KitKats

As we crossed the North York Moors we spied a glimpse of the North Sea and coast far below us. A day later we could touch the sea in the town of Whitby where Captain James Cook apprenticed and began sailing. Having visited the beach in Hawaii where Cook's career ended, we were fascinated by the museum in the house where he studied by candlelight at night in his attic room. Whitby is also the location in Bram Stoker's book where the ship carrying Dracula's coffin crashed and the bat flew ashore. We managed to pass up the Dracula museum on the boardwalk but we didn't skip the pub advertised to have the best fish and chips in England. We followed the coast north along a bike route called Coasts and Castles, seeing restored castles and ... read more

We had some trepidation about leaving York to cross the North York Moors to get to the North Sea coast. For one thing we knew that we would be leaving the relaively flat terrain starting about 20 miles to the north. There was the steep climb over the Howardian Hills before Pickering and then the long climb upto the moors and the ravines that cut through it. For another, it had become windy and rainy while we were in York, and more of the same was promised for the next few days. On the positive side we were well rested and well fed and, thanks to Karen and Kathy's mapping and good advice from the folks at York's Cycle Heaven, we had a good traffic-free route to Pickering and from there a back road route on ... read more

North from Oxford now. Keeping east of the industrial cities and the hills. Keeping west of the coast Keeping off of the main roads and, as much as possible, off of dirt tracks. The challenge is to find a straight, narrow, paved, well-signed, light-trafficked, northward-heading one. The Sustrans routes work well at times. Otherwise we seek the ideal path on an Ordinance Survey map and hope to not get lost. Most of the time we don't More hills at first and wind, then rain. Downpour in Market Harborough, so we duck into the covered public market for a lunch of jacket potatoes with beans and cheese. Ordinary cheese to them, good strong white cheddar to us. Asking people in town for directions to the bike route. "Where are you headed?" "John O'Groats; we've come from Land's ... read more

They say that heaven is an English day in springtime. If that's true, spring for us began on May 1st biking over the rolling Lanbourn downs, home to English horse lovers for thousands of years at least since prehistoric people carved horses into the chalk soil by removing the overlying soil. The oldest of the white clay white horses is so big that the best place to view it is from the air. As we cycle through the Vale of the White Horse on our way to Oxford we encounter riders, trainers and horses of varied hues and sizes. The skies are blue, the hills are gentle and our smiles are everpresent. As we roll into the city it doesn't take long before another version of heaven engulfs us. Oh to be student in this bastion ... read more

This entry seeks to describe a typical day on the road. Granted, there has been no such animal thus far. We've had easy days (precious few) and tough, laborious days (quite a few) so a typical day will sort of be a leveling out of the two types. I wake up about 7 o'clock. I start packing the panniers, shaving, washing up and gently shake Karen awake. She responds slowly, complains about aching muscles and, in a tremelous voice, utters her need for COFFEE. The day has begun. We've spent the night in a luxurious B & B and so it's downstairs for the FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST. We meet Kit and Kathy downstairs and remark to each other the usual niceties. After the hostess has served us the whole thing Karen whips out a plastic ziplock ... read more