Day 7 - Slaidburn to Grasmere

The day started out incredibly wet and windy with a steep climb up to the cross of greet. The tandem ran into trouble very early on, about 50 metres into the climb, when the chain got stuck between the spokes and the cassette. Joe thoroughly enjoyed being able to use his toolkit and engineering expertise to put it all right. With the tandem fixed we continued the climb and 6 miles later on we were at the top, all very wet and windswept. For the descent we quickly split into two groups; those with rim brakes and those with disc breaks, the weather was too wet and slippy for us road bikers to brave any high speeds, whereas the mountain bikers were far more confident. Joe was so confident infact he shot off down to the bottom and missed the turning we were meant to take! After some faff deciding how to regroup we eventually all ended up in Wray very wet and cold.

The rest of the morning went without any major hiccups and we ended up at Crooklands for lunch at 12.30ish. For the second day in a row we missed the van for lunch, or the van missed us, either way we ended up a few miles outside of the village on a wet and windy road. We took it in turns to huddle in the van to warm up before setting of for the final 25 miles of the day. At this point unfortunately Jesse realised his knee really needed to have a break, so he finished the day in the van whilst molly rode Erica's bike onto Grasmere and the tandem took a well earned break!

We had what was meant to be a relatively quick stop in Staveley to get my bike fixed, however the service wasn't quite as sharp as promised and we were hanging around for about an hour. We set off with my wallet feeling an awful lot lighter, and all of us feeling pretty dry and warm, however it wasn't to stay that way!

We were welcomed to the lakes with its classic weather but made relatively good progress through the villages. There were numerous showers and a lot of laughing at molly on her new bike. We got to the hostel at about 4 to find George and Jesse had very kindly brought all our kit in for us!

The evening in the hostel has been punctuated by a fire alarm, set off by a sneaky cigarette, the accused was insistent it was in fact her perfume that had set the alarm off...... So we all trudged outside to get rained on, again. We're dry for now, but none of us expect that to last very long! 

So our planned half day did infact take a full day, but I think we're all feeling relatively relaxed and pleased to have reached the halfway mark!

Day 6 - Delamere to Slaidburn

We left a very sad looking rolo (chocolate lab) behind this morning, he wanted to join us...it was nice to stay at home, no bed making! We set out through the Cheshire countryside with strong agricultural smells and made good progress to Warrington.

We stopped briefly to pick up some more ibuprofen gel to rub on sore knees before meeting up with my sister. Yet another group photo! We were soon back on the road and heading for some tricky navigation.

Urban cycling through Leigh and Bolton was a bit stop and start with endless roundabouts and traffic lights. We made it through error free and were greeted by hills and moorland.

A final climb to Belmont for lunch. In the zone, head down and pedalling hard, all 8 of us missed the van parked up outside a pub. We ended up a few miles down the road in a layby - the coldest place in England! Jo snuggled up in a sleeping bag, while a few others took shelter in the back of the van.

The afternoon saw us cycling through Blackburn, after a nice descent and a cycle path that led to nowhere.. One wrong turn after cycling over the Wainwright bridge was soon corrected and it was out into the countryside once again.

The sun was shining and we had a very pleasant afternoon, chatting away looking forward to our planned tea break. A shark was spotted in the river Ribble, perhaps an hallucination due to exhaustion... We climbed the hill, to find the tearooms closed! Our deserved tea and cakes were not too be.

Puncture no.3 fell to Jo's back wheel, nothing too dramatic this time.. She fitted her new sparkly inner tube, and we were soon back in the saddle.

The final hill was tough in the heat, we dropped down into a nice spinney gear and slowly made our way up. The views from the top were amazing. Going down the other side was exciting, some hidden potholes in the shade nearly threw some of us off!

We arrived in Slaidburn safe and sound. 6 days done, 7 to go...

A few photos of our trip so far..

Lunch at Corfe -  after an exhilerating descent

Dartmoor hills!

Harry the hairy horse

Leaving Cheddar

Tintern Abbey

Leominster - sheltering from the rain

Molly, have you forgotton something?

Day 5 - Leominster to Delamere

We rolled out of our beds hoping for another sunny, but cooler day in the saddle. However, gone has the sun and blue sky, instead drizzle had set in, and the forecast didn't look much better.

Nevertheless we set off from Leominster and started heading north dodging the spray off the people's tyres (sorry, I was one of the guilty ones without mud guards). The weather cheered up as we headed up the A49, and a quick pit stop at the Lazy Trout cafe gave our caffeine levels a boost.

After 12 miles of efficient chain riding, 20+mph cruising and creating a new calming feature on the A49, we arrived in Shrewsbury bang-on midday, and tucked into an enormous lunch.

The weather continued to cheer up as we set off after the break. With a little team riding we wiggled through the town and headed north again towards Wem.

A quick stop near Whitchurch and we were ready for the final stretch of the day. However one last bit of drama was to come when the tandem suddenly slowed down with Molly unclipping the front brake. A few seconds later there was a loud bang, and the front inner tube resigned from its job and released its air through a 15cm rip. New tube please!!

The last few miles wizard by, and we finished at Chez Thompson with another 85 miles under our belts. With a great dinner and drinks curtsey of Ann, we were ready for another day in the saddle.

Simon.

Day 4 - Cheddar to Leominster

We left cheddar this morning in blazing sunshine and quickly sweated off all our suncream with a sharp climb to Shipham. 

Progress was good through Bristol, if a little tedious as we ploughed along the A4.  We then dodged death battling with hgvs on a busy roundabout heading into Avonmouth, we all got through though and are still baffled by their lack of lane discipline! Just before heading over the bridge we said goodbye to Mrs Thompson and hello to Mr thompson as the van drivers changed over.

The Severn crossing was really quite exciting,  whoever heard of a bike lane on a motorway? It was jolly though and the bridge didn't fall down, an added bonus.  Before long we were at Tintern abbey for our lunch break, a lovely setting. I had a mini breakdown over lost sandwiches but all was resolved and we merrily chomped away before setting off on what I had been told was a flat afternoon.....

The afternoon was far from flat and really quite eventful. I can't entirely remember the order of things but we saw an articulated lorry stuck in a village which will keep the locals talking for years, we were tempted to stay and watch the recovery but decided there were still many miles to cover.  We then had a steep descent followed by our first puncture of the trip, on the tandem, where else?! Expertly controlled from 40 mph to a neat stop and a speedy inner tube change over.

We then had a horrendous finish to the day where the roads just seemed to go on and on, each time we reached a settlement we were hopeful it was Leominster, but alas it wasn't, until it was.

So here we are, 8 very tired and very full cyclists!

Day 3 Dunsford to Cheddar

We woke bright and early again, having survived the night in the spider infested wooden hut! We set off just before 9...a very steep hill greeted us. Navigating through Exeter went smoothly and we made good progress, but were disappointed by the lack of dogs in Dog Village. So much so, we missed a turning and took a 2 mile long cut.

We stopped for a cup of tea in Broadhembury, which gave us enough power for the beast of a hill that lay ahead. We had some very efficient peloton riding along the plateau and had an exhilarating descent into Corfe for lunch. Pork pies! Yum.

The afternoon was relatively flat and we flew along.. We met the van briefly in Somerton to refill water bottles and take on some more food before the final stretch to Cheddar.

We caused a bit of a tail back heading in to Street but eventually gave in and pulled over to let everyone past. We arrived in Cheddar just before 5pm, 83 miles further along.

Legs are aching, but nothing a good sleep won't sort out! Next stop Leominster.

Day 2 - Golant to Dunsford

We left Golant and it wasn't raining! However that soon changed a few minutes in, normal service had resumed.

We descended down into Fowey, and boarded the first ferry of the day. The hill on the other side was less than nice, but it was over soon and we got to enjoy some Cornish lanes, a bit more rain and minimalistic road signing.

After one slight detour we were made it to Looe, where we were greeted with the remains of a landslide. With a bit of advice from the locals we negotiated the road closure with a bit of bike lifting and stair climbing, not fun with the tandem.

We powered on to our second ferry, crossing the Tay and into Devon. On approach to the ferry terminal we were tooted by a passing car. After mistaken the reason for the hoot, we found it was fellow hostellers who kindly donated money to our charity, WaterAid.

We floated over the Tay and pushed on through Plymouth, causing a mini rolling roadblock as we travelled north towards Yelverton for lunch. The weather finally realised it was June, and the sun made an appearance. Despite the hills and the developing headwind we made over Dartmoor and descended down towards Dunsford, the end of our second day. With a few aches and pains we found the rustic hostel surrounded by trees.

60 Miles or so covered, but it felt like more. After a big dinner, lots of cake and use of the muscle massager, we were ready to do it all again. Roll on tomorrow!!

Simon.