Having added 10 additional miles the day before we were keen to have an incident free ride. Pouring rain, freezing conditions, and Wigan, what could go wrong?
1) we didn't have appropriate rain jackets and were shivering and shaking half an hour into our ride.
2) we didn't have long fingered gloves, who needed those?
3) neither of us owned leg warmers, I'm not sure we knew what those were.
The first 20 miles were spent looking out for cycle shops and shadow boxing at red lights to keep warm. Miserable.
Eventually we found a halfords with a typically terrible selection of cycling gear and kitted ourselves out. 45 minutes added to our trip but at least we were warm.
Then a 45 minute wait at the first pit stop and we were picked up by a sweeper chaperone that chased us to the second pit stop. Rest day officially over.
The final stage was a 8 mile hill over the lake district followed by the promise of 20 miles downhill to the finish.
Louise went ahead and I found a Evans cycle store where I spent a bit more money on leg warmers, proceeded to tackle the hill and then hit a complete wall as the way down was into 40 mile head wind. My final two recollections of the last 20 miles are of me in a pub being fed a full fat coke and pork scratchings then of me lying in my tent in a heap with the medic putting a tin foil blanket on me and telling me to check in with her in half an hour.
Half an hour later, 3 packets of jelly babies down and some degree of respectability restored I got on with the after ride routine made all the worse by a waterlogged site.
On a happier note it's worth mentioning another rider that we see and hear a lot of. David Horsley signed up with us and has been annoyingly fast at taking this up. What's more,
his cycling gear is quite stylish. All in all Louise and I look like amateur amateurs compared to him, so from the both of us thanks for that. To be fair he is terrible at one thing and that is keeping a constant pace when leading our group. If you know him or come across him please ask how hard the whole thing was for him given he stayed in a hotel as many nights as he camped, he hasn't heard it from me enough.
Thank you to mrs Horsley who kindly bought me Dioralyte which may have saved me. Never thought I'd be so happy to see Dioralyte. Who knew.
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