Day 5: Canonbie to Catterall

Start Time 08:15

Finish Time 18:45

Actual Mileage 90.2 miles

Average Speed (13.3 mph)

Apologies for the double dossage of bloggage today but we failed to get internet up and running again in Scotand last night (the country is living up to its stereotype of being far behind England...)

First comment to make was that Joe asked for cooked breakfasts to be served at 7.30am on the dot and that it was... he managed to lean too heavily on the plate and it all ended up in his lap! Within a mile of setting off we came face to face with no-mans land (a 300 yard stretch of road that was neither in Scotland or England!!) So we decided like usual to get a photo to prove that we actually did cycle from Scotland to England.

We then headed down to Carlisle and on the way Steve managed to terrorise a learner driver and Ollie manage to pick up a cheap 4-pack of fake lucozades called explodade...(available in your local Aldi for £1.29)

Once Carlisle was eating our dust we headed for Penrith and visited our second supermarket of the day (Co-op) to stock up on provisions for some more hillage (first 50 miles was an uphill climb). But we were making steady progress so Joe decided to treat the team to a box of Roses and some Fab ice lollies which no-one really wanted so he ended up eating the box and 4 lollies by himself! (he actually got quite an energy buzz from them!)

The next part of the day saw us descend a very steep mountainous region into Kendall which was a good ten-mile stretch. What we didn't know at the time was a bolt had come off of Rhys's dodgy (for want of a better word) Mongoose bike and he had cycled down the steep incline with it jingling away like 'coins in a pocket'. Our third stop of the day was a Morrissons in Kendal where we failed to pick up any Kendal Mint Cake :'( but where we did manage to have a pleasant conversation with a stranger who managed to lecture us on the fact that bikes are now a lot cheaper than the olden days and so are washing machines and so many other things and how he had lived in so many places but preferred the north as it is very 'multi-cultural'.

Finally towards the end the day we headed for Lancaster and stopped off in a Tesco's (all we seem to do now is eat, sleep and cycle...) Rob had an awesome standstill fall, Steve went through red traffic lights to oncoming traffic, Joe got some nice leg tan, Rhys ate a 'space bar' and Ollie got his phone out every other minute to check directions to a country lane travelodge.Worthy mention is that this was our 3rd day in a row with no punctures - shows either that we are getting better at cycling or the roads further south are better laid or that Ollie has been told the story of the 'boy who cried wolf too many times'...

Red Nose of the Day (sponsored by Rudolph): a closely run contest between Steve and Rhys who both seemed to have caught the sun as much as England seems to have caught wedding fever (that's right we have been keeping up to date with the news...)