holy island sunrise beachride

ok ive not been on since my holiday as the weather has been amazing,were getting a proper summer which after last years washout is more like it!
i was going to post some of the stuff i took on the pugsley on holiday and what worked/didn't work,i still will do that soon,
i went an amazing beachride yesterday,i got up at 3am,put pugsley on the car and drove the 35 miles down the A1 to the town of berwick upon tweed just over the border on englands northumberland coast,destination was holy island at low tide,
from there you ride down the coast 2 miles via a cliff top bridleway which was at one time an old cart track to get to the beach,at the start of the sand i stopped to watch and film an amazing sunrise around 4.30am,













low tide was 6am so timing was perfect,then with the sun on my left,dunes to my right i cycled the 6 miles out to holy island,





also called lindisfarne,the last 3 miles were a bit soft and i was down in the granny ring,tyres were set to 8psi which is lower than i usually go but the difference was notable,made for good pics too of the wide endomorph print!,























the island is a tidal village with a causway only passible around 6 hours between high tides,the village is a heritage site with the ruined priory and restored fortified castle,the island is historicly famed religously for st colombus and the monestry and also being on the sharp end of some pretty brutal viking raids,also the upturned boats made into sheds are a well photo graphed image of holy island,





as it is a heritage site and a nature reserve i stayed to the footpaths and didnt go dune bashing!,
being there so early meant i never saw anyone on the ride out on a footprint free beach and there was only a couple of people having a walk around the small island harbour at 7am,ive been before a few times so didnt do the tourist thing and just got some quick pics,no shops,cafes were open for another 2 hours anyway!
i returned along a signed cycle route which started after i crossed the causway,



the 9 miles back to berwick where intresting,the track was a mix of fine hardpack gravel and hard sandy single track over short fine grass,passing a golf course then along behind the dunes where i started there were already cars parked with beach visitors,it pays to get up early during summer,it was only 9 am when i got back to the car and i was home 10am,bike and gear washed and snoozing on the hammock in the garden by midday!,

the northumberland coast has more to offer for beachriding,theres another good lenght of sandy beaches which starts past holy island and goes several miles past the huge restored bamburgh castle,
proberly have to be another early rise to get the beaches and views to myself but definitly worth it!



the pugsley is going great,only a second chain and both brake pads replaced in 1300 miles now,the new philwood BB is smooth as silk,and the epic designs framebag is brilliant,the top back opens quickly which is ideal for grabbing the camera while filming,its not waterproof but the mainbag is,i had a spare top,2 bottles of water,a map,6 cereal bars in the top compartment and didnt know they were there,the tools,tube(a big 2.5")and pump are in the lower compartment protected by the salt air and water,i had my pump fail before as the rubber o ring had perished,luckily i noticed this at home,once the present chain wears out i will get the alfine hub laced on,then the pugsley will be a true bomber adventure bike!,i love it,
heres some film...