July 21, 2014 by Michael Warren

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Cycling can present many challenges, steep hills, strong head winds, hard saddles and inconsiderate motorists being amongst them, but an added hazard can be Man’s Best Friend, the dog. More accurately, it is not just the Best Friend but also the Man (or Woman) accompanying them who is part of the problem. Most of my rides take place along waggonways, cycle paths and bridleways which are very popular with cyclists but also very popular with dog walkers. On a recent trip to the Cycle Hub and back, a distance of about thirty miles, I counted the dogs along the route. On the way there I passed fifteen dogs, five of which were on the lead, and two cats (neither of which were on the lead) and on the way back there were thirteen dogs (seven on the lead) and no cats. This is fairly typical in my experience. So what? Why should this be a problem to a cyclist?

Those of you who use Strava, the mobile app, for logging cycle activities will be familiar with segments. They are a specific section of a route created by users for the purpose of comparing performance over time. One segment on NCN 72 is called Dog Dirt Dash. The reason is obvious. Not all owners clean up after their dog. As well as having a spare tube and a puncture repair kit in my bag, I also carry latex gloves – just in case I have to remove a tyre which has passed through something nasty.

Of course some dog owners do clean up – but get the final step wrong.

Hedgerows are festooned with discarded dogs’ colostomy bags. Continue reading →

June 10, 2014 by Michael Warren

The Domino Effect

Another Sunday morning, another Sunday ride.

Six Backpedalers assembled outside The Delaval Arms on a warm June morning with the intention of heading north on the Coast to Castles cycle route. The weather forecast was for a fine morning with the risk of a shower in the afternoon.

The route, by now very familiar to the Backpedalers, took the group up to Blyth, Bedlington, Cambois and on to Woodhorn.

The journey through Lynemouth was uneventful and in stark contrast to the group’s last visit. Likewise the journey from Lynemouth to Cresswell passed easily and the decision was made to end the outward journey at the Drift Cafe.

This turned out to be a good choice as no sooner had the Backpedalers been served their coffees and bacon sandwiches when a group of about twenty cyclists arrived and filled the remaining seats in the cafe. It turned out that they were a group based in Newcastle who called themselves the Old Gits Cycling Club. They were on the second day of, in their words, a bastardised version of the Coast and Castles cycle route and had called in to the Drift Cafe before heading home.

Continue reading →

April 1, 2014 by Michael Warren

Some Recent Pictures

Much of the UK has been having warm, sunny weather with temperatures heading towards 20º Celsius. Here in the north east corner of England it has been wet and foggy with the temperature struggling to reach 5º C. We still go out cycling though.

The Delaval Arms

March 31, 2014 by Michael Warren

We Went Out Into The Fog And Mist

The forecast didn’t look good.

The track through Holywell didn’t look good.

Recent heavy rain had left its mark.

The Delaval Arms was shrouded in mist………………

………….. but seven Backpedalers assembled for a Sunday morning training ride.

One member of the group must have looked at the wrong forecast.

The route started with a warm up loop around the Avenue, the old railway line, Monkseaton Drive and back along the coast to the Delaval Arms.

The next stage followed the familar route through the dunes at Seaton Sluice, then on to Blyth and Bedlington. At this point a little extra challenge was added to the route by cycling up both sides of Furnace Bank before heading on to Bebside and then Low Horton.