Day three (Monday 26th May) was a tough one. The wind was gusting gale force and the rain coming down like stair rods. Morale dropped because of this; I think the "it's a new adventure" feeling was wearing off and cold reallity setting in.
Here's a pic of the start at Bristol - just outside The Swan pub at Almondsbury:
The minibus only cut out a few times and the accelerator stuck just now and again so things were looking okay. Most annoying was the squeaky clutch!
The pace was good considering the weather and the guys just got on with cycling into the northerly wind. Faces were reddened and clothes soggy, but determination drove them forward. I sourced some soup for lunch which I warmed on the gas stove to keep up spirits. Here they are, huddling in the back of the bus (with soup):
During the day I liaised with Andy's parents and Dawn (John's girlfriend) to arrange meeting up for dinner - which we did in Ironbridge. We had a lovely restful evening, good grub and a few beers.
Sadly, this was where we saw Konrad and John leave us (work commitments) and we were down to just three cyclists.
Day 4 (Tuesday) saw us depart from Ironbridge. After a quick photo, we headed up via Whitchurch up the A49. Stopping briefly for a brew in Sandiway with my parents, I left the guys to cycle on up through Warrington (while I sourced lunch) and met again at Newton-le-Willows. This was to be our last meeting - I then returned the minibus and handed the mantle over to Becky (Andy's girlfriend) to assist these brave chaps on the second half of their journey.At this point, I'd like to add that I'm sorry to be missing the rest of the journey but I wish Chris, Andy and Paul a safe run to the end. Look after them, Becky!
(Oh, and Chris, how much will you put to charity for me NOT to publish THAT photo of you being massaged?)
Andy the driver
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