|
|
Day 8 - 14th June 2015
Dalkeith to Jedburgh
79.2 kms - 49.2 miles
|
My supporter for today who has very generously donated to
the Fred Hollows Foundation is Realtime Express. If you are sending parcels around Australia get a quote from these guys. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised!! |
|
79.2 kms 49.2 miles
Highest Point - 277 metres - 909 ft |
Up - 668 metres - 2192 ft
Down - 662 metres - 2172 ft |
Day 8 - Dalkeith to Jedburgh
Into my second week of cycling today!! Weather again very heavy cloud and overcast. This turned to rain for the first part of the trip! Only a light wind so that wasn’t too bad. The first 5 miles of my ride were easy – I had already done it twice the previous day – except this time I didn’t have to go “up” into Gorebridge but could continue on along the A7. Sunday morning – and the roads were almost car-less!! I was keen to get the first 15 kms done as it looked like a lot of climbing – and did prove to be so! Quite a lot of road-works too and I seemed to cop every stop/go light on stop – just so I could wait in the rain!!!
No breakfast supplied at the Premier Inn – so we decided we would meet up in a couple of hours in one of the many villages I would be passing through on this stretch and have an early coffee and something to eat. This plan sounded great – BUT – coffee shops opening early in this area? - it just does not happen!!
I really looked forward to today's ride as my lovely friend in New Zealand, Sheila Coltman, was born and raised in "The Borders" so I would be riding through many places I had heard her mention so often.
“Stow” seemed to be our main chance for an early coffee, but no luck there, we pressed on to Galashiels. I really needed to thaw out as it just wasn’t warm at all. The showers had become rain, and any part of my body that my jacket didn’t cover was feeling the icy wind that had picked up. My legs, feet and hands were frozen and socks soaking wet. Very reminiscent of the day we rode the Desert Rd - North Island, New Zealand!!
Again – there are alternative roads and bicycle paths to ride throughout this area – but with all other sane people staying inside on a cold, wet Sunday morning I had the A7 to myself. This is part of a tourist route particularly if you want to look at castles – there are plenty of them!!!
While having a very welcome coffee and doing some shopping (finally bought a new mouse!!) the weather did lift quite a bit and the rain stopped!!!! Wonderful!!!!
It was like a different day as I cruised out of Galashiels towards Melrose – missed the road I intended to take – but managed to cheer on participants in a "fun run" that was causing the road to be partially closed on one side. The road I took sort of skirted around Melrose – passed the now closed Railway Station from where I could get good views of the town. Pauline and Pat managed to be on the intended road and drove through a very busy Melrose as a “book fair” was in full swing.
I was loving that little villages were close together, and no sooner had I left Melrose than I was at St Boswell's where a car-boot sale was happening. I was now on the A68 – still not a lot of traffic though – great!! Between St Boswell’s and Jedburgh there were some short sharp steep climbs that I hadn’t really added into my brain at the start of the day – so they came as a bit of a shock – but I managed to ride them all – just!!
I am sure it was a comfort to us all that we had accommodation booked (particularly after the previous day) although we couldn’t “get in” until 3:30 pm. That turned out to be not a problem at all. Jedburgh is a fascinating place, full of history, and I’d love to go back and spend more time there. We found a warm as toast pub to have lunch at which was very near the Abbey ruins that we photographed. We then took in a couple of tourist shops near the woollen mills and had a bit of a drive around the town.
Actually – as I was biking into Jedburgh on the northern outskirts – on a downhill stretch (after one of those pesky short sharp climbs) – I saw a Boston Terrier being walked. Great excitement – but impossible to stop – shooting downhill at just over 50 kph on a wet ”curbed” road on a bike – stopping and pulling off out of traffic’s way is difficult. And of course - for about the only time of the entire day 3 or 4 cars had been on the same stretch of road as me! It was a shame really – one of those serendipity at work moments – seeing a Boston Terrier when biking through an area where my best friend who I met through a mutual association with this breed of dog used to live!!!!
Oh well – we enjoyed playing with Bronson – a staffy – at the B&B that evening. His favourite “toy” was an old motorbike tyre ……. hugely funny and entertaining “Mr Tough Guy” with it …….. I just hoped he didn’t fancy my bike tyres during the night!!!
Into my second week of cycling today!! Weather again very heavy cloud and overcast. This turned to rain for the first part of the trip! Only a light wind so that wasn’t too bad. The first 5 miles of my ride were easy – I had already done it twice the previous day – except this time I didn’t have to go “up” into Gorebridge but could continue on along the A7. Sunday morning – and the roads were almost car-less!! I was keen to get the first 15 kms done as it looked like a lot of climbing – and did prove to be so! Quite a lot of road-works too and I seemed to cop every stop/go light on stop – just so I could wait in the rain!!!
No breakfast supplied at the Premier Inn – so we decided we would meet up in a couple of hours in one of the many villages I would be passing through on this stretch and have an early coffee and something to eat. This plan sounded great – BUT – coffee shops opening early in this area? - it just does not happen!!
I really looked forward to today's ride as my lovely friend in New Zealand, Sheila Coltman, was born and raised in "The Borders" so I would be riding through many places I had heard her mention so often.
“Stow” seemed to be our main chance for an early coffee, but no luck there, we pressed on to Galashiels. I really needed to thaw out as it just wasn’t warm at all. The showers had become rain, and any part of my body that my jacket didn’t cover was feeling the icy wind that had picked up. My legs, feet and hands were frozen and socks soaking wet. Very reminiscent of the day we rode the Desert Rd - North Island, New Zealand!!
Again – there are alternative roads and bicycle paths to ride throughout this area – but with all other sane people staying inside on a cold, wet Sunday morning I had the A7 to myself. This is part of a tourist route particularly if you want to look at castles – there are plenty of them!!!
While having a very welcome coffee and doing some shopping (finally bought a new mouse!!) the weather did lift quite a bit and the rain stopped!!!! Wonderful!!!!
It was like a different day as I cruised out of Galashiels towards Melrose – missed the road I intended to take – but managed to cheer on participants in a "fun run" that was causing the road to be partially closed on one side. The road I took sort of skirted around Melrose – passed the now closed Railway Station from where I could get good views of the town. Pauline and Pat managed to be on the intended road and drove through a very busy Melrose as a “book fair” was in full swing.
I was loving that little villages were close together, and no sooner had I left Melrose than I was at St Boswell's where a car-boot sale was happening. I was now on the A68 – still not a lot of traffic though – great!! Between St Boswell’s and Jedburgh there were some short sharp steep climbs that I hadn’t really added into my brain at the start of the day – so they came as a bit of a shock – but I managed to ride them all – just!!
I am sure it was a comfort to us all that we had accommodation booked (particularly after the previous day) although we couldn’t “get in” until 3:30 pm. That turned out to be not a problem at all. Jedburgh is a fascinating place, full of history, and I’d love to go back and spend more time there. We found a warm as toast pub to have lunch at which was very near the Abbey ruins that we photographed. We then took in a couple of tourist shops near the woollen mills and had a bit of a drive around the town.
Actually – as I was biking into Jedburgh on the northern outskirts – on a downhill stretch (after one of those pesky short sharp climbs) – I saw a Boston Terrier being walked. Great excitement – but impossible to stop – shooting downhill at just over 50 kph on a wet ”curbed” road on a bike – stopping and pulling off out of traffic’s way is difficult. And of course - for about the only time of the entire day 3 or 4 cars had been on the same stretch of road as me! It was a shame really – one of those serendipity at work moments – seeing a Boston Terrier when biking through an area where my best friend who I met through a mutual association with this breed of dog used to live!!!!
Oh well – we enjoyed playing with Bronson – a staffy – at the B&B that evening. His favourite “toy” was an old motorbike tyre ……. hugely funny and entertaining “Mr Tough Guy” with it …….. I just hoped he didn’t fancy my bike tyres during the night!!!
