Hipsburn to Druridge Bay and back

 

The NCN1 cycle path along the Northumberland coast is fairly level. I'm not keen on hills, so for me that's part of the appeal. But the off-road section between Lesbury and Warkworth is 30m or so above sea level. That means a short climb from the River Aln at Lesbury. Then at Warkworth the route drops to cross the River Coquet, rises to pass the Castle, then drops again to river level on the way to Amble.

This is a regular route for me, and on a return jouney, that means there are four climbs to negotiate. These days I expect to manage the climb at Hipsburn without getting off and pushing. But until today I've never managed all three at Warkworth. So it was a highlight on today's ride to manage all four climbs on this route without getting off and pushing. That's the first time I've done it.

There was a noticeable wind today, but it was blowing mostly from the west, and quite gusty. So not a great problem in practice. 

At the end of March I've reached my highest monthly mileage this year. Neither my frequency of rides, nor my average speed is quite where I hoped, but both have increased. As well as the successful climbs, today's ride has bumped up my Eddington Number. The sun shone, and the air was warmer than it has been recently. So a very pleasant day.