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| 4: Day 3: Monday
morning, and after a good nights sleep we set of up the A40 towards Hereford,
and stopped at a Little Chef for what was a very good breakfast. |
 Outside CHESTER YH with ladies from the Chester Leukaemia Society. 
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| 5:
Day 4: On Tuesday morning we awoke to what appeared to be a bright and sunny morning, which it was, but riding along the A56 to Helsby we became very aware of the gusty North West wind on our left shoulder. As we passed through Warrington and turned Northwards we began to take a hammering. Gusts of wind blew spirals of dust and grit into our eyes, and assorted rubbish was flying all over the roads, and into our wheels, and by the time we arrived at Standish we were glad to stagger into a pub, eyes streaming, and scoff scampi and chips! We grovelled on through Preston, and up the A6 to Lancaster. large tree branches were down in the roads, and at one point John was blown off of his bike, and I ended up on completely the wrong side of the road after being hit by the strongest gust of wind I'd ever experienced. Just after Lancaster, John parents Ken and Dillys came out to meeet us, and Ken rode with us the final 15 miles to Hincaster, - we got our first drenching on the way but were rewarded with views of distant peaks in the sunshine, and a double rainbow! |
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| 6:
Day 5: Next day ( Wednesday ) our first stop was Kendal after a hearty breakfast at Johns parents, and we ahd a photo call for the local newspaper before the long climb up Shap. At the top I stopped at a phone box to do a live interview with Radio Devon into the "Countywide" programme to give details of our progress since were virtually at the halfway mark. As we descended on the A6 towards Penrith large grey clouds gathered and before long we were treated to an ice cold soaking. Bedraggled we limped along towards Carlisle looking for somewhere to eat but all the pubs were shut or wouldn't serve food after 2pm. When we arrived in Carlsisle we were slowly drying out but very hungry so we devoured greasy kebabs from a curry shop. This was a bad move as I ended up with painful indegestion and stomach cramps for the next three days. |
 Riding through Kendal. |
| Our
"friendly" North West gale was still blowing so a detour up the A7 to
avoid the A74 was our next move, then A6071 and unclassified roads to Gretna Green,
where we were greeted by wailing bagpipes at the tacky complex of soouvenir shops
and cafes that announce your arrival in Scotland. The 8 miles along the A75 from Gretna to Annan were hell, certainly the most frightening. The road was covered in potholes, and bottlenecks wer in abundnance as heavy trucks on route to Stranraer squeezed past us. It was a relief when we turned off on to the "B" road to Lochmaben, sheltered from the wind, and treverse our final few miles to the evenings stop. This was at a cottage about 4 miles from Lochmaben, which overlooked a tributary of the river Annan, and we wasted no time in scoffing a huge fry-up, followed by tins of beer, and for me half a packet of Rennies. |
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