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We started off in glorious sunshine, which was unbelievable and a welcome change - we enjoyed 3 or 4 hours of it, as we climbed 1400ft to the top of Shap.
A guest rider joined us, Matt Moran, who initially only came to cycle an hour and we ended up persuading him to do 6 hours! The weather soon turned against us and we had 3 hours of pouring rain. Once again, we were getting drenched! At this point I’m sure Matt then regretted joining us.
After lunch, we had 65 miles remaining to end up in Sanquhar. A total of 145 miles that day!
Partly due to sitting on the saddle for so many hours, day after day, and partly due to all the wet and rain we have been enduring - getting soaked wet through - the nappy rash is getting worse for everybody. It has become agony just to even sit on the seat! It’s not as bad as it sounds because after the first 30 minutes of pedalling, it goes numb. The problem is if you stop for a rest, it comes back to life and the pain starts all over again.
It really has turned out to be the biggest challenge. A constant race battling against the clock makes it only just borderline possible.
Yesterday, a typical day, up at 6am, on the road for 7.30am and arrived at the hotel for 9pm. Had a quick bath, quick dinner, quick massage and then organised everything for the following day, charging Garmins, phones, cameras, computers, route plan and finally bed for 12.30am. On top of all this I’m getting no sleep as I am so wound up, “I’m cycling all through the night” - I just wish I could add those miles into reality!
Why so long on the road? With a group of 7 people, there is always somebody with a new injury, a back spasm or a breakdown and yesterday we had, failed gears, bad knees, back and ankle problems, etc etc. Combining all these vital stops with a lunch break just continually conspires to keep us on the road.
There has been a time or two when I have felt my knees were just going to become so painful that I might have to give up, but somehow a combination of heat rub, massage and ibuprofen, up to yet, has kept me going! I do now think that they will last the distance, since each day they seem to cycle through the pain and gradually improve before getting worse again.
Today we are heading towards Fort William, although we all will probably finish somewhere south of there.
I'd give you my knees if i could! Keep on smiling brave poppa, brave Libs and brave team. We are ALL rooting for you! xxx
ReplyDeleteI did this journey in May of this year and although our challenge was different in that we took 15 days to do it, we had no support and were riding 80lb bikes complete with camping gear and some nights the temperature in the tent was below 5 degrees. However you do it, it's a tough gig and a real achievement, but at 150 miles a day you should all be doubly proud. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteMy knees are still sore BTW.