Day 5
This was a day we were all looking forward to and dreading.
Looking forward to as by now we were supposed to have "ridden in" and our bodies adapted to what we were asking them to do on a daily basis.
Dreading because of Shap which we were scheduled to hit at about 72 miles and was a 1400 foot climb over the next eight or so miles.
BADGERS
This mornings ride flew past and we made great time mostly by sticking to the route. The only time we went slightly off route Barry blamed on having put a route point three hundred yards down the road and the remainder blamed on Barry following the lady cyclist ahead of us.
Still we found a great little roadside cafe at about thirty miles and had a cup of tea there whilst waiting for the van to arrive as the team has managed to overtake it in Preston.
One amazing point here though was that we had gone through Preston in under two hours and I know from bitter past experience that it has taken me that log before on the M6 if you hit the wrong type of roadworks.
LANCASTER
Lancaster is a place that I know solely for the university. However, I now know if for the fact that it is "twinned" with five places. By my simple maths shouldn't that mean it is sextupleted? Although I was banned from considering this too much primarily because it was just pedantic.
We also found at this point that at times the Garmin does not have a great deal of respect for one way streets. This was highligted as I shouted to Richard to turn right and he replied "into three lanes of traffic??". Still, brave sole that he is, he did go across and we walked down the pavement instead.
LUNCH
We continued our search for lunch and eventually stopped at the Lakeside wildlife Oasis. Just in front of a school trip.
The lady who served us then provided a donation to the course after Mr Williams senior explained what it was we were doing and in advance of us leaving we were given two bags of biscuits which would provide a good source of energy for the next part of the day.
APPROACH
As we approached Shap the general approach of all of us changed. It went from an insurmountable monster to a hill the likes of which we had all done in multiple training rides.
We were not doing the tour de Cumbria and our time was only important to make sure we got dinner.
Even the rain didn't really dampen our spirit we just accepted it and continues at our steady pace.
Creating the final peak and seeing the van waiting ahead of us was a great feeling and the elation helped greatly for the descent to Penrith.
Barry getting us lost again with a mile to go didn't help but we eventually got to the travelodge at about 7.
MESSAGES
The messages of support we are getting are fantastic and we really appreciate the stuff we receive by text/Facebook etc. Sometimes a few small worlds can have a big impact.
In part, today's success can be attributed to a very moving message that the team received last night.
It nearly reduced three of us to tears but as we all avoided each others eyes there was a new resolve that we are doing this for a great cause.
 |
| Closest to Speedy we got all day |
This was a day we were all looking forward to and dreading.
Looking forward to as by now we were supposed to have "ridden in" and our bodies adapted to what we were asking them to do on a daily basis.
Dreading because of Shap which we were scheduled to hit at about 72 miles and was a 1400 foot climb over the next eight or so miles.
BADGERS
This mornings ride flew past and we made great time mostly by sticking to the route. The only time we went slightly off route Barry blamed on having put a route point three hundred yards down the road and the remainder blamed on Barry following the lady cyclist ahead of us.
 |
| Badgers for a cup of tea |
Still we found a great little roadside cafe at about thirty miles and had a cup of tea there whilst waiting for the van to arrive as the team has managed to overtake it in Preston.
 |
| Just a small hill in the center of Preston |
One amazing point here though was that we had gone through Preston in under two hours and I know from bitter past experience that it has taken me that log before on the M6 if you hit the wrong type of roadworks.
LANCASTER
Lancaster is a place that I know solely for the university. However, I now know if for the fact that it is "twinned" with five places. By my simple maths shouldn't that mean it is sextupleted? Although I was banned from considering this too much primarily because it was just pedantic.
 |
| Lancaster one way system was fun |
We also found at this point that at times the Garmin does not have a great deal of respect for one way streets. This was highligted as I shouted to Richard to turn right and he replied "into three lanes of traffic??". Still, brave sole that he is, he did go across and we walked down the pavement instead.
 |
| Lancaster is "twinned" with five places |
LUNCH
We continued our search for lunch and eventually stopped at the Lakeside wildlife Oasis. Just in front of a school trip.
 |
| Donation at Lakeland Wildlife Oasis |
The lady who served us then provided a donation to the course after Mr Williams senior explained what it was we were doing and in advance of us leaving we were given two bags of biscuits which would provide a good source of energy for the next part of the day.
APPROACH
As we approached Shap the general approach of all of us changed. It went from an insurmountable monster to a hill the likes of which we had all done in multiple training rides.
 |
| half way up Shap |
We were not doing the tour de Cumbria and our time was only important to make sure we got dinner.
Even the rain didn't really dampen our spirit we just accepted it and continues at our steady pace.
Creating the final peak and seeing the van waiting ahead of us was a great feeling and the elation helped greatly for the descent to Penrith.
 |
| The joy of reaching the top of Shap |
Barry getting us lost again with a mile to go didn't help but we eventually got to the travelodge at about 7.
MESSAGES
The messages of support we are getting are fantastic and we really appreciate the stuff we receive by text/Facebook etc. Sometimes a few small worlds can have a big impact.
In part, today's success can be attributed to a very moving message that the team received last night.
It nearly reduced three of us to tears but as we all avoided each others eyes there was a new resolve that we are doing this for a great cause.
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