minus one, plus one, minus one

Statue in Durham
see all photos »

This leg of the trip really started when we left York. Parting

ways with Nate was harder than we thought, but we were energized thanks

to the prospect of scotland and the addition of a new member -

Sam. A mere 14 miles outside of York Tony's bike got its first

Champagne celebrated sunset
see all photos »

flat, to make the matter even more difficult it was on the back tire,

not so bad, unless you're talking about a Dutch Cruiser. With our

combined ingenuity we repaired the flat and got ourselves a garden to

stay in. It was obvious that Sam was having second thoughts about

the Trio's last stand
see all photos »

joining our insane adventure but I slept worry-free. We woke to

tea provided by our hostess and repaired a few more things on Tony's

bike before packing up. As we were doing so Sam mumbled something

and pushed his bike out of the garden, we didn't give it a second

thought, assuming he was just going to meet us out at the road.

We loaded our bikes and made our way onto our chosen route, look left,

look right, no sign of our new friend. After piecing together

what we'd both interpreted from his mutterings we gathered that he

decided to retreat to a more comfortable lifestyle. We rode

forward, now just the two of us to Thirsk, only 7 miles away, where we

scrounged some breakfast and powered forward. A good 54 mile ride

landed us near a river in Durham just in time to witness an amazing

sunset, enjoyed alongside a bottle of champagne to celebrate our

continued success. The morning brought a bit of sun and a large amount of

busking. I'm still uncomfortable performing in front of others,

but it was here that I learned some tricks of the trade - look up, make

eye contact, laugh at yourself and interact with your innocent

bystanders whenever possible. I ended up scoring us two free

ice cream cones and a taste of english money.

After seeing the Cathedral we biked 20 miles north to

Newcastle. I swear it was the longest 20 miles I've ever ridden,

who knows the reason for it, but it felt like it was never ending and

all up hill, it's possible it was just leftover pain from the 54

miller the day before. Either way, we made it to Newcastle, safe

and sound.