York to South Sheilds - Day 19

Date: September 6th, 2009
Song of the Day: Brothers on a Hotel Bed - Death Cab for Cutie
Country: England
Distance: 107 miles

Yeah, did you notice that? 107 miles? That is a century folks. On a bicycle. The English have a delightful way of calling it a "push bike". I think of it more of as a "pedal bike", but it is their language. All of this on a fully loaded touring rig as well. Woo-hoo.

Got up, had breakfast, and packed. I was on my way by 10:00. But I had to stop for some last minute pictures in York. I was actually on the road by about 11:00. From there it was just a slog all day. For most of the day the weather held. Windy, but not bad. The terrain was also fairly flat.

Oh as I was leaving York, I met an older gentleman who told me to go to Durham and see the cathedral. That was somewhere around mile 80. By then the terrain had become quite hilly and it had started to rain. Plus the old town of Durham is is on a hill with quite a commanding view of the valley. This is surrounded by water. Let me tell you, going up a steep cobble stone street after 80 miles is really trying. Really made me regret that decision, but not for long. Durham Cathedral was pretty cool. I guess it was started in 1093. Those damn Normans again. It, like every other cathedral I have seen has scaffolding around some part of it. I imagine that keeping up with the repairs is a real pain. I do not envy the 900 year old cathedral repair bills.

I also got directions to Shouth Sheilds (near Newcastle) from a security guard there. He was cool and seemed more than happy to talk. I would have stayed to chat, but it was another 20-30 miles and it was starting to get dark. Fortunately the rain had pretty much stopped at this point. It was dark by the time I got there. I eventually found the camping spot. I was so exhausted I just ate a cold can of soup, took a shower, and went to bed.

I really busted my butt getting there. Literally. It was quite sore. Took me about nine and a half hours of cycling to do. It felt good to accomplish the feat, though.

-Dravis