![]() The first leg of the journey was the most extreme yet the easiest. Aww!Īfter layering up we headed out into the wild outdoors. When they shut for holidays they even leave a selection of tea bags, coffees, a kettle and a few nibbles in a hut for cyclists to take shelter and restock. If a cyclist turns up without any money they won’t refuse them and are sure to give them a quick drink to keep them going. Even in this terrible weather there was still a handful of people digging into hot broth and beef sandwiches. The restaurant and B&B was completely renovated from what was once a train station and has now become a hub for cyclers from across the world to re-energise with hot food and drink and even a bed for the night. Thousands of cyclers each year get to the Parkhead Station knowing they have almost arrived at their final destination. ![]() The journey we were doing is the final part of the coast to coast cycle trail. I couldn’t stop laughing at my initial terrible level of preparation, but the surprise, the extremity of the weather and the adventure that lied ahead only got me more excited for the cycling to begin. Thank goodness Andrew had a bag full of spare clothes, gloves and jackets for those of us who were less prepared. They registered 45mph winds and just moving from the van to the little restaurant B&B had us being pulled all over the place, not to mention soaked by the lashing rain. We arrived at Parkhead station in the middle of nowhere in the moors and the van had to be moved so we could open the doors it was SO windy. Perhaps I should have signed up to afternoon tea or glass blowing after all?! I don’t really know what I expected when I signed up to a mountain biking afternoon, but somehow the idea of a long journey on a hangover hadn’t really crossed my mind. Well the answer was yes, in around 5 hours we cycled 30 miles from Parkhead Station back to the centre of Newcastle. We wouldn’t be cycling ‘that’ far on a leisurely cycle on a Sunday afternoon… would we?! I thought I had vaguely heard Steve, another leader mention we would be cycling all the way back to the Cycle Hub, but as the van continued to go for miles out of the city I thought this couldn’t be true. We hopped in the van with our takeaway hot drinks and headed out of Newcastle. Photo with fellow bloggers from left, me, Helen In Wonderlust, Independent Travel Help, Todds Travels, Runaway Jane and Nerds Travels. They looked a little confused and nodded while Straws (Andrew) went off in search of spare clothing. ‘Erm no, I’m sure I will get hot once I get moving on the bike’ I replied. So why were the tour leaders looking at me like I was crazy ‘do you have a jacket? Gloves?’ they asked. The sun was shining of the Tyne in Newcastle and it seemed a perfect day to go a bike ride… I felt prepared, ready for the exciting mountain biking adventure ahead. I arrived in my leggings, a light zip up North Face jacket and my trainers. ![]()
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