For today's ride I drove to Ashington, took the new Northumberland Line Train to Newcastle then rode back to Ashington Station - mainly along NCN72 (Hadrian Cycleway) and NCN1 (Coast and Castles).
As the train left Ashington there was light rain, but by the time it arrived in Newcastle the sun was just about breaking through. The rain held off until the ride was over and I was in the car heading for home. The sun didn't last though. By the time I reached Whitley Bay there was quite a dense sea fret.
I anticipated the Sunday Market on Tynemouth Station, which provided a good choice of fast food for lunch. I should have anticipated the Sunday Market on Newcastle Quayside. That was really busy, which was nice, but it slowed progress for a while.
I then discovered that my maps of this part of the National Cycle Nework are out of date. There have been some significant improvements since the last time I rode this route. The result was that I drifted away from the correct path on several occasions. Initially I was inclined to blame gaps in the signage. On reflection, a more positive perspective would be to think of this as a great route, with plenty of interest to explore. I have a perfect excuse to repeat the adventure and update my mapping.
Without the unplanned diversions I had expected a ride of just over 30 miles. In practice I covered just over 33 miles. I arrived home tired, but happy after a very satisfying day.
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