And just like that we are a little over half way!!!!!!!! Holy schmoly, I was never convinced this would happen!!
What a day, after yesterday, the scenery and roads have been amazing.

I woke in Preston this morning to the sound of rain and thunder!! We had breakfast at 7am as we could not have it earlier as it’s the weekend 🙄, one of life’s silver linings.
We were setting off at 8am as we had a long day today. The Holiday Inn breakfast I have to confess was way better than there dinner!

The rain had stopped and the roads had dried considerably which was a blessing. It was also 8am on a Sunday and the roads were quiet, for a wee while anyways.
The distance to Carlisle was just short of 95 miles, and we had to get over Shap Fell which had a climb from mile 44 to 54.
We were having lunch in Shap at 61 miles so as it was so hot Phil was giving us 2 stops for water and snacks before the climb. I should say at this point that Phil has been doing a fab job keeping us all fed and watered and making sure we are all at the right place at the right time! He is also very good at obliging our requests and his patience , although tried sometimes is amazing!

The morning took us out of Preston and on to Garstang and Lancaster before we hit the A6 and were flying along through bigger roads surrounded by fields.

Our first stop was at 18 miles and as the roads were quiet and good we reached there in little over an hour and I honestly felt I hadn’t even digested my breakfast yet.

Quick stop and off we went to 38 miles for the next stop! Here my breakfast had gone down and I felt the need to stock up my reserves and do a little more eating!! Very important to be able to fuel the ride!

The rise up Shap fell was long and slow, our pace has been consistent and comfortable and we tend not to race anywhere in the morning, but try to conserve our energy and we race back to the hotel on the afternoon if the roads and energy allow!
The rise up Shap was stunning, from lovely manicured gardens to lovely manicured fields and hedgerows it all looked like something out of a Jane Austen movie! When we reached the top, everything was a bit more bare and rugged, but beautiful none the less. The town of Shap was a welcomed sight for lunch and we made it for 1.30pm which we were pleased about! The Abbey Cafe looked after us very well.

After refuelling yet again, we had a 34 mile ride into our hotel in Carlisle. We happened upon Penrith very quickly, home of the family MacCreadie and I am sorry I was not aware sooner that we were riding right on through and we could have seen them!

We took the road along to Wigton , before turning back to Carlisle and the roads were wide and long! Certainly seemed to be Roman roads and the straights were sometimes a couple of miles long. Given the mileage today, the cycling was swift. The total ascent was over 4000ft but most of it was on Shap. Undulating roads today were easily navigated with the lower traffic volumes.

it’s amazing that we have covered over 500miles and are over half way there.

Scotland we shall be seeing you tomorrow ❤️❤️