The Bike Ride
LEJOG - Land's End to John o' Groats
12-28th May 2006

Day 11 - Monday 22nd May - The journey to…

Written by Steve

Having not played darts at such a "high" level before, I was surprised to find that one of the after effects is a banging headache! As a result, we had a slow start this morning, which set the theme for the day.

We headed out of Hollybush on the main road into Ayr, and after a quick 8-mile spin we were in Caffè Nero. 45 minutes and two coffees later, we headed off again on the A78 to Inverkip.

With caffeine in our veins, we made good progress, positively flying along despite the headwind (I can now understand why riders of the tour allegedly enjoy caffeine enemas - we were having positive results from just drinking the stuff!).

Cycling on big A-roads is generally not a pleasant experience, the hard shoulder becoming a magnet for any detritus on the road, and this, unfortunately, is where we have to ride.

The A78 was no exception, including the excessive amount of broken glass ("Throwing bottles out of car windows seems to be a national sport in this neck of the woods." A Brown, 22 May 2006, approximately 12.45pm).

This interesting observation was about to haunt Anthony. However, I must first set the scene...

Way back in Tewkesbury when I was lathered in c**p after fixing my first puncture, Ant helpfully informed me of the near impregnable nature of his 'Armadillo' tyres, making them virtually puncture-proof.

With this information in the back of my mind, combined with two previous punctures, I was keeping my head down trying to avoid any causes of flats.

Turning to check that Ant was in tow, I was surprised not to see him. Fearing the worst (as surely he could not have got a puncture), I dismounted to walk back.

Five minutes went by and still no Ant. Then, in the distance, relief - there he was, looking distraught with the Armadillos as an Achilles heel.

30 minutes later, puncture fixed (Ant cursing), we headed off. 15 minutes later (further cursing), we were stopped again to fix another puncture (this time a result of the operator). It was turning out to be a long day.

We eventually made it into Inverkip at 5.00pm, after another caffeine stop in an excellent café in Largs.

Ant at Inverkip

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

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