A tough 48 hours

8 am sat in Perth city centre and just glad to have got here - even if
it is pissing down outside.

So on Monday I left tarpoley, up through Warrington, Wigan, preston
and targeting Lancaster for lunch - until then it was all pretty
uneventful apart from 3 punctures and a gay lorry driver asking for my
number - horrible.
Got to Lancaster cafe Nero just as the heavens opened - you know it's
wet when even the cumbrians are moaning. It then rained for the entire
day - realised I was very underdressed with just a short sleeve
cycling jersey ( it had been blazing sun all morning). Picked up
another 2 inner tubes from the cycle shop and the guy did his beat to
sell me a 89£ waterproof - not buying it being a massive error - I got
soaked but it was more the cold - I 3had to work So hard to keep warm.
Got to Kendal, popping in a 3 mile hilly detour for no reason first
(aaah) then stopped at evans cycles, towelled, bought the rainproof
and had a coffee to pull myself together. I still had 45+ miles to go
- not far short of London to Brighton and more than Alnwick
To Newcastle. It was 6pm,I'd got warm and i had to dig deep to get
back on the bike. Just as well that I hadn't given too much
consideration to the climb out of Kendal up shap - it's a brute but I
really enjoyed getting stuck into it - I passed a jogle'r just at the
start of the climb who looked at me in bemusement - 2 miles and 1hr 15
later I knew why - it just keeps coming and is steep. Shame I couldn't
see any of the scenery as it's amazin around there. The rainproof is
amazing and the best piece of kit I've bought. Trudged to Penrith
enjoying a couple more flat tyres (the toys came out the pram here)
finally getting to Carlisle in the dark at 9.45pm - it was a tough old
day. Couldnt find the hostel so went to an ibis who rippd me off but i
had a bed. Unpacked the trunk bag to find everything sodden - and the
ibis is some sort of 'eco-hotel' so there's no radiators - I turned
every light on an covered them in clothes, took the duvet cover off to
stuff my shorts and cycling top with and dry them - iphone also got we
and died though managed to dry it on a light too. Ate a curry - bad
choice as it was full of MSG and crap and kept me up all night.

Woke up to a text from my Sis saying her, mum and tegan were going to
meet me in edinburgh -2pm seemed achievable and my target was
set.....I can't really describe the day so will use saliant points: 3
flat tyres, tyres constantly soft, lot of swearing, baron wilderness,
hills, hills, hills, head wind, massive strop. I have never ever and
never will work as hard as I did yesterday. I can only describe it
like gettingon the bike at the gym, chossing the level where it's hard
to move the pedals and doin that continuously for 8 hours-I was so
gone that when I stopped at a convenience store in linlithgow and
asked to girl how far to the forth road bridge - she said 40 miles -
and I nearly tore her arm off - poor girl.
Eventually met mum, jules and teegs at 4pm......so good to see them
and very emotional.

Got to dash now as need to get bike fixed and back on the road to
aviemore


This email and any attachments may be confidential and/or subject to copyright or other intellectual property right protection. If you are not the intended recipient of the email, you are not permitted to use or disclose any information contained in the email or any attachments and we request you notify the sender and delete both the email and any attachments. Thank you.

Winterbotham Darby & Co Ltd