Tough day today. I’m tired so will need to keep the blog a bit shorter and let the pictures do the talking!
I was tired at the start today. My legs were killing me and the ride was much hillier than I expected.
The first section of my route took a series of backroads that make the Route 72 National Cycle Route. It was very picturesque and took me passed sections of Hadrian’s Wall.
The picture above is Glenwhelt Bank Climb just after Greenhead. Man it was hard work! I don’t know why I hadn’t expected these climbs but they really caught me out. To add to it I was riding into a headwind… all with tired legs.
So, by the time I got to Haltwhistle I’d been out for nearly three hours (with stops) and had only ridden 25 miles with an average of 13.2 miles an hour. I was never going to get the miles done at this rate!
So, I headed on to the main road, the A69 and got my head down. It was still tough going with plenty of climbs and headwind but I rolled into Newcastle (62 miles) just after 2.00pm, gettingy average back up to 15 mph.
The cathedral staff greeted me and made me feel welcome. The kind ladies in the Cathedral Cafe insisted on giving me the money back for my lunch and said they would donate. 🙂
Next up Durham. Made pretty good time there via the main road past The Angel of the North and rolled up to the cathedral via Framwellgate Bridge from which there were stunning views of the west end of the cathedral. It’s such an epic setting. If you haven’t been you really must go.
The cathedral dates from 1093 and by that I mean nearly all of the main building. I was staggered to learn that it was built in just 40 years!
I was met by a young lady called Catherine Hodgson from the marketing team who really made me feel welcome. Evensong was taking place but she took me to see the shrine of St Cuthbert. People have been coming to visit his shrine here for over 1000 years. So I felt very privileged to get 5 minutes on my own in this special part of the cathedral.
I’m not really a religious person but during my Cathedral Tour I’ve taken to spending a few quiet moments inside to pay respects to my brother and also my Dad who passed away just a few days after Allister. It just feels right to do that.
It was humbling to kneel at the shrine and that feeling plus I guess the beautiful music wafting over from the choir overwhelmed me. I broke down.
Part of me did envisage this tour having a cathartic quality for me. After all, I’m doing it in memory of Allister. So, I guess that that moment arrived for me today at St Cuthbert’s shrine in Durham.
By the way…. It’s not permitted to take photos inside Durham cathedral but I was given permission to take one of the nave. The picture of the shrine is from Durham World Heritage Site website. The carved head is by artist Josef Pyrz and is called The Statue of Annunciation. I found it captivating.
After some light refreshments that were kindly supplied, I decided to head on another 20 miles to Darlington. Not much to say about that other than some verbal abuse from a van driver. I decided to stay in the hotel.
Ripon, York and Bradford tomorrow, provided and can keep my legs turning!
Donations can be made here… http://bit.ly/18svua0
Cathedral Cycle Tour 2015 