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  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 6

    Craster's full.

    August 8, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    The plan was to spend the day taking in some of Northumberland's highlights and then head off late afternoon. Started by heading up to Bamburgh, the most northerly point and then work our way down and at the same time make our way closer to home. Didn't quite work out like that. Made it to Bamburgh, as planned though the car parking should've raised alarm bells. The main car park being full was put down to the bizarre decision made to devote half of it to camper vans. No worries - managed to find a verge within walking distance. Compared fish & chips prices on the way down and it would seem £14 is the going rate. Lots of other quirky shops - the one that caught attention was the butcher, baker & sausage roll maker - an eclectic shop window of pasties, pies, cakes married with a whole counter of meat products. Very random. Wandered down to the beach and braved a paddle - this is the North Sea that was expected - icy cold. Pondered having a look round the castle but a combination of entrance fee and imminent lunch dissuaded. Didn't want to be a captive audience and hungry. Decided to push on to Craster for some crab sarnies but just in case picked up some cake and pasties. On getting back to the car, inspected it as there was a dodgy noise when coming into Bamburgh. Front tyres looked a bit soft so headed to Craster, hoping to find a petrol station. There was one in Seahouses along with an infinite number of chippies. The air pump was out of order. Have to wait till Alnwick. While Bamburgh was busy, that was put down to a combination of beach and castle. Surely Craster wouldn't be as bad. We'd never really experienced busy Northumberland. Got to the Quarry car park to discover queuing cars - not having this. Headed back to Alnwick for air and made a sharp exit.Read more

  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 5

    Book Nirvana.

    August 7, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    A reasonable weather forecast - there's a first. Couldn't stomach shelling out for breakie but wasn't sure what cafe facilities were at the local supermarket. Google suggested there was a cafe - turns out it was a coffee machine. Picked up some bits & pieces and back to the room. The day was all about Alnwick - primarily visiting Barter Books, a mammoth second hand book shop. Book Nirvana for Liz, not so much for me. For a good chunk of time the wife went missing - couldn't find her anywhere. Unsurprisingly book purchases were made. Had a little explore of the town - lots of estate agents and quite a few gilet wearing toffs. Ended up down by the river - peace and quiet. Nice views of the castle though a bright red new build didn't help. Google suggested that a riverside walk would come out at a bridge further down and lead to Alnwick Gardens and food options. To trust Google or not. We did and took a while to see the bridge but it was there as was a rain shower. Unfortunately a large chunk of all the tourists in the area had the same idea - mostly heading for the goblin themed play area. Cafe had measley options left - basically cheese and ham toasty. Decided to head back to the book store cafe but both of those had half hour + waits. Ended up back at Sainsbury's and a cheese & ham sarnie. Afternoon break and since the sun was out we went to the local beach at Alnmouth. Pretty little village and a vast expanse of sand. Walk along the beach and a paddle in the North Sea - not as fearsomely cold as expected. Managed to dodge the grim looking clouds.Read more

  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 4

    Bonus material.

    August 6, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Quick Canadian breakie before dashing down the hill to catch a bonus 2nd dose of Championship cycling. The hotel was a couple of miles away from the Men's road race route so it would've been rude not to. Sussed a spec that may have been where the peleton could slow down a bit. As for where to park - that was another question. As it happened it was fairly quiet - just a few bike geeks so parked up easily and ambled down. On arrival there were a few more curious locals. Took our places and waited - endless police bikes wandered past taking their healthy overtime. Watched the role out in Edinburgh on the phone and kept up with the race until they hit the bridge. In no time the cavalcade was upon us. Thinking a roundabout would slow them - pah. Blink & you'd miss them though Pog was spotted. Stopped off at North Queensferry to get some nice views of the bridges. Nice peaceful place despite having 2 motorways and a mainline rail route above. Lots of history plaques to read up on the place - interesting. Back to the car and headed for Leith - a coastal / port district of Edinburgh. Possible walk or tram into town to head up Arthur's Seat. Parked up at the Ocean Gateway, final mooring of Britannia. Thoughts of having a little look at it were obstructed at every angle. Window views were occupied by restaurants. The second floor was entirely occupied by the Britannia experience priced at £20 - we've paid for it once, shouldn't have to pay again. Tried to go round the side of the building and barriered off both sides. Had to get a view through a fence & saw a warning sign claiming that this was against the law. Hmmm. Wandered into Leith for some lunch rather than Edinburgh cheaper & easier to push on to Alnwick. Lots of little left field shops and cafes. Also some very dodgy looking tower blocks. Even had a bit of sunshine on Leith in the words of the classics - well the Proclaimers. Alnwick was a little closer by virtue of this stop off - 90 mins, a spectacular coastal route and a sunny afternoon. All good. Understated England border sign was almost missed and Berwick was bypassed. Hotel on the outskirts and apologies for not having any kitchen staff. Short walk to a local pub in the sunshine worked better than a Premier Inn pizza - no apologies needed.Read more

  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 3

    God it's busy.

    August 5, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    A challenging arrival meant a laid back plan for the day. Two key things on the agenda - take a trip to Edinburgh and take a nostalgia trip spiritually back to Canada in the form of breakfast at Tim Horton's - doughnut emporium extraordinaire. We liked them & they've branched out to the UK, including Dunfermline. And the breakfast was every bit as good (tasty) and bad (unhealthy) as remembered. Quick sort & off to Edinburgh. Rather than drive the Park & ride was close at hand and meant not getting caught in the traffic. Originally thought it'd save on tolls across the Forth Bridge but there haven't been tolls in the last 10 years. Finger on the pulse. Still it seemed like a good idea. Parked up, got tickets & headed to bay 3. First bus in was full standing room only. Not keen for a 40 min trip. Bus driver said there'd be another in a couple of minutes. There was - full - completely as was the next & the next. Not impressed. The queue was growing as was the level of chunnering. After 30 mins of full buses we finally got a break - just happened to be a bit of crocked bus - crawled up the hills. Still got a good view of the 3 bridges and made it into Edinburgh while the heavens opened. Pondered moves in the bus depot. Opted for the Scottish Museum along with what seemed like half of the population. Some interesting bits & pieces, very impressive space and some great views from the roof. Tried to take in the Royal Mile but a combination of performers, tourists & Saturday shoppers made it unbearable. Adjourned to Princes Gardens - much better. Decided to try Arthur's Seat tomorrow - too risky today - the rain had largely been avoided. Not sure that would stick. Equally with the festival just starting the level of busy wasn't going to diminish any time soon, so a little more wandering and then back to the bus to plan how to catch the road race tomorrow.Read more

  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 2

    #The power of bike.

    August 4, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Opted for a Morrison's breakie rather than the over-priced hotel one and it sufficed. Onwards to the complex travel arrangements. Since there was no parking available at the velodrome it was a case of city centre or chance your arm that there'd be something nearby. Memories of the area around Celtic Park, for that was where the venue was, were not good. Wasteland would be a good take. City centre parking it was. Apparently a Low Emission Zone had just taken effect. Add to that, that there were numerous road closures for the road cycling and it could be fun. Thankfully, Google did it's job, for once and we were treated at the car park with a massive mural of The Big Yin. Wandered up to the fan zone & realised why the roads were closed as the road cyclists zipped around the city centre loop training for the road race on Sunday. Spent some time trying to spot Wout & Pog. No joy and there were definitely some that weren't competing - definite excess baggage. The fan zone itself was a mix of corporate sponsors, dodgy Scottish pie stalls, and Gaelic (not garlic) music. Got to see Mathieu Van De Pole's cycling shoes - does it get any better than that? Had some lunch - opted against the deep fried mars bar - went for some pretty decent fast food Chinese. Had a wander along the Clyde, again spotting various competitors cycling back to their hotels. Back to the car to sort out & then hopped a train out to velodrome. Stressing about being late - a 5 min train journey & ridiculously early. Had a little wander around Celtic Park and returned to find a massive queue. Gates opened at 4.30 & things moved pretty quickly. Had to tip away all the water in our bottles & were assured there were plenty of options inside for refilling. Unsurprisingly there were not. Eventually filled up and settled down in our specs, right on the finish line in the back straight. Very happy. Not so keen on the heat - apparently somewhere between 28° & 30° The queues for food & drink didn't persuade so just enjoyed the cycling. And there was plenty to enjoy. Particularly liked the pursuits & the tandem racing was epic. The speed they went at was impressive as was the rumbling sound when the peleton flashed by. There were a number of British winners. The final sprint team race of the night, though was super close and exciting - the Dutch team pulling it out of the bag in what must have been the last 100 metres. Great fun. Escaped via the fire exit and an easy train back to the city. Getting to the hotel, not so easy. In my wisdom, Google is set up to avoid toll roads. The easy route to the hotel is over the Forth Road Bridge - a toll road. Ended up on a convoluted route of obscure Scottish motorways to the free Kincardine Bridge.Read more

  • John BickerstaffWorld Cycle Champs Trip
    Day 1

    Berry nice.

    August 3, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The world cycling championships on the doorstep - had to be done didn't it? Glasgow, however, isn't quite as close as first seems. Stopped at Tebay services & couldn't resist punnets of locally sourced berries. Sat out in the sunshine eating them & our sarnies from home. The rest of the journey seemed to drag but at least the motorways were quiet. Checked in at the pub but the room was in a separate building. Curious. Settled in and then headed to the coast for a walk - sunny afternoon and could be the best of the weather while away so strike while the iron's hot. Headed to Ardrossan's South Beach & some free parking. Nice walk along the beach & prom along with all of a handful of other people. A little quieter than Cornwall. Watched the ferry to Arran arriving and enjoyed the talking wall - various people's impressions of the beach and the area immortalised on plaques in the sea wall. The temperature of the sea was a common theme.Read more

  • John BickerstaffImperial Capitals Bike Ride
    Day 12

    Inside knowledge.

    August 1, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Kind of hoped that everything that could have gone wrong did yesterday. Trip cancelled, bike struggling & bike shops not able to help. The big concern was a taxi turning up and taking one look at the bike bag and scarpering. In fairness the hotel had been made aware & had repeatedly maintained that all was well. Until the bike was at Budapest airport, then all was not well and as a consequence sleep eluded me. Went for a final stroll along the Danube and things seemed quiet enough. Had a little check on Google to see the expected travel time and it said 30 mins of traffic jams. Now obviously Google hasn't covered itself in glory this trip but concern set in, despite giving a ridiculously early arrival time. Decided to decamp to the reception so when the taxi got in it was a quick turnaround. In fairness he was 20 mins early and he had an estate car - back seats down and we were away. Very chatty - interested in what I had done, very keen to talk about Liverpool's new Hungarian signing - level headed and brought up the right way. All sounds good but in a country that votes for a right wing egotistical nut job I'll take it with a little pinch of salt. Still it was interesting to hear his take & we got to the airport in the 40 he said rather than the 90 Google said. Quick rearrangement of luggage as the carry on could be checked in for free - so lighten the bike bag - just in case. Told to leave it by a door & someone would take care of it. Sounded a bit dubious but what choice was there. Settled down to wait for the almost inevitable delay - 30 mins late but that only eats into the 3 hour layover in Frankfurt and emergency exit seats on both flights so things are ok. Oh and in the space 40 minutes we've flown the route that was cycled in 8 days.Read more

  • John BickerstaffImperial Capitals Bike Ride
    Day 11

    Chimney cakes.

    July 31, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Got back to discover the Sunset stand up boarding tour along the Danube I'd booked had been cancelled. They claimed due to the weather - the sunny forecast suggested otherwise. Decided to go to the local thermal baths - something that Budapest is famous for. Little bit of a walk but it might de-stress. Very slick operation though the rules took a bit of following. Had to get a swimming hat, had to shower before & after, had to have some slippers. Think the last one got lost in translation - flip flops or sandals. Anyway, it's probably one if the most ornate places I've swam in. The main pools were cool but the thermal pools were nice & toasty - could've easily dozed off. Chopped and changed between pools. Nice to finally get a swim in this holiday. Eventually succumbed to reality & headed out. Across the river was the famous market hall. Had a little wander & couldn't resist trying the chimney cake - kind of like a coiled doughnut but less greasy. Very nice. Then back to pack...Read more

  • John BickerstaffImperial Capitals Bike Ride
    Day 11

    Creaking bike.

    July 31, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    The original plan had been to visit Momento Park - a collection of Soviet relics - on the way in from Tatabanya but the copious rainfall had put paid to that. However the suspect noises being produced by my poor battered bike had steadily got worse over the day & it seemed prudent to see how it coped with the distance needed to get to the airport. Cut to the chase - it wasn't happy - the rear bearings sounded bad after just a couple of miles. Thinking to be done. Got to the park to find it opened at 10. Half an hour of thinking time. Found a well reviewed bike mechanic on the route back. Pop in & see what they say. The park eventually opened & they were definitely going for the Soviet memorabilia. Interesting take on displaying rather than destroying. Particularly liked the Trabbie - they must've been grim though. Apparently you had to put a deposit down of half the cost and you'd wait between 8 - 10 years for delivery. Made out of cotton waste and resin - the world's first recycled vehicle (ish) Back to base via the bike shop and the first slot available was 20th August - not much use. He was very apologetic. More thinking to do and a bit of chatting with the old man. Opted for a taxi to the airport.Read more

  • John BickerstaffImperial Capitals Bike Ride
    Day 11

    Marriage photo mayhem.

    July 31, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Agonised, the previous night, over when to go up to the Fisherman's Bastion. When would the sun be in the best place, when would it be quietest, when would the queues for the funicular be the most humane. Didn't really decide but did read that before 9 they didn't charge & really early it can be quite quiet - like sunrise early - big ask but I was awake at 5. Free & quiet were big selling points. Could up and back in time for breakie. The decision was made. In addition it was pleasantly cool. Lots of steps up though but the views were stunning, that's if you could get to them through the raft of wedding photos going on. Couldn't quite get my head round it. Was it before the wedding - if so I presume they don't subscribe to the unlucky seeing the bride thing. If they do then it must be after & by that token at 6 it is well after. Anyway probably photo bombed a few. The top levels were free at this time but on going up an irate restauranteur gave 10 tonnes - gave a little back but neither really understood. Moved onto the other top tier where he couldn't see. Again had to put up with Oriental photo perfection but at least there was only 1 couple rather than multiple. Back down for breakie.Read more

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