Long day, but not on the bicycles.  A ferry ride on a huge ship from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales, reminding us why we don’t like cruises; then a frantic transfer to a train to get us into the city.  Duckies were packed on the steaming train like sardines heading for the cannery.  But it got us to Liverpool in (barely) one piece.  In a hunt for maps to cover us for the next week or so, seems ironic we would see this sign..…there is a message, here!?!

A couple funny Brits, we’d med in 2009 (when we were all biking the west coast of the U.S.), met us for dinner.  As we strolled along the beatifully refurbished waterfront, they identified for us the impressive Cunard Building,the Billy Fury statue and the Royal Liver building  topped by the Liver Bird; the last visual of the fated Titanic. We had a wonderful evening with Alan and Jim, who remain as entertaining as ever and kept us out WAY past our bedtime, but it was worth it.

Thanks for making the effort, guys, fun times!

With no room at the inn and no room down the road, we left not knowing where we were going, but knowing we wanted to ride.  But first a ferry ride across the Mersey…….So duckies, cross the Mersey… ….Gerry and the Pacemakes created the iconic song.

Though you can throw a stone across the river, we were treated to a tour down, back and then over the Mersey River, offering a beautiful view of both Liverpool and the opposite shore. The wind was kicking up, blowing in the storm for tomorrow, but thankfully it was behind us.  That was the good part, the busy road on the other hand, was not so fun or picturesque.

We had tried for hours to find a place to stay in the next town, highly recommended by several as a place to see.  Since our sightseeing in Liverpool was limited, we were happy to find a hotel, the first one we came to, as we approached city centre.  A stroll around the town was not disappointing.  The wall around the city and other remnantsspeak of the fort built in 79 A.D. by the Romans.

The streets are lined with interesting shops, candyand old buildings, but most notable is the Chester Cathedral, “The cathedral…. dates from between 1093 and the early 16th century, although the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times. ”  It is amazing to walk a cloister built in the reign of Henry VIII.

The nave was amazing, as was the stain glass and incredibly detailed mosaic wallsall viewed while listening to the choir sing like angels.  Fascinating Cathedral and lovely town.

A great day starts late, ends early and has the wind at your back the entire time.   The weather has been fabulous the last few days, guess it’s paying it forward, as the forecast for tomorrow is for 100% chance of rain.

Larne, Northern Ireland to Chester, England

203 Miles

2 Days with Rain

Maybe, just maybe…

…..We had biked more than 20 miles in the last 3 days…..

…..Memories of yesterday’s easy ride was not so fresh…..

….The last four days of sunshine, was not still warming our bones….

Then maybe, we would not have gone out in the remnants of Hurricane Bertha as she raged through the United Kingdom….HA, and then we woke up!

Needless to say, we did not take any pictures, as we struggled to keep the bikes upright in the swirling wind and rain; thankfully, the roads were flat.  Once again, the chance to take pictures of freshly harvested fields of deep gold and the lush green fields contrasted by the black and white cows (every single one standing) was missed.  Cows are no better forecasters than the forecasters.

After two hours the the sky offered a small hope of better conditions,we stopped for a brief picture of one of the many magnificent homes and farms we had seen this morning.

At our halfway point,we took a break for our (now) customary soup and cappuccino.  The break proved beneficial in many ways, most importantly, the rain had stopped, though the cold and wind remained.  The break in the rain, also afforded the opportunity to catch a couple pictures of the our surroundings.  We remained dry, albeit, not sunny; the sky offering a bit of hope while the wind kept us humble.  Ten miles before town, our previously flat ride took on a definite uphill character.  The grade was not bad, but we could feel the change in our tired legs.  A quick drop into our town, showed us we had many things to explore once clean, dry and warm.  Beautiful sunshine and strong winds met us as we set out to explore the town of flowers and birthplace of Charles Darwin (1809).  The town is rich in medieval architecture (which we love), many original buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries, which we could not take enough pictures of.  There was also the St. Chad’s Church, the St. Alkmund’s Church,war memorials and the Shrewsbury Castle.  The afternoon had warmed up, the sun was shining, but the wind was really gusting…..Bertha was not leaving without a fight.  Thankfully our inn, at the foot of the Welsh bridge on the River Severn had a great restaurant, so we ducked inside before another shower blew through.

We enjoyed a hearty dinner, as if we’d biked a hundred miles, even though it was only 43.  We were happy to have been able to bike today, but more importantly, that the rain had stopped early.  Tomorrow is yet another day!

Sunny, 60° and a feisty wind as we bike out of our darling town, we’ll take it.  Thankfully the 20 mph winds were SSW and we were predominantly going southeast; though every deviation was noticeable.  We rolled up and down through beautiful countryside.  An hour later, for the first time since Scotland we see the dreaded “motorists use low gear” sign.  It was a mean uphill (18% grade), taking several stops to get to the top.  Deep ravines and spectacular vistas were missed by the camera due to the steep uphills or glorious downs. The climbing seemed to never stop, but thankfully the grades were not as horrendous as the first one. At one roundabout, trying to decided if we should take a quieter road, a local pulled up in his car.  He suggested our quieter road was beautiful, but “lumpy” (British have such a way with words),  After 25 miles we took a break from the climbing and to add some extra energy to conquer the rest of the day;a bowl of soup you could swim in should do it.The stop took much longer than expected, but the socialization with fellow (motor)bikers and hug from the ownerwas worth it.  The climbing was nonstop. the views incredible but the already strong wind had picked up and were gusting.  As much as we were enjoying the sunshine, we were working for every precious pedal stroke.  Our last seven miles was particularly tough.  The traffic was heavy and we thought we would never get a downhill.  Not sure we ever found the downhill, but we did find our hotel.  We are out in the middle of nowhere, so (thankfully) there was no touring to be done, just rest.  Of course, what better way to refresh than with a bit of paté and steak and ale pie.Our 47 miles worked us hard today, but we did it without the rain.  However, an hour after checking in, it poured while the sun shone.  That’s okay, today still counts as a NON-rain day!

Straight out of the door in a slightly overcast, cold (60°F) and windy morning, we were communting on a very busy highway with no shoulder.  For five miles cars and trucks screamed by us, not the most relaxing way to start the morning.  As we were biking past Worcester, we could see this in the distanceand could not resist the stop.  The Worcester Cathedral was amazing, every pipe of the massive organ was playing as we entered……it does something to the soul!   The quick tour of “The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester” was a well worth it. The ceiling (sorry for the angle, but it was the best way to see it),

 the stain glass, the many tombs were incredible. Finally tore ourselves away from this incredible testament to the architecture and faith (built between 1084 and 1504)and resumed our ride, but now on less hectic roads.  We definitely prefer the country roads, though we still had traffic to deal with.

The winds were persistently in our face and it did not take long for them to start gusting to 20-30 mph; oddly, the gusts swirled, occasionally offering very brief boost to the back.  The roads had a slight roll, but the wind was giving us such a workout, we really could not tell an up from a down.  We crossed the River Severninto Tewkesbury. The Duckies decided it was time for a spot of tea and maybe something sweet to eat.  As we left our “sweet” break, the winds blew in a quick shower, we didn’t even have time to put our rain jackets on.  With our earlier stop in Worcester, all we could manage of the Tewkesbury Abbey was one photo, though parishioners have managed to stop (and pray) here since the 7th Century.

Back out into the country to face the gusting winds for our final 12 miles. Another quick shower came through, but the wind was so strong we never got wet.  Our ride through the town was colored with beautiful architecture and centuries old buildings. We strolled through the town and St. Michaels’ Gateand passed the home of Beatrix Potter’s “Tailor of Gloucester”.But the main attraction in this city is “Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity”, more commonly known as the Gloucester Cathedral.  Upon entering, the voices of the choir filled the immense edifice, once again stirring the soul.  The history, the tombs (King Edward II), the detail of architecture were amazing.  Most of the church has been restored and it was very obvious what had not been touched.  The streets are charming and the city is rich in English history and though we took this photo strictly for it’s charm, it holds a certain history to the monarchy.Between the ride and walking all over the city, it was time to replenish and then go to bed.

Today, we decided we would try the bike trail and get off the busy road.  We started off on a beautiful path lined with wild flowers and the wind at our back; nothing wrong with that, except our direction.  We backtracked two miles and found our route along the canal (that leads to the River Severn)passing the Kaskelot, significance below.It was not long before we were out on delightful country roads.  With the high hedges, we were temporarily protected from the “in your face” winds.  As we came around a corner, we noticed a crowd gathering and guys donning wet suits and carting surfboards down to the River Severn.  All were awaiting”The Severn Bore; with less than a half hour to the big event, we decided to wait as well.  It was crazy to see a tidal wave drive up a river, not to mention guys surfing it.  Though it was only a two foot tide, it has been known to be as large as nine feet (third largest in the World).  As we waited for the “big” event, we learned a lot about the local lore as well and the “story” of May Hill; a clump of 99 trees in a perfect square on top of this hill.  According to our storyteller, the devil keeps the 100th tree from reaching maturity!  We think the devil also had a hand in the wind in our face, today.

Our country road continued past country churches and through small villages.  Our wonderful paved road ended as we crossed a pretty canal and dropped onto a roughly graveled and narrow trail.  We tried to embrace the peaceful scenery, but it was 11:00, three hours after we’d left and we had only gone 18 miles.  We gave up our flat, scenic, albeit, very poor road for the main road.  Though we had a bike lane, traffic was heavy, wind was in our face and the climbing increased, so a picture of the dark clouds heading our way and that was it.  At 1:30 and 33 miles, we took a break from the climbing for lunch.  It was a nice and needed rest.  Back out on the busy road, the wind and climbing continued and was non-stop.  The next 20 miles was an intense mixture of suburbs, city and exhaust as we made our way to and through Bristol.  Managed only one picture, when we stopped in the city to verify directions, but it perfectly depicted how we were feeling about our afternoon ride.  Amazingly, we made it through the city with no mistakes or backtracks but still had eight more miles. We climbed and climbed and finally with nothing left to give, found our stop for the night.  It was a tough fought 55 miles, but a nice stop and a tasty appetizer to get us back to begin our food replenishment.  We should sleep well tonight.