JoGLE: Day Six
Day six loomed big and scarily on my personal horizon - in theory this would have been the longest day at 124 miles.
I got up reasonably early with the intention of setting off before 9am and was given a great breakfast by my aunt (and a cheese and bacon piece to take with me). Before breakfast I noticed one sign that I'm going mad - I was walking to the shops to get some milk and I realised that as I walked, I was carefully avoiding gravel and broken glass to avoid puncturing my feet.
With a good send off I was on my way south. The road to Dumfries isn't bad- twists and turns a lot but in the JoGLE direction is mostly downhill. I made good time on this road and had covered seven miles before 9am. I continued at this rate, clocking up the miles at a high average speed. After Dumfries I took the old road to Gretna Green, encountering along the way more bafflingly unnecessary cycling facilities on the National Cycling Network (courtesy of Sustrans). This was another road where I made good time and I was approaching Gretna and the border quite quickly.
Gretna wasn't the shabby dump I remembered, I always used to wonder how depresssed eloping couples must have been when they got there. I did fancy a pint in the pub on the border (that advertises itself as the first and last house in Scotland) but it was closed for renovation, or closed permanently like many pubs I have seen enroute. While I was briefly stopped there I saw some more LEJoGers. Three blokes on mountain bikes were having their picture taken at the welcome to Scotland sign They also seemed to have a support van, the cheats (lucky cheats). They had set off on Good Friday and had not enjoyed the weather Sometimes it's good to be contrary, as my against the convention direction choice has worked out reasonably well for me.
After Gretna, I took the road to Carlisle via Longtown (as much advised) to avoid the scary dual carriageway (a motorway in all but name and number). Carlisle came and went and I made my first deviation here from my originally planned route - I had planned to head southwest to the lakes from here by backroads - the navigation looked a little awkward so I decided to take the A6 south instead,intending to possibly cut across later.
I also decided that I would stop for a pint somewhere, something (incredibly) I haven't done the entire trip. This actually proved more difficult than I imagined it would - firstly because there were virtually no pubs, secondly because one of the two pubs between Carlisle and Penrith still actually in business doesn't open until after 6pm.
Before reaching an open pub I had already decided that I wasn't going to divert to the lakes, was tired enough without the hard miles through the hills. I checked with Bryony what the remaining distance would be via the A6, it still being long enough, I just kept on the A6. I then found an open pub and had two very quick pints, possibly a mistake as my legs felt leaden afterwards, I don't know if this was the beer or just the longer than usual stop.
Outside the pub I had half my cheese and bacon piece and a bit of caramel shortbread (thank you family) and continued on my way.
Somewhere between Carlisle I encountered a heavily laden group of cyclists and wondered if they were also end-to-enders. They looked bloody miserable and I wondered if I looked as unhappy to them (I didn't feel it but maybe I looked it).
After Penrith the miles became more of a slog (although the A6 rolls up and down all the way from Carlisle). Despite wimping out of the lakeland climbing, there was still Shap Fells to ride over; this is another long climb at a steady gradient that I got into a good rhythm on - until I started descending then found out that it climbs again - seeing the road steppng up again ahead, I tried to get as much speed on as possible, a later check of the speedo showed that I got up to 39.7mph, fastest this trip so far.
The ride off Shap Fell into Kendall is ok, mostly downhill but after Kendall it became an endurance slog for the rest of the way - tiring, I stopped to eat the rest of my piece, some more shortbread and even a bit of hoarded Low Morale fudge.
I was getting slower, it was getting later and I didn't have the will to make the short diversion Bryony suggested at Yelland Conyers (it was starting to get dark by then). I was getting nearer to Lancaster but very slowly, a few glimpses of Morecambe Bay here and there before it got dark were good though.
Eventually I reached Lancaster and made my way up the steep hill to Ann's house, a close friend of Bryony's family.
After a quick shower and change we nipped out to the pub for beer and chips before seeing a film at the local rep cinema - this was a shortish film called 'Once' which I enjoyed - in my blank mental state I liked the lack of contrivance or convolution, liked the songs in it too.
I slept very well after that long day. The route was shortened by just over five miles by not going via the lakes but was still nearly 119 miles. I think that I will make the ride after Hereford longer to cut down another planned 120 mile ride the following day as they are crippling.
(Ann gave me her room to sleep in,which was incredibly generous - that makes one French Lecturer, two children and a border collie that have been displaced from their rooms so far on my behalf - people have been incredibly supportive and generous along the way, has made it all a lot easier - although I haven't had a support van, I have had a lot of help like this.)
I got up reasonably early with the intention of setting off before 9am and was given a great breakfast by my aunt (and a cheese and bacon piece to take with me). Before breakfast I noticed one sign that I'm going mad - I was walking to the shops to get some milk and I realised that as I walked, I was carefully avoiding gravel and broken glass to avoid puncturing my feet.
With a good send off I was on my way south. The road to Dumfries isn't bad- twists and turns a lot but in the JoGLE direction is mostly downhill. I made good time on this road and had covered seven miles before 9am. I continued at this rate, clocking up the miles at a high average speed. After Dumfries I took the old road to Gretna Green, encountering along the way more bafflingly unnecessary cycling facilities on the National Cycling Network (courtesy of Sustrans). This was another road where I made good time and I was approaching Gretna and the border quite quickly.
Gretna wasn't the shabby dump I remembered, I always used to wonder how depresssed eloping couples must have been when they got there. I did fancy a pint in the pub on the border (that advertises itself as the first and last house in Scotland) but it was closed for renovation, or closed permanently like many pubs I have seen enroute. While I was briefly stopped there I saw some more LEJoGers. Three blokes on mountain bikes were having their picture taken at the welcome to Scotland sign They also seemed to have a support van, the cheats (lucky cheats). They had set off on Good Friday and had not enjoyed the weather Sometimes it's good to be contrary, as my against the convention direction choice has worked out reasonably well for me.
After Gretna, I took the road to Carlisle via Longtown (as much advised) to avoid the scary dual carriageway (a motorway in all but name and number). Carlisle came and went and I made my first deviation here from my originally planned route - I had planned to head southwest to the lakes from here by backroads - the navigation looked a little awkward so I decided to take the A6 south instead,intending to possibly cut across later.
I also decided that I would stop for a pint somewhere, something (incredibly) I haven't done the entire trip. This actually proved more difficult than I imagined it would - firstly because there were virtually no pubs, secondly because one of the two pubs between Carlisle and Penrith still actually in business doesn't open until after 6pm.
Before reaching an open pub I had already decided that I wasn't going to divert to the lakes, was tired enough without the hard miles through the hills. I checked with Bryony what the remaining distance would be via the A6, it still being long enough, I just kept on the A6. I then found an open pub and had two very quick pints, possibly a mistake as my legs felt leaden afterwards, I don't know if this was the beer or just the longer than usual stop.
Outside the pub I had half my cheese and bacon piece and a bit of caramel shortbread (thank you family) and continued on my way.
Somewhere between Carlisle I encountered a heavily laden group of cyclists and wondered if they were also end-to-enders. They looked bloody miserable and I wondered if I looked as unhappy to them (I didn't feel it but maybe I looked it).
After Penrith the miles became more of a slog (although the A6 rolls up and down all the way from Carlisle). Despite wimping out of the lakeland climbing, there was still Shap Fells to ride over; this is another long climb at a steady gradient that I got into a good rhythm on - until I started descending then found out that it climbs again - seeing the road steppng up again ahead, I tried to get as much speed on as possible, a later check of the speedo showed that I got up to 39.7mph, fastest this trip so far.
The ride off Shap Fell into Kendall is ok, mostly downhill but after Kendall it became an endurance slog for the rest of the way - tiring, I stopped to eat the rest of my piece, some more shortbread and even a bit of hoarded Low Morale fudge.
I was getting slower, it was getting later and I didn't have the will to make the short diversion Bryony suggested at Yelland Conyers (it was starting to get dark by then). I was getting nearer to Lancaster but very slowly, a few glimpses of Morecambe Bay here and there before it got dark were good though.
Eventually I reached Lancaster and made my way up the steep hill to Ann's house, a close friend of Bryony's family.
After a quick shower and change we nipped out to the pub for beer and chips before seeing a film at the local rep cinema - this was a shortish film called 'Once' which I enjoyed - in my blank mental state I liked the lack of contrivance or convolution, liked the songs in it too.
I slept very well after that long day. The route was shortened by just over five miles by not going via the lakes but was still nearly 119 miles. I think that I will make the ride after Hereford longer to cut down another planned 120 mile ride the following day as they are crippling.
(Ann gave me her room to sleep in,which was incredibly generous - that makes one French Lecturer, two children and a border collie that have been displaced from their rooms so far on my behalf - people have been incredibly supportive and generous along the way, has made it all a lot easier - although I haven't had a support van, I have had a lot of help like this.)