Hello and good morning from Newcastle's Central Station, where I am waiting to get on the 955 to Kings Cross, stopping at only Stephenage, apparently, which is unusually fast and direct.

But, hey, listen, this isn't a podcast about trains, is it? It's a podcast about cycling, and I've got some cycling content for you today.

The reason that I was in Newcastle last night was because I was invited to the Wyland Brewery, which is an amazing converted brewery, building.

Well, it wasn't originally brewery, it now is.

Anyone in the northeast will know it, I think, pretty close to the city centre. And it was an event organised by my friends Helen and

Stan who run us and own and operate a series of independent bookshops in the north east, that

if you live up here you'll know forum bookshop in

Corbridge the bound bookshop in Whitley bay and their latest one the accidental bookshop which is

brilliant which they bought by mistake in Annick anyway they've been good friends and supporters for a long

time and they put an event last night where I came up and I was in

conversations so to speak with the with the legendary football

writer but also who's written some brilliant books about

well one brilliant book about Belgian cycling

called off the top of my head I think the Emperor the

Milkman and the Beast, is it?

By Harry Pearson.

Harry's a great guy who I've communicated with off and on for a number of years and I'd never

met in person until last night. Anyway, it was a foul night up in Newcastle, weather-wise,

last night, as it has been on this extraordinarily wet starts to life in the

United Kingdom throughout the country but that didn't stop hundreds of people coming along and

I think we enjoyed ourselves and basically I asked the guys who are mixing the sound to press record

so that I could share what we spoke about and what questions were asked and answered

...