Cycling Day 7 - Edinburgh to Gateshead

Over the Hills into England

It was great to stay in a home rather than a hotel last night; an excellent meal, a couple of bottles of wine and lots of good company in Stephen’s cousins and families, there were 15 people plus dogs and cats in the house at one point. Our grateful thanks to Katie for her wonderful hospitality.

Sandra caught the train up from Doncaster last night to rejoin the troupe and she replaced James who headed back to Waverley Station and London to rest those magic hands before meeting up with his friends Dan and Rob next week. It was good to have Sandra back, not least to tidy up the van and make sure we have some sensible food in.

Our route today was over the switchback A69 almost all the way to Newcastle; through pretty Lauder, skirting Galashiels and Jedburgh Abbey and back over the border at the highest point of the journey. Over breakfast we made an executive decision to change route and cycle on the much flatter A1 instead, arguing that as Dan and Rob were covering distance rather than having to always cycle from door to door, it would be easier on their sore legs. Consequently, we weaved our way around the city suburbs only to find that cyclists are prohibited on the A1 (not a motorway) in Scotland?! So it was back to plan A and after various detours, riders and vehicles were ready for a first break just after Dalkeith.

The weather was fine, blue sky warm sunshine with a slight tail wind which picked up gradually during the day – by far the best conditions for cycling so far. The route towards Lauder and on into the Borders was hilly but nothing too severe and the riders made good progress with further stops as they headed south crossing bonny, fast flowing rivers at regular intervals. The road was fairly quiet with convoys of traffic tending to build up behind a slow moving lorry but a tractor that decided to turn right without indicating and a lorry that came far too close meant that the boys had to keep their concentration going 100%.

The third break was in a sunny lay-by with glorious 360° views and led after a short decent into a hard 2 mile climb up to the border but Rob and Dan made the climb look easy and were cheered back into England by several motorists parked in the large viewing area. Then it was downhill as moor land, bright with heather was gradually replaced by lush green farmland. The last break of the day was south of Otterburn and the 7th day finished near Newcastle airport.

Dan and Rob have now covered 774 miles in 7 days. Tomorrow, it’s Leeds, then Leicester and then Twickenham and the prospect of a day’s rest and lots of sleep.

After the finish it was off to Tesco Gateshead for some refreshments and stocking up on food and drinks for tomorrow and then on to the Premier Travel Inn at Newcastle South for a cold shower, hot soak big meal and a good rest.