Well here we are and raring to go and it is so hot. We left the travel lodge at 7am and travelled to the starting point (we got lost once). We had breakfast at a pub in the village of Bowness and then proceeded to the starting point on the beach. We unloaded the bikes and took some photos on the beach. The tide was right out and it was quite muddy. This is where we had our first mishap of the day, on the way back to the car park from the beach Pam fell down a big hole and her bike fell on top of her. Everyone was laughing so much that she layed there for a bit before we managed to get her up and Alaistair filmed the whole thing!
We then started off on the route towards Carlisle, the scenery is just breathtaking and the weather was great. Here comes mishap number two. Lynda stopped because she had a problem and Chris was right behind her, Chris swerved to avoid her but had nowhere to go so breaked hard and ended up in a mangled heap on the floor with her bike. Luckily the support crew weren't far away and no serious damage was done but she did cut her elbow and will have a massive bruise on her leg. Two accidents and we hadn't even done 10 miles but at least none of them involved Carl!
We proceeded on towards Carlisle stopping every now and then to fix a few problems caused by the bikes being in transit (nothing serious). The route wasn't very well signposted in Carlisle and we got a bit lost but soon got back on track and picked it up again. It was at this point that the ladies found some Firemen doing their training in the river and just had to have their photos done!
We continued through the lovely park and then over the M6 and on towards Brampton. We stopped for a drink in a small Pub and then kept pedaling on. By this point most of us were half cooked but kept pressing on.
Then we started to find some hills and boy were they hills. This was supposed to be an easy day!
The hills took their toll after a little while and everybody needed a lot of encouragement, but we got their in the end.
We arrived in Brampton at 3.45pm. Day 1 took us 6 hours which is longer than we expected but no training could have prepared us for this heat. We are all very tired and very red but extremely proud of what we have achieved in these conditions, and this is only day 1. We are going to start earlier tomorrow to try and avoid some of the heat although it supposed to cool a little.
Day 2 here we come. See you tomorrow. Chez.
More Pictures will follow later, time for Tea now!
4 comments:
Glad to hear you are all doing so well. It has been boiling here in Norfolk (It was 29 degrees at one point) so we can't imagine how hot and bothered you must all be feeling! We hope Ina isn't bossing you all around too much!
Keep up the good work, and keep the updates coming!
Ina Minor and Lucy (Ina's daughter and granddaughter)
Well done for your first day! Keep up the good work! remember to drink lots of water and sports drink as you will lose lots of salt in the heat and pedalling up those hills. Good Luck!
Jennie
Great pictures! Glad your first day went well. Hope its a bit cooler for you all today. Stop wobbling and keep in line. Happy cycling.
Lesley and SallyX
just met the waveny wobbly wheelers, what a great bunch. Have had our picture taken with the team mascot. Also had a kiss off the female team members.
Good luck on your journey.
Your toughest day will be 3/6
regards
Alan
Franchisee
OBriens Irish Sandwich Bar
Gretna
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