The Day Before....

A list of jobs to do in preparation for leaving home for the next 4 to 5 months - birthday cards to write, presents to wrap, cars to be SORNed, insurances to be changed to minimum cover for the vehicles, tax bill to be paid in advance, library books to be taken back, fridge and freezer to be defrosted, house to be 'put to bed', etc etc, new notebook computer to take with us on the trip to be checked out - and see what Windows 7 is like - made more difficult because I've been using a Mac now for the last 6 months..... I've downloaded the Kindle software onto it and 4 books - so will see how easy it is or isn't to read them from the notebook in a tent.

Mum staying with us a couple of nights, so due to house ongoing 'house remodelling' she's in the one and only usuable bedroom and we're downstairs using our camping stuff, sleeping on the floor. I'm definitly getting old and decrepit in the joint department.

The 8 panniers, 2 top boxes, 2 bags (go on the back of the bikes above the back panniers) and a small rucksack are more of less packed.

Mum is driving us to Hebden Bridge station tomorrow morning. As a purist I would have liked to have cycled there from home - but I do concede to Roger that we have a timed train ticket so need to make sure we catch the train - and honest it's nothing to do with the very long and steep hill between Bacup and Todmorden (the Lancashire Yorkshire border)...

So, it's train to York and then change to get onto the train to Aberdeen, arriving 9.15pm so have booked us a hotel room for the night for when we arrive - and warned them that we will have 2 bikes and panniers with us - have said they can go behind reception.

The plan is to spend either one or two days in Aberdeen - depends on the weather and what we find to do there, and then catch the ferry to the Shetlands. Roger persuaded me not to book the ferry tickets in advance - so hope they are not packed out due to the difficulties with air travel at the moment.

So, the start of the cycle trip will be the Shetlands, and then onto Orkneys. Can't get the ferryfrom the Orkneys to John O'Groats till 1st May, so will be on the islands till then at least.

This is my first blog post, so will see what it looks like now.