so i thought i would do something a little different this weekend, me and a friend cycled into town and got the 07:05 train to southport with the aim of cycling back along the trans pennine trail - i figured it would be about 55 miles, the clock showed 60 miles at the end and that didn't include the trip into town
Southport was beautiful starting at the coast and then riding on cyle paths on road before hitting some large open plains on to sefton - we got lost around aintree - we followed the sign bu it took us along a canal path, that didn't feel right, so we left and rode up through the race course and rejoined the proper path...
this was the ace bit - the ride from aintree through liverpool down to speke was superb, i think it used to be trainline, but it was a great ride - perhaps lacking a view, but the trees and bridges kept us shaded.
Speke was a bit confusing, and a lot of broken glass - and one dodge looking underpass and loads of kids on wee scrambler bikes.
then suddenly into a ridiculously picturesque area, Hale, but at this point you have to ride on the road, down to widnes before hitting path again and coming down to the banks of the mersey
follow the mersey down to spike island and a rest in the shade - in the entire day we each drank
4l of water
1.5l of lucozade
1.5l of powerade
4 pints of coke
after a break it was onto warrington - the heat was becoming quite unbearable and at this point it was really beggining to hurt a lot, we were coming up to the 40mile mark, and i was riding with a rucksack that was breaking my shoulders.
Out of warrington and onto lymm, lymm to altrincham where we had to stop for pub lunch and pints of coke - i was in serious pain at this point, but a bit of food and it was back on the bike Altrincham, to stretford and we were back by the mersey, followed the mersey to stretford, where we were back on home turf, leave the mersey and ride into stretford, before leaving the road again to ride down into chorlton Ees and back home
A really fantastic day out, as i type i still have pins and needles in my hands and don't have full feeling back - i really need to get bar-ends for my bike. But it was worth it - a really great way to see the country.
We have talked about the remainder of the journey, manchester to Hull, but i honestly don't know whether i could do it - has anyone here done it? the hills scare me - the joy about southport to manchester was that it was so flat - hills would have destroyed me.
anyone else done it?
Southport was beautiful starting at the coast and then riding on cyle paths on road before hitting some large open plains on to sefton - we got lost around aintree - we followed the sign bu it took us along a canal path, that didn't feel right, so we left and rode up through the race course and rejoined the proper path...
this was the ace bit - the ride from aintree through liverpool down to speke was superb, i think it used to be trainline, but it was a great ride - perhaps lacking a view, but the trees and bridges kept us shaded.
Speke was a bit confusing, and a lot of broken glass - and one dodge looking underpass and loads of kids on wee scrambler bikes.
then suddenly into a ridiculously picturesque area, Hale, but at this point you have to ride on the road, down to widnes before hitting path again and coming down to the banks of the mersey
follow the mersey down to spike island and a rest in the shade - in the entire day we each drank
4l of water
1.5l of lucozade
1.5l of powerade
4 pints of coke
after a break it was onto warrington - the heat was becoming quite unbearable and at this point it was really beggining to hurt a lot, we were coming up to the 40mile mark, and i was riding with a rucksack that was breaking my shoulders.
Out of warrington and onto lymm, lymm to altrincham where we had to stop for pub lunch and pints of coke - i was in serious pain at this point, but a bit of food and it was back on the bike Altrincham, to stretford and we were back by the mersey, followed the mersey to stretford, where we were back on home turf, leave the mersey and ride into stretford, before leaving the road again to ride down into chorlton Ees and back home
A really fantastic day out, as i type i still have pins and needles in my hands and don't have full feeling back - i really need to get bar-ends for my bike. But it was worth it - a really great way to see the country.
We have talked about the remainder of the journey, manchester to Hull, but i honestly don't know whether i could do it - has anyone here done it? the hills scare me - the joy about southport to manchester was that it was so flat - hills would have destroyed me.
anyone else done it?
Keep posting up details of lanned trips: a real-life urban adventure could be on the cards. 
(where's me jumper?!)
