Day 5 -  Penrith- Warrington.

115 miles, 8hrs 52, 13mph, 5144 ft of climbing

Wow - what a tough long day. From the incredible beauty of the Cumbrian Fells and Eden Valley, through the Lune Valley,  then through the industrial bleakness of Preston, Wigan and Warrington.

We said goodbye to Katherine and Emma from Denplan and welcomed thier replacements Chris-Bob and Aneka. It goes without saying how invaluable thier support has been. Along with Simon and Gemma of course.

The day was once again gloriously sunny and warm. Yesterdays sun, resulted in some very odd red burnt bits ( my wrists for example), so sun cream all round today.

A lovely slow start for the  group today , with the majority of good riders leaving promptly ( and me!). We all knew that the climb up and over Shap awaited, so the pace was very gentle.

As it turns out, that wasnt the hardest climb of the day. That honour was reserved for the road from Tebay to Kendal,  going over the top to the Lune Valley,  high above the M6.

Today was notable for the fact that I made contact with the fast group 4 times today( 4 times more than any other day). And even rode with them very briefly twice ( before young Tom towed them away from me).

The ride up and over Shap was incredibly beautiful,  and I was in great shape at this point until the first stop at Tebay. For some reason , once we had left Tebay I struggled with my form and also my neck pain. I quickly lost touch with my companions and rode alone for 25 miles or so. (a little grumpy and down).
I met them again at Devils Bridge in Kirkby Lonsdale,  which marked the halfway point in our journey!!

The appeltize was cracked open (2014 vintage). Andy had his supportbteam in attendance in the shape of the lovely Bernie, who endeared herself to all with a plentiful supply of malteser cake!

Lunch in Caton, just outside Lancaster, was taken with only 50 miles out of 115 gone. Still a long way to go.

The break allowed me to meet up with David and Bill who had started later. I hoomed up with David and (medium sized) Andy and carried on towards Preston.

Bill, however, decided that he hadnt done enough work, and went to climb the nearby Jubilee Tower climb (one of the best 100 climbs in Britain app apparently). Surprisingly no one took him up on his offer to join him.

I hung on for dear life during the afternoon, still feeling rubbish. Towed and bullied along by David.

2nd lunch (it was a long day!) was taken just north of Preston, with the beautiful scenery behind us, and industrial Greater Manchester in front of us.

Fortunately,  this perked me up no end, and I was able to ride strongly to the finish just south of Warrington.

Cycling through Preston and Wigan during rush hour is not to be recommended. Very scary, and busy. Luckily every one made it unscathed with no abuse from car drivers and no road rage ( we had expected both today).

I reached my hotel at 830pm, more than 12 hours after
 setting off from Penrith! Andy got lost in Wigan and was even later.

So, the midlands beckons tomorrow and familiar roads for the next 2 days. We pass 4 miles from home tomorrow and finish in Upton on Severn, a town I know very well, and close enough to be able to see friends in the evening.

Night Dx