To keep this adventure on track, July needs to be a busy cycling month. The magic spinner was spun as soon as we returned home from my ENE ride to Bridlington and the Yorkshire coast at Flamborough. This time the spinner came up NNW – a long ride to Cape Wrath in the wildest extremities […]
Category: Cardinal Spins
General posts about the 2024 Cardinal Spins adventure
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Cardinal Spins 4: ENE – Day 2
I returned to Bolton-upon-Dearne on a beautiful Monday morning in mid-July under a warm sun and the bluest of skies. This – for the moment at least – was much more like summer weather should be. And so – an hour’s train ride and 30 miles from home – my long ride to the Yorkshire […]
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Cardinal Spins 4: ENE – Day 1
The magic spinner chose East North East as the next ride out of Hathersage – and what the spinner dictates I must obey! That meant a ride of significantly more than 100 miles to the chalk cliffs of the Yorkshire coast at (in fact very slightly beyond) the resort town of Bridlington. In the now […]
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Cardinal Spins 3: SE – Day 3
On Tuesday, in a short break from cycling, Jenni and I went to the RHS flower show at Hampton Court Palace. It was a fabulous location for such a quintessentially British occasion and we had a lovely time, right down to taking afternoon tea among the rose displays. So far it is working quite well […]
The day began in Wellingborough in promising fashion, as all days in Wellingborough should. Breakfast at the Hind Hotel was an odd affair with an eclectic grouping of guests. The yoghurt and the bowl of Frosties were of the highest quality, the Eggs Benedict a little less so; but beggars can’t be choosers and it […]
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Cardinal Spins 2: NE – Day 2
I am a lover of maps, and OS maps in particular; but I’m not so excited by things like sat-navs or Garmins. I know they are extremely useful and very clever devices. I just don’t like to rely on them too heavily. So, when Richard’s Garmin tried taking the three of us towards a high […]
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Cardinal Spins 2: NE – Day 1
Hathersage to York along Trans-Pennine and Inter-stellar rail trails My magic spinner landed on north east, which meant a two day ride to the Yorkshire coast with an overnight stop in York. And for this, I was happy to be joined by two friends from regular annual cycling trips to Mallorca, Simon and Richard, who […]
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Cardinal Spins 1: SW – Day 4
I went to bed in Holsworthy knowing that the next day held the prospect of some very unpleasant weather. I was supposed to be cycling south west a further 90 miles to a village called Constantine, to get me within reach of Lizard Point on Friday morning. That would make today a full day’s ride […]
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Cardinal Spins 1: SW – Day 3
The Bristol Channel is a large – and very tidal – expanse of water that separates South Wales from the South West of England and it needed crossing to continue my (as yet carefully maintained) south westerly straight line. This was always going to be a significant challenge, since there are no ferries and I […]
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Cardinal Spins 1: SW day 2
Today’s ride was on the fringes of what was possible. I rode from Ironbridge in Shropshire to Porthcawl in South Wales – 129 miles and 7,550 feet of ascent. It was dry all day and very sunny for the last four hours! Breeze from the NW, so still cool; but good for cycling. This was […]