Nearly there.

Well, who would ever have thought that tomorrow they would see me setting off on an open ended cycling tour!

I'm not quite sure where the idea evolved from but after lots of research and lots of shopping, most of which I have to carry, tomorrow sees the start of my travels and at the moment I have no idea where the end lies.

I'm starting with a bit of a cheat and catching a train with my bike (bike goes free) from Leeds to Newcastle. I plan to cycle from Newcastle to Whitley Bay to spend my first night in a B&B. On Thursday morning the ride starts in earnest.

I'm not sure of anything much, apart from the fact that I'm lucky enough to have no time constraints. This means I'm not under pressure to complete huge daily distances and I'll have time to enjoy the ride. The first stage of my trip is along a well ridden route, the Sustrans 'Coast and Castles'.http://www.coast-and-castles.co.uk/ As I progress and my fitness and confidence improve I imagine I'll be able to predict what my daily mileage might be, initially I'm just keen to enjoy it, even if it is only ten miles or so a day.

I'm taking a tent with me; camping is also unexplored territory for me, I did a bit as Girl Guide aged about twelve! Living on a boat is a bit like camping, at least a tent stays still. I've pitched the tent in the garden and that went OK, wind and rain might make it a bit more of a challenge though. I plan to use both B&B, & hostel type accommodation according to weather & availability. I wouldn't really want to go too long without a hot shower, and I don't imagine those I meet along the way would like it either. I've tried out my camp stove too and that worked better than the electric kettle; I do need to develop my culinary one pot skills though.

I'm hoping I'll be disciplined enough to blog regularly and that this is the first of many entries, so watch this space and I plan to update this after tomorrow's journey.