Sunday 28 July 2019

Morning Cycle; Peffersands and Tyne Estuary...


Dry between the showers the forecast should say as July has been!,   out early morning to Peffersands,  then out to the Tyne Estuary to follow the Tyne as far as i could across Hedderwick sands before i started to spin out on the mud flats...







Wee film at Peffersands, Song is `Reach For The Dead` by Boards of Canada


Surly Pugsley; Peffersands; July 2019 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Into Tyninghame woods and a strong smell of vegetation with the wet warm weather...


Some plonkers have dismantled more of the old wall to build a fire pit...




Out onto the sands following the tyne, soft in places it was slow going to bother filming and i enjoyed the space with no one around...






Time to head across to Mosshouse Point...



Back on firm ground...






Lovely old wall here in Links Woods....


The trails are seriously overgrown this summer with the mild winter then recent wet month with heat generating growth,


More soon...

Saturday 27 July 2019

Midweek Cycle...


Light evenings and a dry day with rain forecast that evening (again!) so got in a wee cycle with Chris, a loop out to Gulland and North Berwick, muggy heat typical of this last week with brewing rain clouds in the distance.  We stopped off to see Johnny Horse, then down to NB for chips, busy with day visitors we waited in the muggy heat, fed and watered it was back home on the John Muir Way,
A stubble field marked the start of the harvest- Winter Barley just cut, you could smell the fresh straw,  and within minutes of getting back to HQ the heavens opened!...





Short film descending  to the old Airfield, Song is `Malela` by The Brian Jonestown Massacre


Midweek Cycle; July 2019 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

More soon...

Thursday 25 July 2019

A dry day in July...


last weeks Tuesday 24th July may go down on record as the only day there was no rain here in July this year, as i type this next morning there is rumbles of thunder and driving to work at 5am a big lightening storm and heavy downpours,
Yesterday was a scorcher around 24 Celsius in the afternoon,
I went out a cycle to stretch the legs and it was real muggy and close, too sticky in the woods so i just road country back roads and a couple of trails trying to catch some cool air but the southern increasing wind was roasting, not often like that here!...



Winter Barley is nearly ready for harvest, so be some fields to cycle soon...



Funny to think all farm machinery once fitted through gates this width...





Time for a cold shower at home to cool down,  then a cool Lager...

Wee film, Song is `Miscreants` by Mogwai


Summer Cycle; July 2019 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


More soon...

Monday 22 July 2019

Surly Moonlanders; The low tide race to Lindesfarne... for `Mead`...


To Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moonlanding i picked up friend Chris with his Moonlander and drove down over the Border to Berwick to park at Spittal, with rain forecast in the afternoon and a 10am low tide we had a few hours to cross the 9 miles of exposed low tide sands to Lindesfarne where we would toast the occassion with some Lindesfarne Mead,

I got busy when Chris had to take a phone call...


It was a lovely morning as we rode along the beach past Goswick, the sand was quite soft, softer than any previous visit and we were both glad to be on the maximum size available Fatbike 5" tyres on 4" rims...




We got to the river crossing and as expected it was to deep to cycle, i waded in first to check in a few areas before we walked the bikes across as they started to float-keeping the hubs and bottom bracket from getting submerged...






Then the next section which was tough going as the sand was really soft, we dropped onto small front chain rings and slowly winched the mile or so across to the high tide line at the island....







9 miles across all types of sand and back on dry land...



Across to the village where we headed to the Lindesfarne Mead Centre...




And a lot of new varieties since my last visit where only the original was available...


Sampling the new Mead`s we toasted the Moonlandings, and our fun cycle, we had earned this as was hard work in places...


Across to the Crown and Anchor and food and refreshment in the sun...



Film across the sands to the island, Song is `The Other Side` by Public Service Broadasting


Surly Moonlanders; The Need for Mead... from coastkid71 on Vimeo.



The Island was real busy with day visitors and we were glad to get rolling again,  we headed to the line of wooden poles that mark the Pilgrims crossing  therefore avoiding the traffic on the causeway road...


It was several inches deep a lot of the way and we stopped at the safety tower for some pics and put on waterproofs as rain clouds as forecasted for afternoon were moving across the bay and the noise of the approaching rain echoed off the water-something i have never heard before...



And boy did it rain!, intense downpour for about 10 minutes,,  we sat sheltering then after it cleared grabbed some pics then continued to the second tower and water crossing to reach the shore line at the start of the causeway...





That was the first time i had cycled the Pilgrims route, and i doubt many bicycles have successfully cycled across - except Fatbikes,  the bigger 5" tyre fat bikes was in it`s element in the soft wet sand...

Film of the crossing,  Song is `Fragments` by Thievery Corporation


Surly Moonlanders; The Pilgrims Crossing... from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Back on the mainland and along to Goswick and past the old County Tractor in the dunes,,,



It started poring down with no light cloud ahead and sign of it passing quick we cycled back through the dunes and then cliff top trail to Spittal...



He he huge puddles!


Of course it went off just as we neared the van!,
Sensibly we both had a change of clothes, and driving back we reflected on a great day out, using Fatbikes as they were intended for, adventure cycling...

Film splashing through the puddles on the way back to the van. Song is `Ganky` by ChrisT


Surly Moonlanders. Goswick to Spittal, in the rain... from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


And that's a wrap, The Moonlander was washed once home, dried off then next day sprayed over with WD40, and put back in storage until another special occasion, maybe when they return to the Moon in the near future...


More soon...