Day 12 - Rest day in Chester

After 11 days on the road (and our fourteenth away from home), it was good to have a day off here in Chester. Ali had booked us into a lovely hotel near the station (hence last nights photos of me in front of the station) and it was good to meet up with her and Darren for a meal last night before they went over to Manchester to watch the England friendly. Jan and I then spent the day strolling around the City. After an alfresco lunch I treated myself to a haircut and beard trim as I was looking a bit ragged after two weeks avoiding the shaver! Then we visited my Auntie and my cousin and his family and spent a very pleasant afternoon sitting in the sun reminiscing and chatting about this and that. We finished the day off with a visit to two of my other cousins where more reminiscing and tea-drinking took place. All in all today has been very therapeutic and we both feel fully refreshed and ready to carry on with our journey tomorrow. Todays photos are just a few snaps of Chester - it's a lovely place to visit.

Day 11 - Little Ecclestone to Chester

I added a few miles to yesterdays route in order to ride to the only B&B we could get booked into. So todays route was slightly different than intended. There were just a couple of small hills and the wind was generally from one side (rather than from the front) and that coupled with the use of a few A roads meant that I made fairly good progress. It didn't stop me getting lost in Preston and then later on in the lanes around Billinge. The most memorable features of today were the number of cars flying those cross of St. George flags, the sneakiness of a couple of traffic cops who were hiding in the shadows nicking motorists who were slowing down to the speed limit and the sight of the Runcorn-Widnes bridge. I met up with fellow end-to-ender Paul just as I was taking a photo of the bridge. We kept each other company as we worked out a way through Runcorn and had an ice-cream to celebrate making it to the Chester Road. We parted company after that as we each got into our different rid

ing paces (I was starting to feel the bumps and wanted to get to Chester fast). It seems like only yesterday that we were in Scotland but now we're well and truly in England. I've awarded myself a day off tomorrow (saturday) and hope to visit some relatives, stroll around the city centre and also get a haircut!

Last night we stayed at a country inn that is in the CAMRA good beer guide. Of all the ales on tap I just had to try the London Pride! My reasoning being that I know what a good Pride tastes like and I was curious to see how well it travelled so far from Chiswick. It tasted good but was served with a monster 'creamy' head - apparently that's how they like it in Lancashire! The landlady suggested that us Southerners preferred it 'flat' - cheeky monkey - it doesn't need an inch of creamy froth getting in the way of the beer if you ask me.Right by the pub was a Toll Bridge - free for pedestrians but 10p for a bike - I toyed with trying to sprint past the toll collector as a bit of entertainment but decided I didn't want to risk getting stranded the wrong side of the river facing a ten mile trek back. As I write this the sounds of a wedding reception being held in the hotel courtyard are coming through my window. Two observations: why do drunken men sporadically sing the same old footy song (di der da da, di der da da, di der di da da, di der da da)? And how much is the DJ getting for just putting the Best of Rod Stewart CD on repeat?

Anyway, time for tea, byeee.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 611 miles
Todays mileage: 67 miles
Todays average speed: 13.5 mph
Todays max speed: 35.9 mph

Day 10 - Glenridding to Little Ecclestone

More thoughts from the bag lady.

I'm writing this at the top of Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District, waiting for Bob to come over the top - photo opportunity! We left the B&B together at about 10:00hrs and it took me half an hour to reach the top, stuck in a queue of traffic with a coach in front. It was a challenge in the car, down to first gear and the smell of burnt clutch hanging in the air - sorry Bob. I don't know how long it will take Bob to ride to the top but it's a beautiful day and the views are wonderful. He is still doing a grand job with the cycling (ten days in the saddle). He's done over 500 miles so far but why is it that he still has trouble finding his socks/cotton wool buds/pants or anything else that doesn't come immediately to hand. But I suppose that's what I'm here for - to look after the old boy!

Navman and I are getting along fine although one day I thought he/she wasn't talking to me - then I realised I had the volume switched off. We have got lost together a few times, once in Stewarton when I was looking for a postbox and also in Carlisle when we went round and round a roundabout looking for the right exit! Navman takes no notice of no-right turn signs or no-entry signs so I have to be on the lookout all the time.

More best moments:

1. The warm welcome at Maureen and Jims in St. John's Town of Dalry.

2. The lovely evening meal at Bessiestown Farmhouse in Catlowdy.

3. Finding a Tesco's in Carlisle - I'm missing my larder!

My biggest challenge so far has been driving down from Kirkstone Pass to Windermere because the road was fast and winding with a sheer drop on the left hand side of the car. A quick note for Pat - our car is a Subaru and they're commonly known as Scooby's ( it doesn't mean anything else!!).

Biggest disappointment so far: Having to rush through the beautiful Lake District so quickly - Bob's riding like the wind at the moment!

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 544 miles
Todays Mileage : 63.8 miles
Todays average : 12.2 mph
Todays maximum : 44 mph

Day 9 - Gretna Green to Glenridding

We're back in England! Today was supposed to be a rest day but we'd planned to do the short run down to the Lake District anyway. Because I finished a little early yesterday, I had to ride those miles first so ended up doing some 41 miles ( not so short). The weather was good and the going was fairly easy. We'd arranged to meet for a tea break in Carlisle and it was quite a buzz for us to see so many people! Whilst there we met a fellow end-to-ender called Paul Clements. He's doing it in the same direction as us and left JOG the same day (but in the afternoon). He'd heard there was someone just ahead of him using a similar route and it was me! We had a good old chinwag and shared our experiences (the highs and the lows). He's completely solo and is using Youth Hostels and B&B's. He'd had a few mechanical problems, mainly related to broken/loose spokes and was having a day off to recharge his batteries a bit. His web address is wwwclemjogle06piczocom I've disguised it
just to avoid any spam engines spotting it, but I'm sure you can work out where to put the dots!! We've also swapped numbers so we can keep in touch (& perhaps offer encouragement from time to time). I expect he'll pass me again in a couple of days. I'll have to buy the coffees next time - thanks Paul.

We had a bit of grief with Jans phone today - I added some credit to it via an ATM but Orange reckon the phone's not registered for that - that's news to us and I expect Orange will have some sorting out to do if they don't want me to start slagging them off - their poor signal coverage is already bugging me, so it won't take much to send me over the top!

Because of that malarkey Jan had trouble sorting out tonights B&B but as ever she came through and we've got a lovely room with a four poster bed and a magnificent view of Lake Ullswater. There's no phone signal on any network here so we'll have to move along the lake a bit to send tonights essay.

Tomorrow starts with a climb up Kirkstone Pass and may turn out to be quite a tough day but with the promise of improving weather, we're looking forward to it, We anticipate reaching Chester on Friday evening and will probably have a proper day off on saturday.

Oh, by the way, we didn't get to see the Led Zep tribute band in Fort William - the gig was cancelled due to them having an accident (although our landlady suspected lack of ticket sales).

My speedo is playing up a bit (in spite of me changing the batteries in both the transmitter and head unit) but the figures are pretty much correct - I'll try and get a replacement if I get a chance though.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 481 miles
Todays Mileage : 41.5 miles
Todays average : 12.9 mph
Todays maximum : 39 mph

Day8 Carsphairn to Gretna Green

Today was slightly shorter than intended. the weather has been sunny all day and the riding has been very enjoyable. Unfortunately I was enjoying it so much that I forgot to drink my water - this didn't seem to impact me until about 4pm when I suddenly ran out of steam, Jan and I had met for a cup of tea at Moniaive and for lunch at Dumfries (Scotch pie and chips washed down with a Tango) but when I got to the afternoon tea stop at Gretna Green I'd had enough. I was only four miles short of the revised target of Longtown, but I didn't fancy it. It'll have to wait until tomorrow. Tonights B&B is a lovely farmhouse about 8 miles northwest of Longtown. We'll drive back to Gretna Green for tomorrows restart. In theory it should be a short day tomorrow - about 30 odd miles down to Lake Ullswater. I fancy a rest. Within a few minutes of tomorrows restart I'll be back in England for (almost) all the rest of the ride. Today we mainly travelled through the Southern Uplands of Scotland (having left Maureen and Jim at last nights B&B - what a lovely couple). After Dumfries (which reminded me slightly of Chester), there was some nice easy cycling south and east with views across the Solway Firth to tomorrows objective - the Lake District. I was possibly at my lowest ebb so far as I met up with Jan at Gretna Green and fair plays, she coped with my grumpiness and sorted me out with a cup of coffee and some shortbread. I'm all happy and rehydrated now following an excellent home-cooked meal of Steak pie and loads of vegetables washed down with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Luvverley! Jans highlights of the day include a lovely cup of tea at Moniaive and the panoramic views of the distant Lake District. She wasn't so impressed when I drove the last few miles to the B&B - it was so much fun to just use gentle pressure of my right foot to go quicker and slower (and to have a broad seat under my bottom for a change) and I just had to remind myself how good a Scooby is! A minor observation at this point: in the far north of Scotland they seem to prefer Subaru Foresters, in the Great Glen area they go for Subaru Legacy's and then further south it's the Impreza that gets the vote. But, apart from a white WRX that passed me in a car park in Fort William, Jan's been driving the only Impreza going my way so far. Another observation I've made today is that for quite a few miles I was following the route of National Cycle Network (NCN) route 7. For some reason it kept on diving off the B road I was using to make a two mile loop where I was riding one! Couple that with some well-intentioned (but rubbish) cyclist routing at a couple of junctions and it would appear that the idea of this particular NCN route is to slow cyclists down and minimise any 'inconvenience' to motorists. This is the wrong approach in my book - inconvenience the motorist I say, because all they have to do is press a pedal with their right foot to deal with any situation, much easier than the effort us cyclists have to invest. Anyway, England have just won 3-1 and I'm ready for bed, so it's off the soapbox and time to hit the sack.
Cheery-bye, Bob & Jan.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 439 miles
Todays mileage : 51 miles
Todays average : 14 mph
Todays Maximum : 31.6 mph