Day 08: a tale of two cities

Tuesday June 12, 2012, 76 miles (122 km) - Total so far: 478 miles (769 km)

Hmm... Interesting day.. We both woke up feeling a bit horrible after some stomach issues from the meal last night... Andrew in particular wasn't even sure if he could get on the bike..!.. Though that could also have been related to him waking up in a locked room with the laundry we had left with the owner last night sitting at the foot of the bed... Weird..!

We set off anyway, hoping things would improve.. And just 12 miles down the road we were making a mad dash for a toilet... This was not good...! Andrew carried on anyway.. He did well with no fuel in the tank, and we soon had about 20 miles done. Over breakfast we had also been looking over today's route and wondering why it looked so far on the map... It was at this 20 mile point we realised that I had got Andrew to book a room in Kirkby Lonsdale, even though we were finishing in Whalley, about 30 miles away...!

What a 'whalley' I am! Oops!

A bit of phone surfing and a phone call and we were booked into a place in Whalley.. Phew..!

Most of the journey so far has been in rural areas, but today was more urban in parts, going between the two cities of Liverpool and Manchester, and bypassing Warrington also. The drop in driver awareness and care around cyclists was very noticeable for us... and not in a good way..!

This is us on the toll road near the mersey..

Coming into Blackburn we got chatting to a fellow cyclist who knew the area and offered to guide us towards Whalley, where the hotel was... It was truly a great thing to be taken through the city on all the back streets, away from the traffic that had angered us earlier in the day, and pointed in the right direction.. And as if that wasn't enough, he even donated to the charity too..! Fantastic...! And after the 60 miles that we had done by then, sorely needed... So here's a few photos of us with Andy, our Blackburn saviour...! 

Finally in Whalley, we met up with Ian for dinner, a friend of mine from Hong Kong.. And ate starter, two mains, and a desert each..! 

We are off to shap tomorrow.. Another 70 miles with a few hills too, including what will be our highest point at the top of shap hill..!.. At least we are enjoying the hills now.. 

Day 09: riding the dinosaurs back