Duracell and The Marathon Man go west ..........then east...........then north!

This is the official report.
Sunday .. Dunfermline to Melrose. Distance travelled= 70 miles. Body Count: Duracell one puncture, one bungee clip stuck in gears( all before leaving Dalkeith). Marathon Man, no fatalities. We stayed in the Youth Hostel in Melrose and ate approximately 3000 calories of pasta each ( followed by a family size bag of crisps. Marathon Man said it was to replace the salt we lost as we cycled)

Monday, our biggest cycle 90 miles ( big miles by the way, big, over hills with heavy panniers on poor road surface , miles). We ended up in Nenthead , the highest pub in England. it is marginally lower than Everest. We stayed in the Miners Arms and kept it real by enjoying their own brand of bitter( Mesage to Fit One, it was only 3.6% so in a sense we were simply readjusting that delicate chemical
liquid ratio in our bodies as all dedicated sportsman do).

The next day was supposed to be our "easy" day. We dropped down from the penines into Newcastle. mileage 65 miles. We got confused about which branch of the cycle path to follow.. it was complicated one said Sunderland the other Newcastle. We went on the Sunderland one. Once back on track we found our own Newcastle guide who was cycling back from work. He cycled all the way into town to make sure we wouldn`t get lost. Obviously we look like we need that sort of care in the community ( Image thinking that we might get lost!). At night we stayed in whitley Bay which is a dump. We got a good meal but it took about 30 minutes to find a pub which (a) was open (b) did not have strippers.. think you get my drift.

Next day was a bit frustrating. We had an " incident" on the track, MArathon Man fell as he stopped and couldn`t get his cleats out. In classic domino effect he knocked me down.Status Report was one grazed knee ( MM). One jarred shoulder( me) and one broken front mudguard for da Dawes. The cycle paths near Berwick were literally across fields with cattle and sheep in attendance. Has to be said that they didnt trouble us, probably because the dawes looks and travels like agricultural machinery .

It was Marathon Man's birthday so I resolved to buy him a slap up Italian meal. It took so long to cycle through the fields that we were to late for anything other than chips eaten on a bench, at least it was cheap! total mileage 80 miles.

Last day over Lammermuir Hills to Edinburgh a good days cycling except for dodgy start in me committing an unforced error in selecting a route going south not north(!) Marathon Man was , as usual, very gracious. Diaster for the dawes on top of the hills . I lost the top ring . End result was that I was even slower than normal. we decided to split up in Gifford so Marathn Man could make it home in time for his family birthday celebration.

I then zig zagged my way to Dunfermline ( like a cross eyed homing pigeon). I went from Gifford to Tranent then Elphinstone then back to Musselburgh through Leith then 11 miles on cycle track through all parts of Edinburgh before getting to the bridge. Mileage was I think 80 miles.

Summary. company excellent, weather incredible, route planning dodgy in parts. Total miles 390 ( or thereby)

The Duracell