In our headcold stupor last night, we neglected to mention (or take a picture) of Morgan, who had trained down to meet us and bike for a day or two.  We’ll make up for that faux pas later, but you may remember him as our leader OUT of London on Day 1.

So this is what Portsmouth looks like after a good night’s rest!  We woke to a crisp, sunny morning and immediately felt better for the extra dose of Vitamin C.  It took about eight miles to wind our way down the English Channel and through town before we settled into to our easterly (tailwind) course.  Twenty miles later, we reached our next stop,to rendezvous with a good friend from Cayman Brac.  Gillian suggested the perfect meeting spot, the cafe in the cloister of the Chichester Cathedral.  We did a quick catch-up and then had a personalized tour presented by Gillian’s father and new bride, Mary.  The two of them were as delightful, as the fully restored cathedral was awesome.  Most impressive was the stain glass on the southside of the church; the northside windows had all been destroyed in WWII.  We were struck by how contemporary artwork had been incorporated into various aspects of the church, such as the Chagall Window.  We (I) could have spent all day listening to their insights on the Cathedral and BellTower, but a good bit of our distance was still ahead, so we bid our farewells and headed out.

The delicious northwest wind was still at our backs as we cruised along the countryside.Our last ten miles we sailed along a boardwalk peninsula that hugged the channel as we watched the clouds building in front of us.  We missed the connection off the peninsula back to the main road, so had a one mile backtrack into the wind, proving us just how much it had helped us all day.  As Morgan will claim (still trying to amend his “muddy route guidance” on our first day), this two mile “excursion” was to avoid the rain that was currently soaking our destination.  We cruised into the freshly washed tourist town of Brighton; wall to wall buildings lined the water and the roads that ran perpendicular. It was a good days work (9:00-5:00) of 60 miles and it did not take us long to clean and regroup for a walk about town. Brighton has been likened to Coney Island and it is easy to see why, especially with a couple of blokes wearing sombreros. We strolled along the boardwalk enjoying the stormy sky in the distance and briefly (almost) posing for a picture.  We were delighted to see our Duckies had broadened their horizons, but almost got arrested “appreciating” the artwork.  Best move into the streets for pictures and dinner…..a small appetizer or two, finished by bowls of pasta.  What could be better? Good Company and a Great Evening!

The intention this morning was to bike all the way into London, but we felt “our” health would not survive the ride well. Begrudgingly, (and I do mean begrudgingly) we boarded a train back to the big city and rode the cold three miles back (past a church, no less) to Morgan’s flat.  We managed a final picture of the three amigos before ducking into warmth created by the six floors we had to climb with bike and bags.

We celebrated the evening with a magnificent spread created and prepared by our gracious hosts, Morgan and Julie.Fabulous trip, fabulous evening.

We are sorry the trip has come to an end, but are ready to be home.

Thanks Again for joining us for our jaunt around England, Scotland and Ireland!  A follow-up will be posted soon.

Salisbury to London, England

3 day week

110 Miles

1 Day with Rain

Across the Pond

if you would like to zoom in on our route, click here.

England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales

2164 Total Miles
53 days total
(second shortest tour)
45 miles a day average
18 days included rain
5 days off for sightseeing and train/ferry travel

26 days in England
20 days in Scotland
7 days in Ireland
1 day travel through Wales

5500 Pictures

No camping

Trip Notables:
Noisiest (24/7) Seagulls in the World
Most village/town/city names have been copied in the U.S.
Golf courses are Everywhere
Centuries of History and various cultures abound
Food is Much Better than Rumored
IT RAINS!

Brilliant Trip!

Thank you for joining us this year.  Your comments and humour were always a bright spot in our day.  Until we meet again……

Have you noticed how Big our Country Is?

Apparently, we are going to measure each and every mile by bicycle!

Our Fifth bike adventure begins in less than a week when we fly to Seattle.  From there we will (for the most part) follow the “Northern Tier” route (purple line on this map) hoping to see old friends and meet new ones, as we make our way back to the east coast.  We’d love to see you if you are along the way and as always, LOVE the comments!

Gotta get packn’ and figure out which Duckies will join us!

Or at least getting ready to go again.  We’ve arrived in Seattle, just need to put the bikes back together, pick up a couple of items then we will be ready to go.

Seattle is offering us the weather they are known for: overcast, cold and drizzly.  Walked the route we will take tomorrow to the train station, connecting us to our course, and managed a little sightseeing, along the way.  Did you know that UPS started in Seattle 107 years ago?  This park, in the middle of the city,was dedicated on their 100th anniversary.

Also visited another Seattle original, REI, celebrating their 75th year; their store here is Huge and filled with lots of Fun outdoor/adventure toys!

And no trip to Seattle is complete without a walk through the Market.  Even though we stopped here on our short visit during Trip II, the sites are still exciting and colorful offering a cornucopia of food beyond description.

And you simply cannot be in Seattle without having a Sourdough Bread bowl filled with incredible Seafood Chowder.

We savored every morsel, knowing that This trip will not be the tour of incredible food and wonderful hotels along the Sea, but more of camping and dehydrated food. But not today!

After spending way too much time on our feet, we head back to the room only to find our wonderful hotel (Thank you, Steven and Sheraton) has left a Perfect treat in our room.

So the bikes are put together, duckies are on board and we are chomping at the bit to start our ride.  Hope to see you along the way.

It is tough to talk about the first day of pedaling, when you begin writing at the end of the day.  Hence, we depend on photos…….ah yes, the Beginning…..when training, eager anticipation and exploration meet.  We rose at 5:30 to catch the train, leaving behind the comfortable confines of the hotel and the city.

Finally started pedaling just before 10 am and were almost immediately plunged into the Rainforest of Washington state.

The density of fur, spruce and pine allowed only an occasional glimpse at the source of rushing water.

Each turn was bordered with towering trees

and an occasional field, grains still green with early growth.

Our ride today started in very crisp high 50’s and overcast; quite cold to walk into, but felt good once we warmed up, which did not take long.  The ride today was a constant low grade climb, the kind that doesn’t look like it is going uphill, but required a constant effort to pedal. We followed the Skagit River and crossed many creeks that fed it. It was not until mid-afternoon that we began to see some blue skywarming the day to almost 70, but only when we were in the sun, otherwise it remained cool; the threat of rain remaining just in the distance.

We finally made it to our destination by 4:30, totally spent after 59 miles and six hours in the saddle!  Usually exuberant after our first day, we silently wondered if our previous training was not sufficient or our old bodies just weren’t responding like they used to.  Either way, it was a Great way to spend the Summer Solstice.