Bike Right report

Just back from Bike Right 12.5, held as usual for the spring event at Longridge Towers School near Berwick-upon-Tweed in the Borders area of the UK. The self-catering winter version, coming up on 19-20-21st October this year, is held at Wooler Youth Hostel, of which more later.

The weekend started (after catching an early train up to Berwick) with a ride out over the Chain Bridge, now closed to traffic but (though it's not mentioned on the diversion signs) still open for cyclists and pedestrians:



and then over the narrow footbridge as nobody fancied the nearby ford:



A lunch stop at Etal followed, where Sharon's Kingcycle picked up a passenger:



On the way back we stopped off at Norham Castle:



(This and various images that follow are stitched together from multiple exposures using AutoPano Pro. Free software using the same technology can be found here. Obviously they can be cropped to conventional rectangular format but I quite like the irregular black border effect. Apologies for the blurred people in some of them - with more time I could fix that. Maybe later...)

Photographer Jason Patient and another chap were caught in a 'caption competition' pose...



They were looking down the castle well... and what was at the bottom? Just some rubbish:



After that it was back to base for a hearty meal, evening talks and entertainments and a full breakfast the next morning, before a large group headed north (and upwards):



The group then split, with half heading to Eyemouth for lunch while I and others opted for a picnic at Fast Castle:



It's at the end of a dead-end road, and after parking your bikes at the end there's a kilometre or more of quite exposed walking above the cliffs before you can make your way down to the castle itself - take care if it's wet or slippery. But once you get there the views are spectacular: to the south:



and to the north:



Little remains of the castle, just a few precarious-looking corners of the walls:



Heading back towards the bikes:



Philip had taken his bike further down the rough path than most, so got to practice some off-roading:



By this time we were enjoying almost continuous sunshine and the ride back was aided by a lovely tailwind. Here's Jason Patient on his Brompton:



Next morning we all rode south - Trevor demonstrating how useful a swivel screen is on a digital camera while taking pics as you ride along:



Paul had ridden the whole weekend on a Bickerton! Here he is powering up the hill towards Wooler Youth Hostel:



We'd kindly been allowed to visit Wooler Youth Hostel a day before it was due to re-open after the first phase of a considerable modernisation program run by its new owners, the Glendale Gateway Trust. The works carried out so far include re-laying most of the potholed drive and parking area, opening up the area in front of the hostel and installing a new more welcoming entrance.



Inside, there's a much lighter and brighter feel to the place with redecoration and new lighting. A new bike shed is also soon to be erected on this promising spot - looks like it'll hold a good few cycles:



It's a very well located hostel for cycling and walking: more details and contacts here. Well worth a visit!

Finally, with the sun casting lengthening shadows it was time to ride back to the school before a dash to the train station and back to York.



The group stops to wait for a horse to go past - they're often frightened by recumbents:



The camera could hardly keep up with Jason!



Another superb weekend of almost entirely traffic-free cycling (cars, as above, were infrequent and mostly well behaved). Many thanks to organisers Philip and Jason and to all who took part. The next event is held at Wooler, 19-21 October. Call Rachel on 01668 282209 to book a space.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2007 04:50PM by peter.

Aargh - I think the first few images are out of sequence and are actually of the Saturday ride. Oh well, I'll just hope nobody will notice :-)

A great weekend indeed. I have a few pictures, which I'll put up shortly. I mostly took video, which I intend to set to music, just as soon as I can find out how to get round i-tunes security...

Love the multi Jason shot!

Just three still pictures worth putting up..

The inevitable puncture stop, when Phil Stanbury came out of the Oxford Tea rooms to find the rear wheel (it would be!) of his Thorn flat - punctured by a thorn of course...



It was suggested that while the back of the other, identical, Thorn's owner (I'm sorry, I can't remember his name!) was turned, he should just swap bikes and ride off, but decency prevailed and we all enjoyed watching and making 'helpful' suggestions while the tube was swapped...

No stills from Saturday, but I had a great ride in a group of four under the leadership of Paul Stobbs, taking in a garden centre coffee shop at East Ord, a caravan park golf course cafe at Haggerston and afternoon tea at the Scremerston 'Wigwam' park (triangular camping lodges) - a ride that took in a selection of minor roads and a stretch of off-road coast track which ranged from gravel to grass and all grades of surface inbetween.

Sunday morning got off to an interesting start when, about 10 yards outside the school gate, I came off. My own silly fault for not looking where I was going and having to swerve suddenly to avoid another rider (sorry again!). The bike was undamaged (get the priorities right!) and I sustained a grazed elbow and a heavily bruised finger



Still, at least I could keep smiling. Thanks to all the group who stopped to pick me up and dust me down...

So, with now aching shoulders it was on to Wooler, where I discovered the keener photographers practising their macro-settings...



The new front to the hostel and repainted common room look much better, and I look forward to going there in October. The threatened closure of the hostelby the YHA would have been a great loss, and I hope any readers who might fancy a trip to Northumberland will think of staying a night or two there, and tell their friends, so that the Trust can keep it running.

Another great weekend - and once again huge thanks to the school cook who kept us marvellously fed with full breakfasts and superb evening meals!

Few more pics just in from Trevor:

What we were photographing as above :-)



A nice illustration of the size difference between an ICE T and a Micro:



And another nice Fast Castle view. We later spotted some climbers on top of that far pinnacle.

Scary chicken!

I was just going to grab that shot of the castle for my desktop at work when I saw the chick.. enuff said.

cycling development worker - Wildside Activity Centre
Staff writer -'Bentrideronline
Publicity Officer- BHPC

Looks good - did consider going but just too many other things on. Good pics.

Arch just sent me this splendid photoshopped version of the 'car' pic above - ghost riders!

Gosh!
that what a week ago.

My nurse said i was silly to do that without prcaticing fisrt.

and i my a what be a little cut on my left leg but a really cut cut.

summer holidy comming up on May. should on the recumbent, on prashly on the birdy ot the mouton.

WOW! This is the first Bike Reight report I've seen where everyone doesnt look freezing all weekend. I have to say it's the March/October element that has kept me away so far, more than the seemingly endless hills! Having just spent the same period cycling round the lothians in glorious weather, I think I might be converted from my pervious cycling preference for August in france! I'm a Northumbrian by birth but a total softee!
Paul Stobbs is a hero!! You must have been deafened by the creaks and squeaks by the end of the event! I note it's not an ordinary Bickerton though - but a Bickerton Country, the so-called off-road and touring model!!!

The Paul Stobbs Bickerton started out as a single speed which Paul adapted by widening the chain/seat stays so he could install a 349 16 inch wheel with an 8-speed derailleur - though he did have to use a chain guide just behind the chain wheel to keep the chain on when using the lowest and highest gear - and it would only go into the lowest gear sometimes. The front wheel is also not original - it is slightly larger than the original but i cannot remember the size - but it takes a better tyre than is available for the original.

It was pretty good weather for a Bike Right - though not the warmest ever - that was probably last years special September edition - but this year we are back to October so it may be sow - I think it was BR 5 or 6 when I cycled down from Berwick late on Friday in the snow, and certainly we have had plenty of snow at the 'half' BRs , especially when it is in February

John Turvey

How did Luke littlelerch get on with his camping out on the Sunday night?

The Backpackers hostel wozs ok.

Woul't but good if could read my potings?

Re: the weather - I was only saying on the way up that we are usually pretty lucky with the weather for Bikeright. I don't remember ever feeling that it was daft to be out in the weather - although the inevitable headwinds can get a bit tiring... However, with a cafe every couple of hours, yoou get plenty of time to recover.

And the Bickerton hardly creaked at all - I spent a whole day riding along side it, and even over gravel and grass, it made less complaining noises than my knees...

Seamus - at the risk of sounding soppy, I though you seemed even more like your old self this time, and your postings are getting easier to read. Keep posting, and enjoy planning the holiday! Oh, and I saw "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" on TV last night, and the only bit of it I could really understand was when Jim Carrey rode off on the chopper bike that had been his as a kid - is that on your film list (I really should check first)? Riley said it was a Schwinn something-or-other...

And here is the YouTube link to my little film of the weekend - part memoir, part music video. Thanks particularly to my fellow riders on Saturday who were patient with me while I got a few particular shots to fit the words...

Being a film by Arch, you'll notice an emphasis on tea stops...

[www.youtube.com]

And sadly, no, I wasn't filming at the point I fell over! ;-)

Brill

Great combination of sound track too!

Would have been nice to go but just too far frm the frozen north.

Mike

Middle aged and finally eccentricyclist

Superb video. love the song, who's it by?

Glad you both liked it! Seems to be a bit of a problem with the link at the moment though - it wouldn't go through for me just now. I'll see if I can chase it up... I enjoyed making it.

Andhar - the song is "Village Green Preservation Society" by The Kinks. Available on i-tunes, if you're into that sort of thing...

Mike - it's a nice change to hear people describe Northumberland as too far South! ;-)

Ah, ok, seems to be working again now...

Sue, I have to say that the latest release from the Filmsbyarch studio has to be the best yet (with the possible exception of the one with that good looking bloke mounting a penny). I've been going round all weekend with the kinks "Villlage Green Preservation Society" playing in my head. Singularly apt, as I was in Whitby, painting my beach hut!
What I want to know is, did you have the song in mind when you shot the footage, or is it just fortuitous that your images knitted perfectly into the lyrics? I mean, who would go cycling in Northumbeeland and film ducks, tower blocks and a Union flag?

Well, thank you! Yes, I had the song in mind, and took a few 'special shots' on the way up, and in the Saturday ride, where there were only four of us and the others were patient enough to indulge my search for a duck...

Darn things (the ducks, not the cyclists) just stood there, and I wanted some action, so I waved my free hand and shouted at them, and they obligingly swan off. I don't think it's the sort of tactic David Attenborough uses...

The Union flag was just something we happened to pass on the way back to Longridge on Sunday. At the top of a nasty hill too, so I combined taking some film with getting my breath (and feeling in my legs) back...