Newcastle Sky Ride

Newcastle Sky Ride

It was a brilliant sunny day with blue skies over the river Tyne. At the last minute, we found out that there was an organised ride all around the Quayside at Newcastle, called the Sky Ride (obvious 'dodgy' sponsors!). So, we got up early and made our way down following the Ouseburn river and started the ride at the Hub Bike cafe by the Tyne Pub at the confluence of the Ouseburn and the Tyne. Here, we met up with friends and then set off for a brilliant 11Km figure of eight route down past the Millennium bridge, over the Swing Bridge into Gateshead, down towards Dunston and then back up to do the same over on the north side. It was fantastic as the roads were all closed off for the thousands of cyclists who engaged in the event. Sir Chris Hoy was present and was entertaining the enthusiasts, of all shapes, sizes and ages.

There were a few minor accidents, kids mainly who had come over the handle bars and got bloody noses, cuts and bruises. This is all a good learning experience for future bikers, as it is a fairly robust sport when you get into it and you do have to take a lot of care; especially with our pot holed roads these days.

This was a lovely picture when we got our 'freebies' bibs and bottles etc. Centre stage is Lounardo with our friends C and R.

It was a great day, and we will be back to follow up these routes along the Quayside and also further on to Wylam.....and beyond :)