wansbeck wheelers - new club

[JohnRedcoRn]

looking to start a gentlemens cycling club ; proper 'old fashioned' cycling, maybe once a month... blazer and tie(maybe not in hot weather), trousers, bicycle clips, brogues, upright riding position, go at a slow / steady pace, no lycra, no backpacks or camelbacks. tea and cake. big moustache.
anyone interested ? could maybe do a national network of gentleman wheelers ?

 

[annedonnelly]

What about ladies? Are they excluded? I'm saving up for some bicycle clips but I don't have a moustache.

I'm in Blyth but hope with practice to venture as far as the Wansbeck - waiting until the floods subside though.

Anne

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

get yourself across this way, theres some fine cycling around here and across morpeth and the coast. You can get across the spine road on a cyclepath i think, and right along to north seaton, woodhorn and beyond, around the likes of creswell, eshott, linton, longhirst. ulgham etc. or into stakeford then ashington via west / east sleekburn (avoiding a steep climb up to the half moon). some quiet roads with little traffic, and some fine night time riding when its not pissing down.

i keep meaning to get back along south beach > tynemouth route, havent done it since great north bike ride...is there no way along there without riding through blyth or along the spine road ? its a bit dicey !

Will have to reconsider the rules about ladies ; long skirt i'm afraid, we dont want to be letting ladies wear pants like those freaky europeans, heaven forbid !
nah seriously the more lasses the better, doesnt seem so far to be half as many women as men in cycling ! (wives excluded, they'll only spoil it, he he !)

 

[wafflycat]

What about ladies? Are they excluded? I'm saving up for some bicycle clips but I don't have a moustache.

I'm in Blyth but hope with practice to venture as far as the Wansbeck - waiting until the floods subside though.

Anne

Eeee, bonnie lass, ah grew up there. Went to Blyth Grammar..

 

[annedonnelly]

Eeee, bonnie lass, ah grew up there. Went to Blyth Grammar..

So did I. It was a middle school by then. Still is, in fact.

 

[annedonnelly]

i keep meaning to get back along south beach > tynemouth route, havent done it since great north bike ride...is there no way along there without riding through blyth or along the spine road ? its a bit dicey !

You could come south through Bedlington and Cramlington then head to the coast through Seaton Delaval. I noticed that the GNR didn't stick to the C&C route through Blyth. I use that - basically it cuts from Asda at Bebside to South Beach. It's mainly cycle paths, so no good if you want to be speeding along the road.

It'll be good when Sustrans get the ferry going again.

nah seriously the more lasses the better, doesnt seem so far to be half as many women as men in cycling ! (wives excluded, they'll only spoil it, he he !)

Probably 'cos we're scared of getting punctures.

 

[domtyler]

Sign me up, i'm up for it!

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

You could come south through Bedlington and Cramlington then head to the coast through Seaton Delaval. I noticed that the GNR didn't stick to the C&C route through Blyth. I use that - basically it cuts from Asda at Bebside to South Beach. It's mainly cycle paths, so no good if you want to be speeding along the road.

It'll be good when Sustrans get the ferry going again.




Probably 'cos we're scared of getting punctures.

i'm scared of getting punctures too !

thanks for the tips....i like to mix it up, a bit of pushing meself along the roads for fitness, stamina, and a bit of countryside and paths, pootling about and night time too. its pretty good up here, although some of the paths are getting a bit overgrown.

how do you get through bedlington and cramlington to seaton delaval avoiding the spine road ?

 

[annedonnelly]

how do you get through bedlington and cramlington to seaton delaval avoiding the spine road ?

Depends where you cross the river - The "hairpin bend" brings you out at Bebside, or in Bedlington and up from the picnic field or at Hartford Bridge on the Morpeth road.

If the first two you could head along to the Three Horse Shoes at Horton. From there straight ahead will take you over the Spine Road and along past the Keel Row into Delaval.

If you've come via Hartford Bridge you could head up the dual carriageway (very quiet) to Horton and do the same thing. Or you could wend your way through Cramlington to High Pit, under the Spine Road and through East Cramlington.

I've tried a couple of times to figure out the cycle paths in Cramlington - it's signed for the town centre but I've only end up in housing estates. And starting in the town centre I couldn't find a path at all

Once you get to Delaval left at the roundabout takes you past the Hall to the coast.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

thanks, sounds like a nice run. And as the weather gets colder i'm thinking of incorporating CHIPS into my night cycle rides.
I can highly recommend LADHARS in newbiggin (nice views along the prom ona clear night too), the only problem with newbiggin is that if you walk into a chip shop in cycle gear, especially if your a bloke, they might think your from the planet of the gays and their instinctive response would be to kick your head in.

can anyone recommend any particularly nice views at night around wansbeck / blyth / morpeth area ? i'm waiting for some proper clear dry winter nights to get right out away from light pollution.