8am breakfast of cereal, porridge, toast, juice and coffee and I was away by 9.
I've got into a rhythm with my day in the saddle. The first hour finds me wincing as my right knee is still angry with me and takes a while to settle down. Then I'm able to enjoy the next three or four hours until a 15-30 minute lunch stop. Then it's two hours or so of peddling whilst eating into the last 30 miles. Once the miles remaining get into single figures I put my head down and opt for the most direct route to my hotel (I can almost taste the sweet coffee at destination's end).
Today was slightly different. Possibly because of the long day yesterday and the relatively short time between finishing, sleeping and starting again I found the first 3 hours to be tricky physically and psychologically.
Then I found my legs and it all clicked. After 50 miles of flat cycling I entered Kilmarnock. Stopped to take a photo of an odd looking house/tower.
16 miles of pretty much flat roads, alongside a train track found me at the Erskine Bridge where I stopped and took another photo.
The weather so far had been overcast, dry and cool. Perfect cycling weather. Now it started to drizzle but I only had 10 miles left. An hour in my cycling terms. I put on my jacket, got my head down and sped up the A82 to Balloch, where I was staying for the night. The A82 was not as bad as I had been led to believe by reading other people's blogs. Certainly not half as bad as the A49 which is the yardstick by which I judge all other busy dual carriageways.
Arrived at 5pm to the news that Bradley Wiggins had won the Tour De France. A brilliant achievement! British cycling is certainly on a high, hope it continues into the Olympics.
Breakfast is at 7am tomorrow (rejoice!). Then 85 miles on the A82 all the way to Fort William. I'm hoping for spectacular scenery as the route goes through Glencoe (as long as the weather holds off, it's very drizzly at the moment).
Day 8 route:
View Day 8 in a larger map
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Location:Balloch Rd,Alexandria,United Kingdom
Congratulations, Brad... Er, I mean Mike. V V G. I made a diagonal up the Eskdalemuir Valley after Carlisle - and enjoyed a delightful rest day (sorry!) in Edinburgh. Scotland is fab. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteBit late catching up with your latest blog ... too busy catching up with a few other other famous cyclists. Sounds like your days in the saddle are becoming more and more routine - keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteNot an unfair observation Dan. I think I've just become used to sitting in the saddle for 8 or 9 hours a day, especially as the novelty of the first few days wears off. This does give me more time to concentrate on the things around me, which considering I'm now in Scotland there are plenty of beautiful things to look at.
ReplyDeleteRaging Mike just realised how close to my house you came. I would have come and cheered you on, or offered a bed for the night.
ReplyDeleteGutted. Next time eh?
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