Cycling Trips

Because of my interest in history, this trip along the ancient roman defensive line in the north of England had been on my bucket list for a long time. Finally, in 2023 I had an opportunity to go to Amsterdam to join a cruise and I decided to go early and make this trip with a UK bicycle tour group out of Newcastle.   September 28 I took a one hour flight from Amsterdam to Newcastle UK.  Conveniently the Metro light rail line from the airport took me to my destination - Whitley Bay on the Western North Sea coast.  Where I stayed the evening in a BnB next to the beach.  Whitely Bay is a lovely seaside village where I was surprised to find one of the best Turkish Restaurants for dinner.  Whitely Bay     September 29 I slept until 9:30 - still recovering from my jet lag, checked out of my hotel, walked one block, and checked into the official hotel for the bike tour.   It was a lovely mostly sunny day.  The town of Whitbey Bay has a beautiful paved promenad

This trip in 2023 was  from Portland, Oregon to Bothell, Washington (just north of Seattle).  The weather forecast for the week looked perfect for a bike ride.  I loaded my small paniers with a few essentials and left home in Portland for the 226 mile ride north.   Map Link  (leaves Blogger and connects to Komoot) September 9 I hit the road at 7:45 am on a cool and clear morning and headed north toward the Columbia River crossing at the I-205 bridge.  The bridge has a nice protected bike lane right down the center.  With four lanes of rush hour traffic going 70 mph on both sides of me it was certainly an adrenaline rush.  Once on the Washington side, the route with wide shoulders headed west through the eastern suburbs of Vancouver, Washington and then hooked into the Burnt Bridge cycle trail.  Much of this trial wound through nice forested areas.  Just before the I-5 freeway I turned north on Old Highway 99.  This was generally a comfortable ride with shoulders until the town of Ridge