Day 7: (Tuesday)
Miles 65.25, average speed 12.5, top speed 29.5, riding time 5hrs 12min, total miles 541
After a sleepless night in our luxury barn accommodation we packed the car. It is now bulging with all sorts of unmentionable wet clothing!
We wriggled through the lanes to the point where the boys re-routed yesterday and dropped them off to restart.
We have changed our route today as our accommodation, provided by the army, was only confirmed yesterday.
The early part of the ride was very picturesque. The dales were beautiful. We met at Bacup, a small industrial town. I popped into the market town to grab some supplies, bananas and doughnuts.
The boys refuelled with soup, ham sandwiches and doughnuts. We headed for Rochdale our final destination being Stockport.
Natasha and I were grateful for our satnav, kindly donated by Halfords.
The riders had to rely on Adrian's map reading and navigational skills. He did very well.
The cyclists have had to re-route several times today due to road closures and the emergence of motorways.
They arrived somewhat stressed following a hair-raising ride in town traffic. Both had experienced several close encounters with impatient drivers.
We arrived at the Territorial Army centre to discover we were sleeping on armchairs in the bar area.
The showers were good. Natasha and Annie both visited friends who lived locally. The riders are out for the evening reflecting on their near-death experiences in these northerly towns.