Today was technically our hardest day if you add the total distance cycled and the amount of climbing.
The day from Slaidburn started with a 13 mile climb to Bentham in North Yorkshire. We were asked by a local lady where we had cyled from, when we explained we had come from Slaidburn and it had been hailing she replied in the broadest Yorkshire accent "well I'm not surprised they're not rate in the ed up there."
I asked at a local sandwich shop if there was a cafe in the village. Not wanting to miss a sale they quickly produced two folding chairs, two mugs of tea and bacon sandwiches. For a brief moment Bentham had it's own pavement cafe until it started raining again.
We passed through Kirby Lonsdale, descended to Kendal and by following signs for Burnside and Staveley we managed to avoid the main Kendal to Windermere A road. We stopped for lunch at a favourite of mine, Wilf's Cafe in Staveley.
After a day of rain, hail, sun and wind our feet were still soaking by the afternoon and this prompted us both to buy some waterproof overshoes.
After a day of cycling along quiet country roads the busy A road between Windermere and Ambleside came as a shock. We had coffee in beautiful Grassmere where we met a French couple who were fascinated by the amount of luggage we were carrying.
The ride along the west side of Thirlmere was fantastic and we managed to avoid the main A66 road from Keswick to Penrith by following a gated road that runs parallel.
We had left it too late to get to the B&B before dinner and decided to cycle straight to the pub for dinner. We then cycled the 2 miles back to our accommodation in the dark by light of two dynamos. Great if you can ride above 15mph!
We arrived at excellent Brantgate B&B at the foot Blencathra at 9:15.Our first night in B&B is a welcome change from life in Youth Hostels.
Scotland tomorrow. I think we passed the half way point today but as the weather gets wetter and colder the challenge remains constant.
Thanks for all your comments and kind donations to St. Lukes Hospice during the last week, keep them coming they really help to motivate us.
Simon
Stats
5196 feet climbed
71 miles cycled.
Sent from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment