From West to East...and a little bit more (or...Our Full-Life Crisis)
I don’t think there is an equivalent phrase to “mid-life crisis” - but there should be! Since completing our mega ride from Lands End to John O’Groats back in 2018 we have been itching to have another significant adventure. However although we have had several great cycling holidays since then we have not really challenged ourselves in any meaningful way. This year we are in our dotage and so realise that if we don't do something now, we probably never will and will be cycling in that great blue yonder looking like the cyclists in the banner above! So it really does feel like ‘now or never!” Therefore with much excitement, and even more trepidation, we booked this trip.
Saddle Skedaddle, our tour company are just amazing! We loved them to pieces after our previous trips with them , but even more so since we learned that they have previusly sponsored the World Transplant Games. They take care of our overnight accommodation and transport our luggage to the next overnight stay.
Many of you will be aware that NIck, Bob's son, had his heart transplant eight years ago. It saved his life. He is a passionate cyclist and is back on his bike with a vengeance. He is fitter now than he has been for many years so our joy at his recovery is huge. When we left to embark on our epic Lands End to John Groat’s ride back in 2018 we were beset with worry and concern for him, so leaving for this East to West trip on Sunday has been the opposite. It feels like a celebration of his courage and strength. He is planning to enter the British Transplant Games this year. We are now staying at The Hilton Hotel in Newcastle tonight - a terrific start to the ride which begins tomorrow morning when us and our bikes are transported (very early in the morning) to the coast in Solway on Firth. We decided to break the long car journey to Newcastle and so stayed at The Barn ..a gorgeous hotel in Grantham last night. But Oh! The irony... we didn't want to sit in the car for 5-6 hours to get to Newcastle in one day but we are quite happy to spend that amount of time pedalling our bikes.
The view from our hotel room... what a great start to the trip
We did a similar trip previously when we were considerably younger and we enjoyed it enormously, but the weather was dreadful with rain and heavy winds on most days, So now... we need every one of you who is reading this blog to make a serious offering to the Weather Gods.
You may be wondering how to do this.....
Initially I thought maybe the Gods would appreciate a minced pie and a glass of sherry until I remembered that it is only Santa who enjoys such offerings. Forgive me! So, pour yourselves a large glass of wine and offer it up to the Gods with the following verse...(with apologies to Shakespeare!)
"Hubble Bubble , rain and trouble,
Make winds blow soft and rivers gurgle
Warm us with some gentle sun
To make our bike ride lots of fun!
Oh Gods of sunshine, thunder, wind and rain,
Bring the sunshine back again.
Bring gentle winds to blow us, soft sunshine to warm us
Till we get safely home again."
(And remember that the glass of wine needs to be left on the hearth for the Gods!)
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