500 miles

As the song lyrics (slightly modified) go:

And we have ridden 500 miles
And we will ride 500 more
Just to be the guys who rode 1000 miles
To fall down at your door

We've made it to Carlisle. We had some beautiful scenery through the Lake District, including climbing a 1500 ft pass (Kirkstone Pass) and a 1000 ft pass.

My leg hurts slightly less now, having done what all cyclist seem to do. I've become a junky and am now surviving on Codine + Paracetemol "extra" capsules and Ibuprofen muscle gel. The pain is now bearable, and I'll cope with it for the next 500 miles.

Tom has tried out the Codine too, which has helped his knees pains.

Other than that, we're all fit, and ready to go!

Tomorrow we cross into sunny Scotland, but the forecast is for rain :-( We had it dry all day today, but ten minutes after arriving here it started to absolutely pour with rain.

Tomorrow morning we have to say goodbye to the wonderful Claire and Bee who have helped us out when needed, amused us, and found us lovely places to eat. Bye both of you, and again, ONE THOUSAND THANKS!!

Our driver for the next 5 days is Mike, who travelled up to Carlisle on the train today, and is now with us in the hotel. Welcome Mike!

Arrive in Preston

Last night we finally arrived in Preston.

Injuries have slowed us slightly: Tom has very sore knees; I have a severe muscle pain behind the right knee.

I'm about to make a trip to a pharmacist. Hopefully with some drugs I'll be able to carry on.

Day 04 Tuesday started with a fantastic long downhill from Church Stretton to Shrewsbury followed by lots of easy flat riding all the way to Preston.

We are all agreed: the drivers in Cheshire are by far the worst we have come across. They are agressive, rude, cut you up, and are certainly not aware of cyclist. Perhaps today through Lancashire and Cumbria things will be better.