Newcastle is Diane's home city and she was born there, as was her sister. Hull is Gene's home city but, unlike his three brothers, he wasn't born there, because his mam was following his dad's ship home port to home port during World War II. Results: (a) Gene was born in Dovercourt, Essex and (b) his Yorkshire born parents and siblings never tired of reminding him. Gene can't have been long in Essex. He briefly sojourned, (baby-style), elsewhere, (e.g. Portsmouth), then came "home" to quickly learn that 'ull has no H on the front.
Strictly speaking, as in deadly serious, the "cute" title up there should read "The Trails To Two Cities". There are two of D/G, two cities and therefore two trails, different trails, which Diane with her in depth ancestry whatsit has shed light on. Were D's/G's ancestors hanging about in Newcastle/Hull many yonks ago, if not where did they come from? D&G must work (walk) backwards to follow and find the trails.

Be patient!

WNBR coming

Going back only a couple of generations or so it seems that the trails run out into, (or come from), Northumberland, The Midlands, The East Riding, Lincolnshire and Scotland. Not surprising really, although it could turn out that going back further might reveal ancestors in Newcastle/Hull of dinosaur days.
* Clifford's dad is a mystery. He might have been a Newcastle lad of Newcastle and nowt else for all D&G know.
** Diane has info for 4 more generations here; John's dad (David), his dad (Jonah/Jonas), his dad (David) and his dad (William). The births of the first three were East Riding near(ish) Hull, William was born 1745 in Sutton, which is Hull. Was Sutton a suburb of Hull when the Jacobites were kicking up a fuss? Hardly matters, but without discounting Diane's dad's dad's potential, it looks as if Gene's mam's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad's dad is the furthest backest known link to a home city ..... until Gene cocked it up by getting born in Essex!

Newcastle-Gateshead WNBR 2nd July 2016 (N-G's first WNBR)
"Howay Man!" Diane mighta said, "What's gannin' on? An aal buff Geordie bike ride!" She mighta said that, but didn't and, unless she piles it on, doesn't have a Geordie accent, which is what that's supposed to be. D&G wouldn't normally "do" an inaugural WNBR, (Ya nivver naa, dee ya?), but this was Diane's home city, England's northerliest WNBR & Cumbria do-able dead easy in a there 'n' back day.

D&G's nearest WNBR, their first 1st, would be the first they'd "do" minus sunglasses, (nowt to do with the weather), but less frivolously their first entering a town in one county * from a city in another. [* County Durham from Northumberland, provided you ignore 1974's Tyne and Wear nonsense]. It gets better! How many WNBR's start in the Barbarian North, enter the Roman Empire, exit it and then re-enter to finish safely inside? You better believe it. Newcastle-Gateshead's WNBR crosses Hadrian's Wall, (as in line of), three times! Wow!

Route (published before the ride)

Northumberland Road - College Street - St Mary's Place - John Dobson Street - New Bridge Street West - Blackett Street - Grainger Street - Nelson Street - Clayton Street - Newgate Street - Grainger Street - Westgate Road - Neville Street - Clayton Street West - Newgate Street - Bigg Market - St Nicholas' Street - High Level Bridge - High Level Road - Wellington Street - West Street - Jackson Street - High Street - under subway to East Street - Oakwellgate - St Mary's Square - Cannon Street - Church Street - Bridge Street - Swing Bridge - Sandhill - Quayside - Millennium Bridge - Baltic Quay
Hadrian's Wall Crossings
1. N-S Westgate Rd. entering Neville St.
2. S-N Crossing Westgate Rd. on Clayton
St. West before Clayton St.
3. N-S In St. Nicholas' St. just after junction
with Westgate Rd. just before the Castle.
River Tyne Crossings
1. N-S High Level Bridge.
2. S-N Swing Bridge.
3. N-S Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
A pity the route didn't cross the Tyne Bridge. It passed under the approach viaduct (south) and the main span (north) sides of the river. D&G biked over the Tyne Bridge after the WNBR.

HULL hasn't got a naked bike ride, so what has it got to do with WNBR and simply what has it got? First question's answer's easy. Hull has bike riding in common with WNBR. In 2016 it also has naked in common with WNBR, which is why it's on this page, but it doesn' have naked and bike riding together. If ever it does D&G will hope to "do" a Hull WNBR. Hull used to be known as UK's Cycling City. Back in G's youth everybody travelled by bike. School and factory bike shed acreage made car parks look like puncture patches. Not much G doesn't know about cycling, as in necessity, not t'other fancy stuff. Hull has loadsa other other stuff too, most of it predating 2016 nudity. Cycling's in the LAND, as in flat. For other other stuff, as in selection of, go to SEA and SKY, but not in that order.
SKY (whence Air Raids) Gene's childhood backcloth was a WW2 bomb ravaged neighbourhood, two years ongoing, then three of aftermath until his parents relocated from the blast modified dwelling they'd been lucky enough to secure as their first family home. Abandoning infancy, adolescently travelling the city's wholesale ruin, G's eye was to the lure of the future, as Hull quietly resurrected itself. Parental, grandparental tales of nightly sirens, dark brick shelters, or tardy sub-kitchen table refuge went semi-heard over G's head, as the '60's beckoned and R&R released a new age. Only later did G recognise Mam & Dad's zero chance of R&R equivalent, later still their city's heroism. London? Coventry? Yea ... read all about it! Read the instead unread too. Hull was the most severely bomb-damaged UK city after London and proportionately topped the list. And despite the F-ing awful, deafening, Baldrickian Boom! Boom! Boom! It was all done on the quiet!

Loadsa links ya could follow. Wiki's a good place to start.... after bike of course

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Click the Hull Blitz Bomb Map link and go to Section 16, which is where Gene lived 1943-1948. Personalised bombing in Marfleet just west of Marfleet Ave. G, parents, grandparents, uncle et. al. lived about 1 cat's cock hair * from the cross-shaded open circle, (CSOC), which represents a F-ing hugeous parachute-descending mine. When CSOC went off Grandad Robinson was holding the snecked handle of the planked back door. After-blast saw Grandad R trans-house at the front door still holding the rear's snecked handle, partly planked! (And you think you've been on a fairground ride!) Robinson residence(s) was/were in the more westerly of the two small map cul-de-sacs on the Luftwaffe's Wish List. But the buggers missed and here G is! G's first school is a little to the east in Marfleet Lane.
* G normally uses abbreviation 1cch. But this is serious!
SEA The Luftwaffe's unerring, Hull bomb-site fashioning bombsight was the Humber, the wide briny highway that created Hull in the first place. It's all there on Naughtycal ... G's kidhood memory version of it at least. (Go via Menu 'cos no link provided; to do so would require a return link from BBB-innocent to BBB) ... but ... with a tug-link here, a trawl-link there, here a link, there a link, everywhere a lost link as in not what it once marinely was and G's last link after leaving Hull early '60's (his early '20's), post family exodus, in-law departure and a solitary '92 Humber Bridge Marathon, one long lost Dad's side cousin, Susan, 2013 reunited after 40+ years. And then came Spencer Tunick.

SEA OF HULL Saturday 9th July 2016 Spencer Tunick brought his camera all the way from America to take pics of Diane and Gene (plus a few others) wearing nowt but body paint. Ferens Art Gallery commissioned Spencer, who'd done this sorta thing before, 'cos Hull would be City of Culture 2017. D&G joined 3198 others in Queen's Gardens well before 3.00am ready to cover their naked selves in blue/green and it wasn't gonna be the warmest morn of the summer. Didn't rain though and by 7.30am Spencer had completed his biggest UK "installation" to date ... pics in various street locations around Alfred Gelder Street and on Scale Lane Footbridge swinging open into a nippy draught up the Hull from the Humber. D&G returned to Queen's Gardens to find their clothes still there, but before putting them on they took a pic or two to prove it wasn't just a dream. Then back to their Travelodge for a kip, after three showers each had removed most of the paint. SEA OF HULL - Spencer's artistic installation. 5 clickable pics - D&G Queen's Gardens post SEA - colour B1.

THE HUMBER BRIDGE Opened in 1981 at 7280 feet, (also available in metres), was the world's longest single span suspension bridge for 16 years. Central span 4640 feet, or 1.05 Ben Nevises (approx). Note - G isn't just old, he's old fashioned too and likes to stick to 4406 ft for Ben Nevis. Looks good against HB's 4640 ft but 2016 gives 4414 ft for

Ben Nevis, which makes bugger all difference to 1.05. The bridge spans the Humber from Hessle (pronounced 'ezzle) to Barton-upon-Humber, (or t'other way if y' like), but if it doesn't belong to Hull G won't eat his hat, 'cos somebody else sure will. One of our lad Spencer's (American) helpers confirmed it post SEA OF HULL Scale Lane pics, pre Queen's Gardens B1 pics (above) when he said to G, "Ya know that big bridge you guys gad over here?" ("The Humber Bridge.") "Yea. Well it's right there." (On the Lincolnshire side?") [puzzled look] "Ya gadda cross it." All this because D&G's first ken of SEA OF HULL mentioned a second (smaller) 10th July "installation" in North Lincs and it required not a genius to guess - Humber Bridge. The answer to G's post Scale Lane enquiry stated - Humber Bridge, Barton as in Lincs.