One real, and one virtual ride

My brother visited us for the weekend. He brought some cycling clothes, and the two of us managed to get out for a couple of rides. One of them was just to check that my spare bike was in good working order. That one is hardly worth counting. This morning we were a bit (not much) more ambitious.

Nice views, fine weather, quiet roads, and good company made for a very pleasant ride of a couple of hours. However, both of us are a bit out of practice. We went further than we had planned but not quite as far as the coast.

After lunch my brother left us to head home. At that point I could have worked on reducing our long list of things that need to be done. On reflection, my wife and I decided that it made a lot more sense to go for a walk along the coast instead.

We headed north of Boulmer, and followed part of the coastal path, which here doubles as National Cycle Route 1. This part of the path runs past a series of lovely, secluded sandy bays. There are views up the coast to Dunstanburgh castle, and quite a variety of of sea birds to watch.

It's more than two years since I cycled this way. It's a lovely ride, and now we don't live so far away I should be able to ride it more often. But having said that, this part of the path is also a pleasure to walk. It's slower on foot of course, and you can't cover as much ground as you can on a bike. But it's easier on foot to get down to the beach, splodge through the sand and scramble over the rocks.

In brief, today I've fitted in both a nice ride, and a nice walk. I've seen several different types of seabird that I cannot name, And I've recalled a good ride from a couple of years ago. That adds up to a pretty successful day. Oh, and I also set up our new phone. The rest of the to-do list will wait.