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!

Thank you for your nice comment! I am glad you liked the video - I can take no credit for the scenery but I enjoyed it at least as much as you did! My bike is a Thorn Nomad Mk2. I think it's quite an early one, around 2008 vintage but with very low mileage. I bought it early this year. It's heavy, but I think it would have been ideal for some of the tours I did last year, being strong, easy to service and able to carry a good load. I think SLOTHO was a good try out for us both on lots of different terrain, and we got on ok, albeit a bit slowly!

Absolutely! It just wouldn't have been a complete experience without the rain!

Thank you! It was a fantastic day for scenery. It sort of helped that the weather tried a bit of everything (except snow) as well.

Yes, I used a Garmin, and also Komoot for route planning. I recently installed the Komoot app for Garmin on the device which speeds up transfer of GPX courses to it, although I always used Garmin navigation on it because I am used to that. I did 2 tours in Europe last year: I ended up paying for all the extras on Komoot in order to be able to see the open cycle map routes as well as the Komoot route planning map (I felt that was a rip-off, but necessary as Komoot routing would often plan to take me off the Eurovelo routes I wanted to follow). If you're experimenting, the cycle.travel app may be worth a look and appears to be cheaper. They may also have some of the routes you want. I needed to economise on power consumption on my European tour as I was mostly camping there; my Garmin uses far less power than my phone when navigating even though it needs recharging on a long ride. I switched the phone to airplane mode most of the time which also saves a lot of power and data. I used phone navigation (with Google maps) for important stuff like finding a nearby shop or cafe and I usually have a phone holder on the handlebar for convenience on those occasions.

@RAsadventures-zr1ge wow thanks for all the info much appreciated. You are approaching it similar to how I am thinking so very happy not to be going in the wrong direction ( sorry about the navi pun). Like your bike set up too, also very similar to the one I am trying to build. I will look forward to seeing your trips in the future and thanks again. Off back to the UK for a few days on business. I think I will take the bike this time and try some routes from the Mother in laws 😊

I should just say that I'm no expert on this - other people must have far more knowledge and experience than me! I was a reluctant and late convert to electronic navigation - mainly due to the large number of maps I would have otherwise needed - but it saves loads of time too!

@RAsadventures-zr1ge perfectly understand. I sent my wife an SOS message from the Garmin last week without knowing. She was about to call the police. I am not also so the technical guy and still prefer the older methods but it is so convenient and gives you so many options. Kicking and screaming into the world of modern gadgets on an old steel bike😁

Edmundbyers was a really nice small hostel. It is now privately owned but can still be booked through the YHA. The locals were having a get- together in the "Baa" and snug with home baked food and they included me without hesitation. Apparently it's a regular Friday night event for them - in case that helps you plan your visit! I'd go back again to any of the hostels I visited, but the ones out in the countryside were most to my taste - just as they were when I hostelled as a teenager. There were quite a few other cyclists at Edmundbyers too.

I am not sure! I bought my Thorn Nomad (2008) 2nd hand and I don't have the specification. They look like the comfort bar to me but the only markings I can see are "Thorn" and "aluminium double butted". I don't think that is enough to identify the particular model. Sorry I can't be more helpful!

Thankyou for checking. I'm looking at these thorn mk2 comfort handlebars with 65mm rise online to solve my height issue .

@@mofmanp8874 I see! There has been some discussion of them on the Thorn forum, but I'm not an expert on bike parts or fitting so I'm not really the person to help you I'm afraid. I just know that what I have suits me OK, but that doesn't really help you, does it!

Ah nows nah! Thank you!

Thank you! Thanks for your comment!

My pleasure! Thanks for commenting!

I'm really glad you are enjoying these videos and it's good of you to take the trouble to say so. Thanks for your encouraging comment!

I'm really glad you liked it. Thank you for letting me know!

I shall be glad when I've finished the editing of them! But this has been a wonderful way of extracting even more pleasure from the rides too - triggering dozens of little memories of a wonderful tour. Hopefully there will be more videos to come in future, but for that to happen I will have to get out on the bike! Thanks for commenting!

Yes, it was! Thank you!

Thank you! Yes... at that point cake was definitely one of my 5 a day! As often happens on my rides, especially when I use a routing app, I discover what I have missed after I have missed it, and I didn't realize how significant Aldborough was until I reviewed the ride for this video. I probably wouldn't have stopped there though as I was a bit concerned about the end of the ride with rain and the last hill - neither of which was as bad as feared. Thanks for your nice comment, and thank you for watching my videos!

I'm very glad that you liked it. Thank you for your nice comment which I appreciate greatly!

Yes. That's something I seem to make a habit of isn't it? But I'm glad I crossed the moors in daylight - that was too good to miss! Thanks for watching and for your comment!

Thank you!

Yes, I certainly did! Thank you for watching, and for your nice comment!

Thank you. That is praise indeed!

I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for commenting!

Thank you!

Thank you. Although I am a bit slow, I do quite a few long rides (just under 100 miles) but they are fairly flat and I wasn't sure I would cope with the distance AND the hills. I did... but only just! I am glad you liked the video. Thanks for the nice comment!

My knees complain a lot. Trouble is I've learned that it's best NOT to ignore them. Still it was lovely to be out on a bike this morning here - I hope you had nice weather too.

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge I have EDS so all the bits and bobs hurt. Spent 10 years as a wheelchair user but now the knees can shush. Windy and a bit cold today but sunny. Perfect weather.

@@bobalinga It sounds like what you are doing is incredibly courageous. Well done, and take care of yourself! My aches and pains pale into insignificance, but it's great to know that the bike is permitting you to do so much! I hope you have sunshine and following winds on your travels... but I am guessing you'll make the best of the British summer weather anyway!

Thanks for that. Alas, I can't quite claim to have spanned the solar system due to my failure to visit Pluto! I agree with you about the Barnsdale ride video's bareness without text; there was a lot of historical detail I could have included (I mentioned some things briefly in the description) and without that it must feel a bit slow and hard to follow, especially as I included the crossing of the fens at both ends! I like the video, but it could definitely have been improved! The toughest day so far was 5a: 102 miles plus hills and also rather a warm day. That was the only time I felt I had reached my limit, although day 1 came close with its unwelcome steep climb at the end! 5b was not tiring and I deliberately kept my output down all day, knowing the next few days would have strenuous climbs. Nevertheless, my legs did feel very heavy the next day! Thanks for watching, and for your kind and encouraging comments!

I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for telling me so!

Yes, I have thought about voice-over, and I decided not to for various odd personal reasons but also because I think it would intrude and dominate too much. I would like watching the video to feel like going on a bike ride (which is a subjective experience) rather than being told about someone else's bike ride (which is objective and rather limiting). I try to make the videos nice to watch irrespective of the text - with the text just providing, I hope, an extra layer that is there if you want it. I appreciate that different people watch in different ways and what I have done suits some people better than others; when I watch other cycling videos I often keep stopping them to refer to maps or look things up, and I guess that is what suits me and may suit my videos too. I'm certainly still developing what I do with the videos and have done a lot of things I later see as wrong so maybe my approach will change! This video does have rather a lot of text in it, and that is something I am reflecting on. And I appreciate both the feedback and the kindly made suggestion! I am glad you liked the bridges! I was afraid my inner engineer had gone a bit over the top about them! Thank you!

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge no, thank *you* for going to the effort of putting your rides on KZbin, they are very relaxing....and if I can cycle half the distance you can when I get to your age I will be a very happy chap. 😊

Yes, it seems much darker when there are lights around too!

Sorry about the stills. I try to keep things moving; I worry about losing the pace, and just getting too long as well! Thanks for the feedback - I'll try and take it into account in the next one.

I wish I had the fitness you probably think I have! I am very slow. But I do have the ability to keep plodding slowly on. When I came back from my first very long tour I thought I would be really fit; I took all the bags off my bike and went to do my usual circuit: I was 3mph slower than before. And every year I get slower still! But thanks for your very nice comment!

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge I'm also slow but 50 to 60 miles in a day is my limit and no matter how often i ride i can not get any better. And to be honest the hills in the peak district where i ride are getting steeper i swear.

@@johnm-wv6bo 50-60 miles is a good ride in those Peak District hills! You'll see in later videos how much the hills cut my distances down. But the downhills are nice!

Wow! I hope you enjoy the video!

@@RAsadventures-zr1ge Thanks

Thank you for that. I'm working on it! I'm really glad you've enjoyed them!

In my home we learned to eat fast so you could be the first in the queue for second helpings! I also thought it would be nice to capture the movement of the clouds to illustrate the weather (I love seeing the way clouds bubble up and race across the landscape). Unfortunately most of my videos show rather flat grey skies!