Adventuring

Day 10 79 miles 870m ascent  Further heavy rain but a productive morning, lunch in Glasgow, then a few flat tyres & late arrival to Loch Lomond. Pressure was on this morning - A) for Greg not to be late B) for us to crack out the 57 miles to Glasgow for lunch (to meet my friend & get to Balloch not too late,  for some chill/exploration time). We were totally on it, & left by 0800 into the pouring rain, only this time I was wearing my raincoat ;). I've also had to ditch the water-resistant leg warmers for now, as they worked great except they were rubbing on the back of my knee giving me some sores, no matter how much cream I used (cycle touring is physically painful! ). This one road...forever, & ever,  & ever... It was pretty much the same road again this morning however, with some misty views of surrounding mountains, and lots of nice conversation which passed the time. Come mile 30 we had a 10 minute snack, & start...

Day 9 73 miles 1070m ascent 5h 25min 2724 calories A mixed day: leaving the northern Lakes, a stop in Carlisle, then crossing the border to endure a hard afternoon. Sadly due to my father being unwell, & having to share a double bed by mistake - his coughing fits/constant restlessness caused me to set up camp on the floor! It was a little hard,  & he did stand on me in the early hours...but other than that, it was a fine night's sleep! Breakfast at the B&B was lovely (compared to yesterday's), with the couple being helpful, chatty, & interested in what we were up to. I went into Keswick town to pick up Greg, who had stayed at the YHA, which by the way had the most legendary sounding receptionist (he had called all the town's restaurants to find somewhere vegan for Greg!). It was raining but we had all of our kit on, & continued up country roads, up a 3-summited climb  (which wasn't too bad). This gave us a view of the expansive flat...

Day 8 72 miles 1600m ascent 5h 54 min 3000 calories My favourite day by far! With a few hiccups along the way. Confrontation at breakfast, stunning scenery out of Bowland & into the Lakes, a maggot at lunch, & lots of rain but even more stunning views. Oh, & FIVE rainbows! Dad & I sat down to breakfast at 0800, and were greeted by a lady. I asked re: soya milk & she responded patronisingly, but that yes they had some. The coffee machine started leaking, & as I informed her she begun speaking down to me as I must have been doing something wrong/was an idiot (until she realised it had just started pouring everywhere by itself & I was trying to help). My breakfast order was taken with rolled eyes and further appalling responses. As she was joking with the table next door, it became clear she randomly had an issue with me. Normally I'm too nice & tolerant,  but there becomes a point where I need to show some self-respect, so I spoke to her...

Day 7 64 miles 4h 50min 1283m ascent 2600 calories Today was a shorter day up through urban Lancashire and into the AONB - the forest of Bowland. Greg's morning view (jammy sod!) We pushed our planned start back to 0830, & I went for the holiday Inn breakfast at 0800. I got a text from Greg saying he was here & on time for once... bless him,  actually 30min early! So sadly he had to wait. Dad was pretty stressed at the breakfast as 2 coach tours had arrived, making the buffet a bit of a fight for food, service, & to hear one another speaking. I reminded him that it would probably be the busiest place we'd be in for a while! Oh also the 2 chaps we had met on day 5 came over to me at breakfast! They were having to go home halfway, but wished me the best of luck & will be back next year to complete it. Anyway dad & Greg met, & we went on our way north of Runcorn,  leaving dad to have his chilled morning before his short motorbike ride to our...

Day 6 85 miles 5h 49 min 1020m ascent 3200 calories Goodbye to Carlos :( and towards my homeland to see the family! Fastest but flattest day yet! Gathered the troops at their camping bit of the hostel at 0800, obviously they weren't quite ready yet (tsk!), and heard about Carlos' "comfortable" night on the kitchen floor. Apparently a DofE teacher had gone in to borrow a pan & had had to step over him completely horrified - so Greg promptly informed him of Carlos the Great's accomplishments in a sort of 'don't you know who he is?!' way, resulting in the feeling of honour at having stepped over such a legend. Carlos' "towel", which doubles up as a bandana apparently  We got going 0830 & said our goodbyes & nos vemos', then Greg & I hammered out 30 miles in 2 hours, along the Welsh marches (& down one stunner of a downhill) into Shrewsbury. Coffee & vegan cake anyone? :D Firstly, however, we had ...

Day 5 55 miles 1170m ascent The shortest ride of the trip, but one of the most beautiful yet. Sadly was unable to sleep very well into the morning,  so awoke earlier than necessary, using the time to browse the Web & speak to my best friend (which is always nice!). I still managed to run 20 minutes late somehow... The guys arrived at my b&b, & we bid farewell to the lovely owner who wished us luck & gave us some homegrown apples for the day (how lovely!). Off we went in the morning sunshine through the city of Hereford, and then further onwards up the Welsh marches (between the English & Welsh border). By 11 pm we had reached our halfway point  (!), & it was still sunny - time to take a chill pill & enjoy this "rest day". We continued onto a town called Mortimer's Cross where a famous battle took place between the House of York & House of Lancaster in 1461. Awaiting us was the beer garden we envisaged, so Carlos ordered his ...

Day 4 68 miles 1300m ascent Today a Spanish long distance pro cyclist joined us, we met one of the Andrex puppies and had some great vegan grub in Bristol! We started with a lovely breakfast of muesli, nuts, fresh fruit & blueberry yoghurt at the vegan place, then we passed through some stunning open country lanes into the city of Wells. They have a nice gothic-style cathedral which we popped into, then we enjoyed coffees at a street market, & Greg met one of the original 8 Andrex dogs! This is Bentley :) This is the point where Carlos Mazon caught up to us. Carlos is a cyclist living in Bournemouth but comes from the Basque country. He specialises in ridiculous distances, at a ridiculous speed, with an hour or so's sleep along the roadside. Last year he came 2nd in a cycle race across America - 4200 miles in 20 days... (then just to sight see, rode the 900km up to New York!). My crazy best friend met him through a Facebook cycle group & told him about my...