Pedalling to the end...

I open my eyes and am greeted again by the rain... it obviously enjoys our company and simply won't leave us alone! We pull on our damp clothes and head downstairs for our last cooked breakfast... It is early and we know that the taxi driver is expecting our arrival in South Shields at 1pm. We hit the tarmac and it is a busy little road with cars flying by and spraying us with endless amounts of rain water... I find swear words are easy to come by! We have over 30 miles left and I am already soaked through to the bone. I ask " What ever happened those sun gods? " Dane simply adds to the fun and squirts half his water bottle on me... I repay him back by emptying ALL of my water bottle onto him!! Ha ha!

After about an hours worth of cycling the rain finally lets up and decides to go and find some other people to play with. By now we have cycled down many tiny country roads and are now following the river Tyne.... we cycle through beautiful country parks, along old disused railway lines and in amongst leafy green forests... everything looks so fresh and green!!

The Tyne River begins to grow in width and the countryside soon becomes buildings... we cross many bridges and then see many more bridges before us... Finally we are in Newcastle!

Refuelling with a bacon butty and a coffee at a 16th century old pub which sits right next to the river Tyne is perfect!

Time ticks by and we realise that we still have 10 miles to go...well rested and tummies full we hit the 72 again. It weaves itself through the city of Newcastle like a snake. We say hi to locals as we pass them old, young and those with dogs. We reach the cycle tunnel that will take us to South Shields only to find out that it is closed!! Disaster...

We have to continue further north to catch the foot ferry. The race is on and we get a text telling us the taxi will be a bit late...good news for us! Following endless signs that take us all over Tyneside makes the end of the cycle ride seem like we are in the Tour De France... it is all a bit crazy!

The Ferry greets us and it takes about 10 mins and a friendly chat with another cyclist to get to the other side... We see the sign: 1 mile to the Arbeia Roman Fort! Our legs pedal like mad and we hit the hill going up to the Fort and then there it is in all its glory... the end of the ride!!!

Dane and I are so excited to reach the end that we forget to acknowledge our taxi ride back to Ravenglass. The driver has been waiting an extra 30 mins for us late comers! We jump off our bikes and do a bit of a celebratory dance which probably makes us look like fruit cakes...

HEY DAD,

I made it! I cycled 184 miles ( thanks to taking a wrong turn) over four days and it was tough, but I know you were with me all of the way...

I would love to THANK everyone who sponsored me! I know the money is going to a good cause and I hope you can all join me again on my next cycle adventure?

If anyone is interested in the nitty gritty: it took us 3 hours by taxi to get back to Ravenglass ( thank you to Ecocabs! ) It then took us a further 5 hours drive back to London with the bikes safely attached to the boot of the trusty micra. Arriving back in London at 11pm!

Thank you also to Dane who kindly put up with me trying to blog on his iphone each night.. not the easiest thing to do after a long cycle each day. I will have photos coming soon of the whole cycle ride so keep an eye out!