Since we were dividing the route into an England part and a Scotland part, I suggested to Norman, that we should just start at Gretna, omitting Carlisle to Gretna. Not only did he reject this idea, but he insisted that we start at Lazonby, 16 miles short of Carlisle, where we had actually stopped at the end of the first part. Conscientious. At least our sponsors can be sure that we have actually done the whole thing. And it saves us having to send back lots of 16ps to everyone to cover the shortfall.
Day 0 will be very useful practice for the route proper. I dress up in my proper cycling gear, practicing not falling off when I can’t release my cycling shoes, and not feeling a complete pillock when I put on the cycling gear. The shorts, in particular, make me look like some kind of 50s footballer, and the goggles make me look like some kind of extraterrestrial insect.
Things have changed from the first part. First, we are extremely lucky to have Helen and Angus as our logistics team, and Norman has generously allowed us to use his car. I’ve got some new cycling gear, as mentioned above, and the loan of a much better touring bike from some extremely kind anonymous donor. I’m hoping for great things from this. Norman is padded right up to his elbows, for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who has read the England part of our blog.
We all set off a bit gingerly, Helen in the unfamiliar car, and me on the unfamiliar bike, but it all goes well. It’s a pleasant sunny afternoon, and we reach Carlisle without incident, and pick up Angus at the station- good to see him- it’s been a month. We all 4 stay with David Fruin in Halton Leagate, where he’s doing impressive work in planting non-coniferous trees. We get bitten by midges (in September- I thought they were off) - I suppose the area name Midgeland is a bit of a clue.
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