Sunday, May 22, 2011

Crossed the Finish Line

I made it!  Got all emotional when I saw the congratulatory message posted at the end of the path. It was only about 15 miles from my previous hotel to the seaside in Sunderland so I arrived around 10:00 after a 9:00 breakfast.  Wandered about Sunderland on its many bike paths awaiting a more reasonable check-in time.  Am now in the Roker Hotel right on the seaside, luggage has arrived, bike is locked in garage.  Had a lovely little lunch at a cafe patronized by many cyclists.

The Route:
You can see that they must have made some changes since the waypoints I was using had been posted because my route is north of what was in my GPS. Not to worry, it was well marked.  The only untoward thing which happened was that someone, I suspect kids, dropped something off a bridge and it bounced off my handlebars.  No damage.


View Chester-le-Street to Sunderland in a larger map


Didn't take any still photos but here are the videos including the last of the Rookhope to Chester-le-Street and those of the last leg, Chester-le-Street to Sunderland.  The last is a ride along the Sunderland seaside.



Had a lovely pasta dinner with wine last night.  I'm about to go down for breakfast after which I'll tag the bicycle, check out, and make my way to Newcastle.  Went for a walk to the Metro station last evening.


Later,
Jim

6 comments:

  1. Hooligans!

    I'm going to look at your videos as soon as I can stabilize this darned computer. They look very pretty.
    Hey, I thought you said it was raining!

    xoxo

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  2. Damn, I just posted and then Firefox crashed. I hope my message is there, Coot.
    xoxoxo

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  3. So far, I love the bike paths and some of the buildings in the city. Way to go JC!

    Ray...

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  4. So far, great bike paths and the buildings in the city. Way to go JC!

    Ray...

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  5. Hi there,

    I go away for a few days, do very little indeed, and in the meantime you cycle coast to coast on a far-away island. I'm so impressed and want to congratulate you. The scenery looks gorgeous, I've looked at many of the videos. Are those all roads that cars can go on? When I first started watching, I assumed it was a bicycle path in the middle of the country. Incredible. It makes our roads look so .... industrial and ugly.

    En tout cas ... big congratulations. Looks heavenly.

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  6. Hey Bob,

    Thanks for the congrats.

    To answer; most of it is on bike/pedestrian paths though there are sections on B roads and even a short bit on a dual carriageway. You can generally tell the difference; if there are rock walls, it's a road. The last 30 miles or so is primarily a converted railway right-of-way with gentle grades. Pedestrian and equestrian rights-of-way are entrenched in the laws of the country and some have been assigned as cycle routes.
    The roads over the highest peaks, Hartside and Nenthead, are main roads but traffic is sparse.

    I'm keen to do another route.

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