after a good night sleep to see the weather, it was blowing a gale! We had
a lovely athletes breakfast and went on our way.
The first 10 miles or so were all up hill through stunning countryside. We truly live in a beautiful country. The wind was an issue but we cracked on none the less. First stop after 33 miles was Appleby in westmoreland where they have the gypsy fair. A pleasant lunch and on our way.
It has to be said that the next 35 miles were by far the hardest mentally I have ever ridden. The wind was so strong into us that even downhill in the easiest gear, I had to pedal! The hills were so tough that it was all you could do to stay on the bike! It is hard to explain how tough it was, after a few more miles I started getting frustrated and shouting at things, especially place signs with miles on them. There was one that kept saying the same mileage on, then a few miles later, it still had the same miles on it, well I lost it and had a head off shouting at the stupid sign. Martin had a laughing fit so bad that he had to pull over because he nearly fell off!
Brampton, they were having a street party so we rode straight thru to find a cafe. We found one and perfect it was. We both ordered lentil soup with bread that was to die for. It really did pick our spirits up in a big way. We had 15 miles to go and we had the wind behind us for most of it. We smashed it up and flew, Martin put the hammer down and I couldn't catch him but we did it, 15 miles in about 45 minutes, tidy! We stopped and congratulated each other by the Scotland sign and took pics.
So, in Scotland and a day closer to being with my loved ones. A nice picture of beautiful blossom, that cheered me up, it reminded me of my perfect wife Nats. xx