10 miles saw five more sets of road works and time slipping away so aimed for A27 to Brighton, along the seafront then out to M27 to get round Portsmouth and Southampton. Dropped down into Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole, then Wareham which was originally going to be my stop over; instead, pressed on to Bridport area and ended up in West Bay in a grotty B&B. Relieved to have survived the first day.
Day 2 - Bridport to Bideford, Nth Devon - 344 miles
Early start at 6:00 a.m. Through Lyme Regis (fantastic descent into the centre), round Exeter and into Dawlish all before 7:30. The A379 from there right through Torquay, Paignton, Dartmouth (nice little ferry crossing) and round to Kingsbridge is where I realised I wasn’t going to make fast progress on steep, twisty roads.
Pressed on through Plymouth to Liskeard and then St Austell to Mevagissy where I took a map check and got nabbed by two Mormons of all people. Why pick me out? Sorry guys, God was a spaceman and right now I want Scotty to beam me over to The Lizard…got there about 3:00 pm and promptly got stuck in the car park. Quick off load to manoeuvre and point the right way then out with camera for first pics. A Swiss couple pulled up on a K1200LT (and didn’t get stuck); designer leathers and no helmet hair, very smart. They took a couple of pics for me and I was then on a dash to Lands End.
Not so much a dash, more a crawl with all the coaches and camper vans. Now 4:30 and still a way to go. Bikes free into the Lands End area and can be ridden right down to the famous signpost. Pressed someone into taking a pic….
….before moving on to my B&B in Bideford area: needed to make the 130 miles as directly as possible. A30 (complete with miles of road works) to Launceston then A388 via Holsworthy to Bideford (Westward Ho). Arrived at 7:15 p.m. Superb B&B overlooking Bideford Bay: had a 1:4 driveway but space for the bike in a garage.
Day 3 - Bideford to Cardigan (Molygrove) - 308 miles
Late start at 7:45; through the ‘rush hour’ traffic in Bideford and on to Barnstaple, Braunton, Ilfracombe and Combe Martin. Slow progress again so when I saw a sign for the M5 I unfortunately followed that way: ended up down near Tiverton instead of up at Bridgewater! Lesson – trust the sat nav, not your nose. Took the motorways round into Wales stopping at Buster’s in Swansea to collect my AirHawk seat. Severn Crossing was very impressive.
From Swansea, picked out the coastal route via Llanelli and on to Carmarthen, St Clears, Pendine, Amroth, Saundersfoot and Tenby. Unannounced visit to cousin in Tenby backfired – not in, gone shopping! Just as well as time was moving on and I still had to get to Molygrove, via Tesco’s (petrol) in Cardigan and fish and chips in St Dogmaels: some incredibly steep roads in this area. B&B run by a young Polish classical violinist who had retired from the concert scene because of the stress; she’s now teaching music p/t in a primary school.
Day 4 – Molygrove to Garstang (Nr Lancaster) - 324 miles
6:15 a.m., start taking A487 to Aberystweth then on to Machynlleth. Good roads and no traffic so early: seemed as though the Welsh were sleeping-in.
Took A493 via Aberdovey, Tywyn, Dolgellow; superb views. Missed Harlech etc and went to Porthmadog. Rained for the second time – 10 mins max.
Moved on via Caernarfon, Bangor and A55 taking in Rhyl and Prestatyn. Ugh!! On to Flint and Queensferry then M53 and Mersey Tunnel - easier than I expected but coming out to Bootle – so depressing and intimidating. Got through ok and up through Formby and Southport to Lythem St Anne’s where I’d hoped to stop. However, in LStA there had been some fun day event and the place was literally heaving with people, so decided not to stop. Quick reprog of sat nav to avoid the whole area – and ended up riding the full length of Blackpool sea front, terrible!!! Took 45 mins to do 6 miles: speed cameras (joke) everywhere and hordes of half-pissed people walking across roads without a care.
Got to outskirts of Lancaster and spotted a police motorcyclist; PC Mark Proctor – what a star! Asked if he knew of somewhere to stay: yep, the Royal Oak Hotel in Garstang run by his mate, an ex-biker. PC Mark used his own mobile to book me in and then led me 10 miles to the garage door!!
. Bike spent the night in a heated garage!! Just as well as the heavens opened overnight. The Royal Oak is a great pub with accommodation and good food; well placed for a stopover.Day 5 - Garstang to Troon - 335 miles
Late start at 9:00 a.m. as the hotel didn’t wake up too early on a Sunday! Straight on to the M6, then A590 to Ulverston and the A5087 coast road to Barrow-in-Furness: a surprisingly good ride and scenery. Through Askam and Broughton (both “-in-Furness”) to Whitehaven: another great ride with sweeping bends, tight corners, undulating and steep climbs/descents. Unfortunately the stretch to Carlisle via Aspatria and Wigton wasn’t as good and the area had seen better times.
Still, onwards and upwards. Through Carlisle to Gretna and then Annan where I picked up the very well signed B725/725 Galloway Coastal Route (GCR) to Ayr. Scenery and roads well worth the effort.
Stayed with the GCR through Dumfries to Dalbeattie and then Kirkcudbright: plenty of sea views along the way. A75 to Newton Stewart and then had to look for petrol so missed the Wigtown/Whithorn loop and headed for Stranraer. Eventually found petrol in Castle Kennedy: well worth knowing on a Sunday.
Turned onto the A751/A77 northwards: good roads and the views are getting better. Major downside through to Troon – the number of linked SPECS cameras monitoring average speed! Between Girvan and Troon there must have been 5 sets of SPECS cameras monitoring average speed and the sat nav didn’t alert me to any of them.
Also, not long after Girvan I passed through Turnberry – a fantastic set up for golf and clearly a place where you need £££/$$$. Shortly after, there was the scenic coastal route into Ayr: very quiet and no cameras.
Troon is an unusual place: the golf means £££/$$$ yet I found the town centre to be scruffy whilst surrounded by wide streets/roads of impressive housing. A very nice B&B at 31 Victoria Drive.
Day 6 - Troon to Fort William (via Isle of Arran and Ardnamurchan Point) - 235 miles (and 4 ferries)
An absolutely superb days riding!! Excellent weather, superb roads and spot on timing with four ferries. An 8:15 start saw me in time to board the 9:00 ferry to Brodick (Isle of Arran) instead of the 9:45. A quick dash over the 14 miles to Lochranza and there was the ferry just loading. Off at Claonaig and on to Tarbert and Oban.
Great ride to the Corran Ferry and almost straight on for the 5 mins crossing.
What a ride to the Point! The first 12 miles is fine on the A861 which then becomes the B8007: a total of 32 miles of single track with passing places, great for bikes but not for cars. Road surface is generally very good. The road climbs steadily through ‘villages’ and in/out of woods for about 22 miles. Nothing hairy, just demanding in terms of concentration. Just when you think you are there, a sign says a few more miles (10 I think). A lot steeper and tighter with the last few hundred metres controlled by traffic lights. All in all, about 2 hours riding but well worth the effort. AND, you get to do it all again downhill!! Nobody driving up at 5:00 p.m. so progress faster.
An alternative ride round the coast...
Got to Fort William about 7:00 p.m. Didn’t fancy the 70 miles to Kyle of Lochalsh area so stayed put. Stayed in a hotel where a coach load of German tourists arrived: they were on a whisky tour and drinking the stuff like there was no tomorrow!
Day 7 - Fort William to Keiss (between Dunnet Head and Wick) - 364 miles
Another superb day: weather and riding fantastic. More single track, lots of steep climbs/descents and north of Ullapool, the nearest we have to a proper wilderness.
6:30 start and the 70 miles I needed to make up were slow because of the fantastic views.
This is the stretch where I could have done with 2 days and/or a more convenient camera arrangement. The Eilean Donan Castle is a real magnet....
And just past Shieldaig....
Once past Ullapool there seemed to be photo opps round every bend but the road wasn’t particularly safe for stopping. I also needed to press on. Just when I though it couldn’t get any better, I was at Kyle of Durness near Cape Wrath…
Cape Wrath Hotel was soooooo appealing...
…and then on to the north coast road. Brilliant white beaches, turquoise and dark blue sea rfound every corner (almost).
Eventually got to Dunnet Head at 6:30 p.m. Only me and one other bike (2 up) that was seeking out the clues/answers to the Round Britain ride/Rally.
Overnight in an out of the way “hotel” in Keiss. Not recommended.
Day 8 - Keiss to Peat Inn (Nr St Andrew's) - 375 miles
A 6:30 start and once through Wick, back to traffic! The A99/A9 are not good roads – some poor surfaces. Funny but somewhere along here the mountains disappeared and I didn’t notice.
Called in to the BMW dealer in Inverness and had the dipped headlight bulb replaced, then today was about making progress so as to have a good start tomorrow on the home run. By late afternoon it was getting arduous. The highlight was St Andrews - impressive but no overnight stop available. Same through the other coastal towns. Used the sat nav to locate accommodation and found the 'village' of Peat Inn, and the top class restaurant also called the Peat Inn - complete with luxury accommodation. FANTASTIC!!! Talk about customer service, they helped me unload the bike and even got the housekeeper up at 6:00 a.m next morning to make my breakfast!
Day 9 - Peat Inn to Beverley, East Yorks - 335 miles
7:00 a.m. start after a great breakfast. Good quick ride to Edinburgh and over the Forth Bridge to North Berwick and the coastal route down to Berwick on Tweed and then Newcastle. Wonderful scenery in great weather. Why does the Tyne Tunnel charge bikes?? 20p and a lot of fiddling to find the change; definitely slowed and upset quite a few cars.
Down the coast, through Whitely Bay, on through Sunderland and Seaham, Hartlepool and Seaton Carew. Interesting to see the social make up of these areas. Used the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough and on through Redcar to the east coast run through Whitby, Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington. One constant stream of traffic and no chance for overtaking to make progress. Down to Hornsea but absolutely nowhere to stay overnight. After a few calls ended up in Beverley: not on the coast but well placed for the Humber Bridge.
Day 10 Beverley to Woodbridge - 302 miles.
Great start soon lost in the Lincs east coast run – Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe, Skegness. Sorry people, but probably the worst part of all the ride. Still, I had a bit of entertainment just outside Boston. Stopped at a café and got talking to a guy riding a trike - what a machine - designed, ordered, built and delivered from Germany all in 3 weeks. Porsche 1.8L engine! Never did find out the cost but he was planning on fitting a turbo booster to take it up to 2.2L, once he could figure how to keep the front wheel on the road!!.
Zipped on to Kings Lynn and then a major hold up and need to rethink a route. Got onto the Hunstanton road and a mega traffic queue. Filtered for half a mile but no sign of movement – only cars turning round. Decided to back track, pick up the Cromer road for a few miles and then rejoined original route at Holme next the Sea. The north Norfolk run is great: but not today – too much slow tourist traffic and very frustrating.
Biggest disappointment was the most easterly point in Lowestoft: no photo opportunity as no people around and there was no decent acknowledgement of the point itself.
From there an easy run home via well known roads, arriving at 5:30 p.m. I felt a sense of elation but soon deflated when it was apparent none of my biking neighbours had missed me!! Ah well, there you go….
K.
