Made it! Happily ensconced in Manchester.

Well I swear there must be a convention of crying babies taking place sometime this week in the UK.
At one point I was surrounded by howling tantrums and had the back of my seat kicked repeatedly.
The one saving grace was that Connor, an infant held by his mother in the seat beside mine, played with his toys and then went into a deep sleep that lasted for the whole trip.

Heathrow was a maze of shuttle bus, immigration, biometric photos taken, barcode stickers stuck on passports, another security scan, bar codes read at the gate and compared to the saved photo in their system, and then a long wait.

Was wished Happy Birthday by the Air Canada agent when she read my passport.  Immigration here asked what I was doing for the 15 days and when told, asked if I had ever done the C2C before.

I put my Virgin Mobile SIM in my cell phone in the airport and registered it.  It works, nothing else to be done and it can be topped up at most ATMs.

The GPS wasn't able to see the satellites through the 767 fuselage but an Embraer didn't block it so here's the track from LHR to MAN.  It also shows some of my wanderings on the ground.
I think we hit around 340 mph.



View Heathrow to Manchester in a larger map


My first impressions of Manchester are very favourable.  Got helped at the train ticket machines without asking... at two different locations.  I'm staying in Eccles, how appropriate.  Have to take the Metrolink trams to get downtown but now I'm resting my 63 year old feet.

Little Ride to Keep in Shape

Was feeling rather lazy and fretful that I might have knee pain so I went out for a 9.5 mile ride today to loosen up. Went fine.

A Bit of a Scare

Had a wee scare in that my left foot suddenly became very painful to the point that I thought it might force me to cancel the whole trip. This happened last week and I immediately gave it lots of rest which fixed it up in about three days. After that the kneecap started giving sharp pain, but that too has subsided to nothing.

The vision of starting out and finding myself in agony somewhere along the route was not a pleasant one but I'm back in fine form now. I think I was being a bit too active in my bike rides and aerobics classes.

Finishing up the final details; packing, house cleaning, a tiny bit of groceries to have something to eat when I return.

Sent a message to the bicycle hire to see what they provide in the way of carriers and tools. If I can get out of carrying the screwdriver I can do a carry-on only trip.

40.76 More Practice Miles

Sunday, April 24, I started out at 8:30 for Stittsville via the bike paths. Took a few little breaks but still did 40.76 miles in 3:45, burning about 1800 calories.

When I was ready to start back I set the Garmin Forerunner to guide me back to my starting point and I set up the display resolution so that I could see major turns. It would beep at me and display 'Approaching Turn' when the turn angle was pronounced. It's quite audible even in the wind so I'm sure it will be fun to hear it call out my tour waypoints.

Now for lunch!


View April 24 Stittsville and Back in a larger map

A Little Practice to Keep in Shape

Did a 30 mile ride today though there were errand stops and a coffee and breakfast at Second Cup.


View April 19 Exercise in a larger map

Final Preparations

I finished my last cycling endurance class on April 2 and plodded home slowly afterward having expended 2115 calories during the four hour session.  We practiced numerous intervals, sprints and climbs.  Glad that it's over for the season but I'll probably do it again next winter.

There's about a month before I start my cycle tour and I don't want to lose my edge so I did a 20 mile bike run on Tuesday to get a feel for the timing and effort. Piece of cake! Took me one and three-quarters hours and that included having to pull over and wait as a police motorcade roared down Preston Street.  It was also my first real test of the GPS while cycling.  It was fun to glance at my wrist and see the tenths of miles tick by.

The first leg of the tour is Ulverston to Grasmere, a distance of about 23 miles.  The second leg, Grasmere to Keswick,  a little over 15 miles. This gives me plenty of time to stop and take in a few sights along the way.  I'll definitely be stopping in to see John Ruskin's house and the Ruskin Museum.

One unforeseen detail pertains to my luggage. I've restricted myself to carry-on for years but because I'll be carrying a universal cycling repair kit and it contains a screwdriver I'm going to have to check my main bag.

Unless something comes up between now and my flight date  the next entry should come from Manchester where I'll be staying for a few days.

Details have arrived!

Just got the detailed route package for my tour. Maps, guides, map holder, luggage tags, etc.

I'm starting out in Manchester at
http://www.ascotthotelmanchester.co.uk/
for a few days,

then it's up to Ulverston and the biking where I'll stay
at these inns along the way;

http://www.virginia-house.co.uk/
http://www.glenthorne.org/
http://www.keswickparkhotel.com/
http://www.edenhallhotel.co.uk/
http://www.rookhope.com/
http://www.themooringsdurham.co.uk/
http://www.bestwestern.co.uk/Hotels/Roker-Hotel-Sunderland-83888/Hotel-Info/Default.aspx

A short metro ride at tour's end will bring me to  Newcastle where I'll stay at
http://www.cliftonhousehotel.com/

and then I'll take my final jaunt up to Edinburgh at
http://www.fraochhouse.com/

I have to pick up the bicycle at Gill Cycles in Ulverston where I'm told I don't get panniers so I'm bringing one of mine along.
Will have to buy a water bottle or two locally 'cause I'm not using up valuable packing space with empty bottles.

http://www.gillcycles.co.uk/

Now it's time to absorb the maps bearing in mind that some of it is very detailed with little lanes and paths.