Cycling Day 5 - Sale to Penrith

To the Scottish Border

Last night after the splendid reception at Tesco Sale, things did not go according to plan. First, the manager of the Premier Travel Inn at Manchester South cocked up by forgetting to book us rooms as he had agreed; the hotel was full; the nearest other Inn at Altringham North refused us complementary rooms and by the time we the guys had showered and been beaten up by James, it was 9pm and the restaurant had stopped serving food. So it was Chinese take-away in the camper van – who mentioned the lack of a female influence!

No Tesco calls or other appointments today, so the opportunity for a later start and it was 9am before the entourage led by Dan and Rob set off down the A56 to find its way though Greater Manchester. The route chosen by Chris was surprisingly straightforward and although the road surface was poor for cycling, it was reasonably flat. Rob’s knees were playing up and James and I called for frozen peas before catching the others up just as they pulled into the car park of the San Marino restaurant in the middle of our first patch of semi-countryside.

From there it was up through Preston and another stop on the road to Lancaster followed by a third break just outside Carnforth with views of Morecambe Bay and the endless sands from our vantage point in the camper van. Dan had a slow puncture on his bike and his rear wheel cassette was being awkward but nothing that ace mechanic Stephen and a call at a bicycle shop couldn’t sort out. The surroundings were becoming more and more scenic – i.e. hilly and after a stiff climb on the way to Kendal, the last stop of the day was in a lay-by on the long drag up from Kendal towards Shap.

This last session proved to be the hardest of the ride so far, with a long tough climb up to the top made much worse by a strong head wind but both guys dug in and kept moving forward and they were riding strongly as they came to a halt on the outskirts of Penrith after 102 miles. Another great effort.

Tonight we are staying at Carlisle South and our reception was fine. Tomorrow, it’s Edinburgh, Murrayfield and a ride right into the stadium to be met by some of the Scottish team.