Pedaler Report - That's not my chain!

Backroads provides pretty nice road bikes: titanium frames, SRAM electronic shifting, and disc brakes. They’re well maintained of course but even so, each of us dropped a chain at some point. The most dramatic was Nusa’s, our guide. She must have kept pedaling after it slipped because it wound itself around a crank and into the worse chain mangle I’ve ever seen. She ended up walking a short spell back to our hotel (her co-guide didn’t see her distress-text), where we all marveled at the sight.

As always, the cycling routes that Backroads devised were great – a mix of rollers, challenge climbs, and gorgeous scenery. The Scottish Highlands are truly beautiful and special.

At the conclusion to the Backroads tour, we took a train to Newcastle, England where our self-guided tour (organized by Eurobike and their sub-contractor, Saddle Skeddadle) started. The terrain is completely different (we're in the lowlands and no longer in Scotland, but still...) I had thought that this tour had customized routes but we’ve since realized that the UK has established a North Sea Cycle Route that goes all the way up the east coast of England and Scotland, and onwards (on ferrys) to the north Scottish islands. Our tour is just a section of this route, with lodging and luggage transfer included.

The first day's ride was the longest and rather discouraging -- 47 miles from Newcastle to Warkworth. It was pleasant for the first 10 miles or so, but then there was 25-30 miles through f-ugly industrial and trashy areas. On the plus side, it was totally safe with much of the riding on cycle paths. The last bit was ok, but we were kind of strung out by the time we arrived at our hotel in Warkworth, only to discover that we had been booked the worst room in the hotel: a tiny attic room up many flights of narrow stairs with a small bed. I ended up paying a little more for a small suite with elbow room and a bigger bed – totally worth it.

The riding since then has been great; a mix of remote roads and coastline paths including some unpaved/gravel sections that I have managed better than I expected. Also, our accommodations improved (our B&B in Berwick Upon Tweed is exceptional). I imagine the room quality will vary going forward, but we sent an appeal for improvement which has apparently had effect.

A few photos from road/trailside.