Great day today folks, Day 5, but first morning I've woken up & thought, "Do I really have to get back on that bike again today." I guess it was because yesterday was so wet but you know, we got on the bikes this morning and off we went, no problems. We headed down the west coast towards Troon & Ayr and stayed on the A78 for about 20 miles. The road was mostly dual carriageway but at one point we thought we were on a motorway when it went to 3 lanes. Luckily it was early Saturday morning so the traffic was quite light.The surface was good though so that equalled good speed!
The rain held off until just after our first pit-stop at 33 miles to the south of Ayr. We got there at an average speed of 15.2mph - fast roads, faster average! Sandra fed us with bananas, energy bars & plenty of Lucozade Sports and we were on our way quite quickly trying to dodge the heavy rain showers. We cycled through drizzle until we hit some bad roads & rain together in a God awful town called Dalmellington at the bottom of a long climb........ Once at the top the rain started teeming down but we knew we were only 5 miles from lunch when Sandra came back towards us, took our orders & headed back to place them. We arrived at The Carrick, about 52 miles into the day. The Carick is little Post Office/shop cum Cafe at Carsphairn, a small village in the middle of the Forest of Galloway. The food was great, just what the doctor ordered & the Cafe boasted a signed photo of the Hairy Bikers who had visited. Just as we were leaving, guess who turned up...... the boys from Plymouth. You can follow their story at http://www.ukendtoend.co.uk/ great bunch of lads doing it in a great cause so have a quick look!
No pictures today I'm afraid. The scenery would have been stunning at some points but it was a drab grey day whilst it was dry and a drab grey, very wet day when it rained!
Anyway we made it to The Auldgirth Inn by 4pm. The stats for today were 82 miles, 5hrs 30 minutes in the saddle, 3300ft climbed at an average of 14.7mph. As I said a great day all round, could only have been bettered by sunny weather - let's hope we get a few sunny days soon!
Tomorrow is our biggest day, 102 miles via Carlisle, Penrith, Kendall & Carnforth where we end up for the night. Cheers everyone, thanks for all your support.
By the way, I have now changed the settings on this blog so if you'd like to comment you should be able to do it now, no registration or anything!
Hi. Glad you enjoyed your lunch at the Stag Tea Room behind Carricks shop in Carsphairn. I remember the day well! Congratulations on your endeavours, Linda
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