And on the ninth day...

... Bob reached Scotland! At 5pm to be precise. That's nearly nine full days to cycle 660 miles to reach the Border. Over 10% of the route completed already!

It rained heavily all last night. Didn't get much sleep, listening to stair rods hitting the tent and worrying about how I would cope if it rained all day too. It had eased off a bit by 07.30 to risk getting up. Left later than usual, at 9.00, with everything, including me, well covered up. By 11 the rain had stopped and the sun even shone briefly.

Reached Holy Island by lunchtime, after a long haul into the wind across the causeway. But it was worth it, if only to see the tiny fishing harbour that nestles in the lee of Lindisfarne Castle.

The National Cycle Route from there to Berwick consisted of rough gated tracks across marshland, through herds of cattle and over sand dunes. OK for a mountain bike perhaps, but not one such as mine. This section took far too long and, combined with the late start, I was running well behind schedule.

I had planned to meet John Aitchison, the Harbour Master at Burnmouth, where I was promised 'coffee and a crab sandwich'. I eventually arrived at 5.30 to a great welcome from John and his wife Heather. Not only was the crab freshly caught, but I was also given a most generous donation of £200 for the two charities from the Burnmouth Harbour Trust. Also, friends of John and Heather, who live nearby, had heard of my exploits, and donated a further £50. Aren't people kind!

I stayed at Burnmouth for an hour and could have stayed much longer. But I still had Eyemouth and St Abbs to visit before finishing the day near Cove. As I neared my destination, I came over the top of a hill to be presented with a fabulous sunset. In the distance were Bass Rock, the Lafarge Cement Works south of Dunbar, Torness Power Station and the Isle of May, all seemingly emerging from an orange mist.

Finally, I couldn't find the camp site, so I've set up the tent in the corner of a field tonight. Thank goodness for Scotland's liberal 'wild camping' laws! Tomorrow I should reach Edinburgh.

Blow the wind southerly, southerly ...

... for the next week, please. (This is Saturday's blog - couldn't get a connection at Craster).

Today has been great - no hills too steep, and the wind at my back. The only downside was an hour and a half of rain. Not serious stuff, but enough to make me stop and get out the black bin bags to cover up the tent, mattress and sleeping bag. A good test though for the heavier version that's bound to come soon.

I discovered (at Seaham) that I'd somehow managed to lose part of my pump. I googled 'bike shop Sunderland' and found one that was right on my route. Darke Cycles sold me a new one (and fitted it), and when I told them what I was doing, gave me a fiver back for the 'funds'.

I've managed to lose (leave behind somewhere?) my toothbrush and toothpaste, so must buy some more. I also left my towel on the rack in the bathroom at Seaham, so that's another purchase needed. Trouble is, tomorrow's Sunday.

Some of the National Cycle Route follows rough tracks along the coast. OK if you have a mountain bike, but not really suitable for a bike such as mine. Still, the scenery's great.

I wandered down to the harbour at Craster (of course), which is about a mile away, in the hope of finding a pub or restaurant. There was a pub, but they only did food at lunchtime. A seafood restaurant, which looked good, was fully booked. Well, it was Saturday evening. Emergency rations were opened and chilli con carne (boiling water on dried food) consumed.

Back at Seaham, over breakfast, I read an advert for a forthcoming wine-tasting event. It read, "...Suzanne will be presenting five different wines from around the world. Sensibly priced and quality assured, Suzanne will explain how to judge a fine wine..." OK, that's Suzanne sorted. But what about the wines?

More tomorrow!

Help. Real hills!

As the North Yorks Moors hit the coast high above the sea, the road makes no allowance for poor cyclists like me, loaded down with two air brakes, otherwise known as panniers. Not ordinary panniers but damn great huge ones, the largest on the market. Yes, I've been forced to walk!. On some occasions yesterday, the gradient was far too steep. Lythe Bank, Boulby Bank, Skinningrove all defeated me. I've had to develop a technique for pushing the bike. It's so heavy and awkward that I push it for 50 steps, rest for 15 seconds, then repeat (at infinitum on some long hills).

Nearly lost my sleeping bag! Whizzing down a hill near Peterlee I heard something drop on the road behind me. The bag had somehow escaped its bungee straps. Thank goodness I heard it. On some noisier stretches, on rough ground, I may not have noticed. My pump has also lost an end - one part has disappeared. I'm planning to buy a new one in Sunderland today, hopefully before I need to use it...

The industrial conglomeration around Teesside is not a pretty sight. But as the main road crosses marshland at Greatham Creek (NZ508254) seals could be seen hauling out across the mud. A great sight, nature being restored amongst the oil terminals.

A big problem has been either the lack or absence of signage. Road and cycleway signs are often missing, rotated, or hidden behind bushes. Many unforced stops to check the map, or on a number of occassions, to ask passers-by.

Satnav ran out of power at Middlesbrough (it had been on for most of two days), so had to rely on memory for the last 20 miles or so. Decided to cross the river on the Transporter Bridge,which was an interesting experience (cost 70p).

Now staying above a Thai restuarant in Seaham. Guess what I had to eat last night! An excellent green curry, washed down by two pints of Worthingtons. Downloaded photos using the camera connector which was awaiting my arrival here. Putting photos on Facebook takes time, which I don't seem to have much of. All I want to do when I arrive anywhere is crash out and sleep!

So a tough first week comes to an end. Over 500 miles under my belt. I'll work out the exact mileage when I get a chance.

A tale of two railway lines

Breakfast was as good as had been promised and Edith sent me on my way with a bulging bag of cheese and pickle sandwiches. She and Ian have been fantastic hosts. "Take us as you find us", Ian had said. But as it turned out, they were all kindness and generosity.

Today's ride included some 30 miles along old railway tracks, routes closed by Beeching in the 60s. First, from Hull to Hornsea, and towards the end of the day, Scarborough to Robin Hood's Bay. The surface of these old tracks is pretty rough, and I feel as if I've been riding a Boneshaker. Houses have been built across the routes in a number of places, and in Scarborough the start of the trail goes through Sainsbury's car park!

I met a guy coming the other way, near Ravenscar (the summit of the line to Whitby at 631 feet). I passed the comment that his bike was as loaded up as mine. Nonchantly he said, (he has probably said this a thousand times), "I'm doing John O'Groats to Colchester". My rather obvious retort left him somewhat stunned.

Spent (wasted?) rather too much time today at the delightful harbours in Bridlington abd Scarborough. But it didn't matter, because I had a following wind, and made good time, arriving at 7pm.

It has just started raining as I sit here in my tent, which is a pity, because the view across Robin Hood's Bay is stunning. That's the first rain in six days.

Technology back in action

Meant to say that my Satnav is now working fine. The people at Satmap Systems in Leatherhead told me how to 'unfreeze' my unit. I'd mistakenly uploaded all the daily stage maps to the internal memory, rather than to the SD card. That meant that there was no room left for anything else. Once I'd deleted the files from the memory, and reloaded them to the card, it all worked perfectly. Richard Croft will be pleased to hear that, as he's thinking of buying one. This is a good moment to thank Satmap Systems, who very kindly gave me an Active 10 Bike unit, complete with full UK 1:50,000 mapping, at a huge (75%) discount. Well done to them, especially for the after-service.

I've been able to use card readers at both Richard's and Ian's, so my photos are now safely on the computer. The next task, probably on Friday when I'm staying at a B&B in Seaham, is to upload them to Facebook.

Whenever I can, I have to charge four devices: camera, netbook, phone and satnav. That's OK when I'm staying with friends; at other times I'll have to ask at a friendly pub.

Kindness everywhere

Yesterday it was Richard Croft who provided overnight accommodation, as well as excellent company for some 70 miles of the ride. Today it was Ian Sykes, who not only warned me well in advance that the Boothferry Bridge would be closed for repairs (which would have necessitated a 20+ mile detour via Selby), but also arranged for a friend of his (John) to meet me at the south side of the bridge, and transport me and the bike across the M62.

Ian and John were waiting for me as planned and deposited me safely on the north side. I then followed the river bank, under the M62, as far as the Port of Howden.

Just before that, I'd had a phone call from the Times - the Goole and Selby Times, that is - who wanted a photo of me. I met the photographer at Goole Docks, eventually. When she phoned and asked me where I was. I said, on the A161, just south of Goole. She replied, "I don't know where that is; we don't use road numbers round here". My response isn't printable.

Ian had also offered me accommodation, in Hull. The astute amongst my 'followers' will realise I should have finished up today at Withernsea, on the east coast. But that's not essential, as there's no harbour there, and anyway, the campsite I tried to contact had never replied. So tomorrow it's over to Hornsea, along the old railway line from Hull (another Beeching axed line).

Arriving at Ian's house I found my 'smellies' already washed and ironed and laid out on the bed. Thank you Edith! After a hot bath, a wonderful meal was laid out, which the three of us enjoyed. Tomorrow, I'm assured, there'll be a cooked breakfast. What a wonderful camaraderie there is amongst Geograph members!

Today was mainly about the Trent Wharves, King's Ferry, Flixborough, Neap House, Grove Wharf, Gunness, Althorpe and Keadby. Photos soon on Facebook, hopefully!

A shorter day than planned

Day 4 was always going to be tough. At 105 miles it waqs the longest day of the whole route. Mainly flat, I had hoped that it would be attainable. It started as planned, leaving Fishtoft at 08.00, I was due to meet up with fellow Geographer Richard Croft at Mablethorpe, some 30 miles ahead. But ploughing eastwards into the headwind, as well as losing the route several times, meant that I soon fell behind schedule. Eventually I met Richard at Chapel St Leonards, after he had cycled 10 miles south to meet me. At this point I was an hour and a half behind schedule. Burton-upon-Stather was already looking unlikely as the night's destination.

With the wind more or less behind us, we headed north, making Mablethorpe for lunch. Then Richard had a bright idea. Why not ride as far as the Humber Bridge, and then come back to his house for the night? He was going to Hull the next day, so could drop me off to restart my journey. He had already arranged for his daughter to pick him up at Nurton-upon-Stather, so the change wouldn't be a problem.

So we ended up at 8pm at the Humber Bridge, having travelled about 90 miles instead of the 105. Richard's daughter was waiting, so we put the bikes on the rack and back to Richard's house near Lincoln. After a hot bath, pizza and a great night's sleep, we're about to set off again in the morning. Richard will take me to Burton-upon-Stather, rather than the Bridge, as there are no ports or harbours between the two. Feel a bit guilty about missing out that stretch, but hey, needs must.

Managwd to download my photos, thanks to Richard's card reader, so hopefully I'll get time tonight to upload these to Facebook.