See You Later Navigator

Val loves Maps - She pores over them, digests the information and regurgitates it as forward direction for our trusty wheeled steeds.

 Navigating off the end of Scarborough Promenade

Sometimes the Locals point us in several different directions.

Most of the time we're on track - there have been exceptions, one time in Czech Republic,  the wrong valley and a 30 Kilometre correction to our course.

She has eyes like a hawk when it comes to ferreting out a partially obliterated cycle way signs. Many a time a loud “Hoi” or a frustrated shout, to alert me to a missed sign - she has even had to chase me to get me back "on track".

Cycleways have a habit of starting off in great fashion and leading you onward with increasing confidence, then dropping you off in the middle of either;

Chaotic Traffic,

A dead end road or street,

Or

The Middle of Nowhere.

The National Cycleway system in UK is getting pretty wide coverage under the auspices of Sustrans (Sustainable Transport Systems) promoting cycleways within towns and cities to link with rail, working with rail companies to get motorists onto trains and in general encouraging people to get out on their bikes and out of their cars.

The more fancy Route Signs are quite artistic.

Ever since dropping off Hadrian's Wall and hitting the East Coast at South Shields, we have been heading South on National Cycle Route 1 and while for the most part it is reasonably signposted, there have been 3 or 4 occasions when even eagle eyed Val, and me as inferior backstop, have missed the vital indicator. 

This led us to doing one long leg of the coastal walkway, which meant unpacking our panniers to get over stiles and unpacking and lugging our five panniers up a hundred steps, which in this particular instance made it hard to appreciate and admire the workmanship of a high beautifully constructed Victorian Viaduct, crossing high above us as we struggled away. Did any of the passengers on the 5.30 commuter train see the drama enacted far below.

 Dang - 100 Upsteps at the Viaduct

Coastal Walkway De-Panniering