@@Balecart Thanks for commenting. I'm not fixated on doing big mileages but I am hooked on going places, seeing the countryside change and then emerging somewhere that is completely different to where I started. This year I've been enjoying Youth Hostelling again; As well as the lowish prices, I really like socializing after the ride with other people who are enjoying travelling. Bike packing has transformed my cycling , and having a journey to complete gives a nice sense of making progress while challenging myself a bit. If you fancy it, do have a go and don't worry too much about having the right stuff!

Thank you for the nice comment and for your concern about my poor knee which is very kind and wise! I'll just take this opportunity to say that this video should come, chronologically, before the "Short Ride from Boston" video which I edited quickly because I wanted to see how I could fit in shots from the drone and then uploaded out of sequence because it was ready (I have quite a backlog of editing for trips in the summer which I hope to work on in the winter). Anyway - the injury really happened on this trip to Yorkshire although I had probably done damage over the previous couple of weeks. I gave it a week or two of rest with no cycling at all before the Short Ride video - but that Short Ride persuaded me to rest it for longer. Since then I have been building it back up with more miles and more hills - I think it is ok now but I'm still going slowly and listening for any hint of pain from the tendon, and so far it seems ok. Anyway, thank you for your nice comments which I always appreciate, and thank you for watching! A

@@glyn829Yes, lovely ride. Glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting!

@@essextrails Thank you for your kind thoughts! Yes, it seems that, unfortunately, we have a bit of built in obsolescence! But I don't intend to let it get the better of me yet, even if it does slow me down, which it has! I posted this video partly because the knee problems I inflicted on myself in this ride have affected my approach and performance on my subsequent trips - it is part of my story - the context for what follows. But I'm pleased to say that I have been back in the saddle and there have been some lovely rides (videos in production) even if the statistics are less impressive because I am taking more care in order to promote healing! And, I agree - this was a nice ride: a real joy despite the pain! If it was always easy, would it seem so worthwhile? Thanks again!

@@davidwalsh566 Thanks, that's good! I hadn't heard of the Eliot quotation - it's very apt; perhaps I should adopt it as a motto although right now a bit less risk-taking would probably be a good idea! Your nice comments are much appreciated! Thanks for watching!

@@dooley-ch Thanks for the tip on Voltarol. Yes, it was a nice trip, despite the knee trouble. Thanks for watching and commenting!

You're right! But there is so much I still want to do! However, this trip was a case of matter over mind rather than the other way round! Thanks for watching, and for reminding me of my age!

@@Captain_Lockheed My pleasure! Thanks for the nice comment!

@@tfluffybunny Thank you. This autumn seems to have had a lot of grey weather, and some strong winds too at times. I can finish in the dark even WITH an early start! The knee seems to be responding to a bit of rest! Thanks for your kind wishes, and your nice comment!

@@essextrails Thanks for that. The Neo does have a good combination of price and simplicity - until I came across it, I thought a drone would be too time consuming to use and too expensive - the technology and software is astonishing now, and I guess that DJI must be pricing the Neo keenly for high sales volumes. I have heard that the X1 has its advantages though! One does see a lot of unlit bicycles - often ridden by people in dark clothing. It would be so easy to start ranting against cyclists based on what I have seen - just as it's easy to rant against motorists because of the conduct of a small percentage. Thanks for the nice comment!

@@davidwalsh566 Thank you for the nice comment. It would be nice to think that cyclists didn't cause danger on the roads, but of course careless cyclists do - these had no lights and completely disregarded the rules of the road, expecting other traffic to see and keep clear of their unpredictable actions at a junction which has very poor lines of sight and little room to manoeuver. Unfortunately the reputation of all cyclists ends up tarnished by the behaviour of a few and that devalues our requests for more consideration and better facilities. Thanks for watching, and happy cycling!

@@johnm-wv6bo I can't even work Alexa, so I have a steep learning curve with anything new! Thanks for the nice comment!

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge you did a great job with the drone, were you using the phone app to control some of the flight or do you have the controller ?.

I don't have the controller. A lot of it was just palm control - for follow, spotlight and helix. But I used the mobile control for the high shots, and to position the drone for some of the spotlight shots. It's a lot easier than tramping through nettles to position a camera, and the height gives a better view of the landscape - not that there's much landscape in this area!

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge thought you did a great job with the drone looking forward to some videos of your trip.

@@johnm-wv6bo Thanks. I'll do my best. I've actually got a bit behind with editing videos so I have quite a lot of non-drone "episodes" to stick together. It was viewing the rather disappointing footage (often due to lack of places to fix the camera) from some superb locations which made me think a drone could be helpful in future. I'll see what I can do!

Thanks for the nice comment. I'm glad you liked the video! I think the other movie had rather different subject matter, and possibly got more views!

I'll try to oblige, but I think it will take me quite a while - especially if we keep getting good cycling weather! Thanks for watching the slideshow and for commenting; I really do appreciate the encouraging feedback!

@@dooley-ch Thank you! And thank you for watching!

@@johnm-wv6bo It really was a terrific trip. I wish I had started doing this sort of thing years ago! Thanks for watching my video, and also for your nice comment!

@@stevenorris575 Thanks for that comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope I will be able to produce some nice videos. Trouble was, a lot of the time I was too tired to go to very much trouble over the filming, but I'll do the best I can! Be patient though!

I guess I must have, all unwitting! It was such a steep climb from the village to the moors that, so late in the day, I pretty much fell over and fell asleep where my energy ran out!

@@brianwheater2497 Thanks for your nice comment! It was a difficult trip, but a wonderful experience.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It really was a great experience even though I lacked both the fitness and skill to ride as much as I'd have liked. The Peak District has some beautiful places hidden away for you to discover. Thanks for the lovely comment. I hope you enjoy your rides!

Yes, I try to give just enough time, but I realize some were a bit too brief! It's a balance, trying to keep the video moving, but giving time to see the text. Thanks for commenting!

@@vincentcausey8498 That was in Roych Clough which was a lovely place. What the video doesn't show is that I had to get off and push the rest of the way up. While I was collecting my camera 2 real mountain bikers passed me - they weren't phased.by the climb at all and were chatting as they pedalled on upwards! Thanks for watching. You must have stuck it out to the end: Hero Award 1st class! And thanks for the nice comment!

@@essextrails That's very nice of you! But I saw what proper mountain bikers can do, and by comparison I'm just a bloke who pushes his bike up hills and sometimes rides it down them if it's not too bumpy. But I really enjoyed doing the best I could - when things came together the feeling was just the best! Thanks for watching, and for your nice comment which is much appreciated!

I have really enjoyed my trips around the Peak District this year - I would recommend it to anyone. There are some lovely routes on railway paths - the High Peak, Tissington and Monsal trails which are easily rideable for most people (I have several videos which include sections of them) and there are lots of other road routes as well as footpaths if you fancy a walk. As you say, the scenery is fabulous!

Thank you for that. It certainly was an exhausting ride for me, and it widened my cycling experience disproportionately to its mileage or duration. I do need to cut down the weight carried - but just having a better idea of what to expect will help, as will not having the wrong GPX file! I quite enjoyed the experience of being a bit "out of my depth". I hadn't heard of the Sandstone Way, but I've looked it up and am quite excited about having a go. It's a fabulous area and I'd love to explore it off-road. Thanks for your thoughtful comment once again!

That is so very true! Where I come from we only do flat; a "hill" is anywhere you won't get wet feet when the tide comes in. But I enjoyed all these ups and downs, at least in retrospect!

Thank you! That is useful information. I may not be able to ride like a mountain biker, but if I have the right jargon I can at least sound like one! Gnarly! Yes, I'll remember that!

Thank you; I'm glad you liked it. That must have been an epic trip in 1968. There are lots more cycle routes now, but I wonder if, in 1968, the road to the lighthouse at Cape Wrath may have been a little better than it is now?

​@@ra5585I suppose it was epic, but at 17 it was "just a tour" in those days. I think it embedded the "Adventure Gene" into me (for which I'm massively grateful). You may not be aware that in the 1960s, a "Cycling Weekly" writer, Rex Coley, created the Cape Wrath Fellowship. I still have the badge sewn on to my old Carradice saddle bag, and even the Certificate somewhere!

Thanks. I wonder what adventures that gene took you on? I am aware of the Cape Wrath Fellowship, but I had no idea how or when it started. I should think it was a lot harder even to get to the start of the trail in the 1960s, and so really only for those who were prepared to make an effort. And, of course, you got there the hard way! The ride to Cape Wrath was a big highlight on our trip - much more so than John O'Groats. The first time I went there was just a year before the trip in the video and the mist came down as I rode across the peninsula and made it feel very atmospheric and lonely and bitterly cold! A great place to visit!

@@tfluffybunny Yes, I take your point! As material for a KZbin video this tour just didn't have enough disasters! Next time perhaps! The beauty, greenness and peace of the countryside surprised us both, especially considering how many towns and cities were nearby. Thank you for commenting!

Thanks for the nice comment. It did take a surprising amount of time to produce, but I enjoyed reviewing and sharing the trip and I am really glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the feedback!

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a nice little trip in countryside that was much nicer and quieter than I had expected.

Thank you!

Yes, worth every bit of it!

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it and thanks for commenting. One of my big takeaways from this trip was how enjoyable it is staying in Youth Hostels. And you don't have to be youthful and hardy these days which is good as I am no longer either of those things! I hope to be doing more Hostelling in future!

Thanks for all your supportive comments through this series. I hope I shall be able to bring you some more videos soon. In the meantime, happy cycling and walking!

Thank you so much for that nice comment! I'll do my best to oblige before too long! Thank you for watching all the way through and for your supportive comments!

"The good weather is just over the horizon", and there it has stayed for most of the winter and spring! We can but hope! I'm glad you liked the series. Thanks for commenting! Enjoy your cycling, or canoeing!

Alas, this time cycling didn't cure my back - but it doesn't seem to make it any worse either and time seems to be the best healer on this occasion. There weren't really any close shaves on the tour - apart from the blue-jacket guy and we just laughed about that. There were one or two ( and probably no more than that) close passes on roads (mainly when I was not riding far enough from the kerb to occupy my lane) but on the whole drivers were very considerate and seemed to be responding to the structures of the latest highway code, and I always try to make it easy for drivers who politely hang back to get past when the opportunity arises. Thanks for watching the series! I'm hoping to produce some more videos before too long, but first I need to go for a bike ride or two!

I guess even sloths can go fast with gravity - by the bottom of the hill I had forgotten what the pedals were for! No, sorry - no church visit in Edmundbyers; to be honest the thought of a nice hot shower was eclipsing thoughts of anything more adventurous, and the only sign I was looking for was the one that said "Youth Hostel"! It was a very nice hostel - I recommend it highly! Thanks for continuing to watch; I really appreciate your nice, thoughtful comments.

Thank you! I did not know that!

Thank you. I'm really glad you've enjoyed them. Thanks for letting me know - they did take a long time to edit so it's really nice to receive feedback like yours. Thanks!

It was a great ride. For navigation I used a Garmin. My route planning tends to begin on the OS app, identifying the SUSTRANS routes, then a mix of Komoot (which is usually great for finding cycle routes in towns and others that OS doesn't show) and also OS which is good for identifying roads I want to keep off and paths I particularly want to follow, including rights of way. Sometimes I am lazy and only use Komoot, but I don't always agree with its choices and its maps are so unclear that I often don't realize what it's done! I like paper maps, but I would need a trailer to put them all in on a long tour! Thanks for your kind comment. It's nice to hear that you've enjoyed them.

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge thank you , yes a lifetime of touring and I still feel happiest with paper maps, these days we don’t mail them home after we come to the end of the sheet …. Maps and post charges have certainly risen since 1970!

@@ianseddon9347 My inspiration usually comes from a paper map - even now they still have a place. You can see both a large area and a useful scale for routing on a paper map. Using a Garmin you can ride right past something you'd like to visit that's just one street away, because you see only your route and not your surroundings.

Thanks. I am not really much of a gear expert. I bought Carradice panniers for 2 reasons - the durability of the cotton duck and the rear pockets on the rear panniers which are great for milk/water etc which you buy for your evening camp (I bought them to replace 40 year old Karrimor ones which had similar pockets which I used a lot). But the Carradice rear panniers are huge which means easy to overload, and I really feel the windage! I have had more use recently from the front ones used on the rear of various bikes - but now I have nowhere for all those extra bottles to go (I've just bought some fabric bottle carriers from Decathlon to try this year). They are reasonably good at keeping out water but I pack a lot of my stuff in dry-bags because they aren't completely waterproof in hours-long rainstorms - unlike some Ortlieb models. I was amused last year when I was in France and another cyclist came up and without hesitation spoke to me in English - he could see my surprise and said "Carradice, so I knew you were British!" I also use saddlebags to keep waterproofs, lunch, tools etc in so I don't end up opening a pannier in a thunderstorm! My saddlebags are by Carradice too - I still have a synthetic one from 50 years ago! Size-wise, the front bags are perfect for hostelling or minimalist camping, but now I have a bike with a strong rear carrier I may start using the proper rear panniers on very long trips.

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge Thanks! That is exactly the kind of feedback I needed. At 60 I still tour on my Dawes Super Galaxy that I bought here in Switzerland over 30 years ago!!! I'm Irish by birth and Swiss by choice ;-)

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it!

The Hadrian's Way part of the route was really nice - especially considering how industrial the area used to be. I never got to the Wall this time but I've ridden and walked along it in the past and it's quite an experience! And I'm so glad I have rediscovered Hostelling - yes, do give it a go! On my first hostelling overnight this year I took my sheet sleeping bag, just in case, but things are much more luxurious and convenient now! But the YHA network has some big gaps because of the cut-backs.

Thank you! That's nice. I find that going on a bike ride, seeing and experiencing things on the way, is a mentally soothing experience - it would be nice if the videos have captured some of that. Thanks for your nice comment!

Thank you!