Preston
Written by Anthony
Fully anticipating a dull day tramping through Cheshire and the industrial Northwest, fighting for road space with footballers' wives in their Chelsea Tractors, I had planned to spend a couple of paragraphs describing the daily routine of moving oneself, a bicycle and a pair of panniers 65 miles, rather than bore you with tales of the A49.
But that will have to wait, because as it was, the riding was pleasant today, and egged on by the low pressure moving up from the southwest and the strong tailwind that came with it, we sailed at a relatively effortless pace through the scenic Cheshire farmland, leaving behind another great B&B (if you ever want somewhere to stay in this country, check out the Farm Stay UK website first).
Warrington came and went nice and quickly, which is more than can be said of Wigan (or perhaps we had just reached the 50 mile mark, which is roughly where everything starts to hurt, particularly your hands, neck and shoulders. As far as I can tell, most of this pain stems from the shocking state of Britain's roads, particularly the edges of them, which were clearly built never to be used. What muppet fits storm drain covers three inches below the road surface, leaving nine-inch gaps in the tarmac?).
Anyway, where was I? On the A49 near Standish, after which Steve's home town of Preston beckoned with the comfort of Sarah's hospitality, a warm bath and a washing machine.
Feeling just a little over-equipped (read: heavy), we're both planning to leave some of our luggage in Preston (though, Steve apparently prides himself on being prepared for everything - he even brought a torch!) before heading off for the Lake District and the Kirkstone Pass tomorrow.
Tonight we have home-cooked food - spaghetti. I have eating to do now...
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
AudlemGlenridding
Statistics
- Miles today:
69 - Average cycling speed:
13.6mph - Total miles: 440
