Today was tough.
Eighty miles, relatively flat until the end, but I really felt it today. Aching all over, feeling tired and yes, my backside got sore.
I had slept well last night, a good nine or ten hours and woke feeling not too bad but after about twenty miles, everything started to hurt. The worst was a splitting headache but my back legs and neck were also very sore.
Now there are many challenges to cycling over 70 miles a day, but a major one is reaching a point where it is easier to stop than to carry on. This happens every day; halfway up a hill, into the wind, when you get over eighty miles. At these points, I get through by setting small goals; make it past that tree, to the next corner, one more mile. These are individual challenges which have punctuated every ride so far but today I faced a more general challenge. Today it was easier to stop the whole thing. The goal today was to get to the end of the day. I discovered today that this is as much of a mental challenge as a physical one. This is particularly true when you’re on your own on the road. There is no one to gee you up, no one to moan to, no one to tell you not to be so soft.
Several things kept me going today. The ladies in a small shop in a tiny place called Hanmer, my best mate Nick, a group of RAF guys in a village called Clun, and the unerring enthusiasm and support of my family.
I arrived at Hanmer after about twenty odd miles of lovely countryside, through Cheshire and briefly into North Wales. It was great to leave behind the endless urban landscape and be back in the fresh air, but tough going nevertheless. I had a bad headache at this stage and my legs were quite sore, so I thought I’d just get some painkillers and load up with water. They immediately knew I was on my way ‘End to End’, as this shop is apparently used my numerous cyclists doing the same thing and their encouragement really perked my up. Half an hour later, the aches in my legs had eased, the headache was gone and I was feeling much better. I then went further south, out of Wales and into Shropshire towards Shrewsbury, a beautiful town where I had a great lunch on the river side in the sun.
Whilst I was eating my lunch, a text came in from Nick. Nick and I go back a long way, to University. A friendship which has lasted over thirty years. He texts me every day to encourage me. He has tried really hard to get over for these few days to ride with me but circumstances have prevented this but his moral support really spurred me on today.
From Shrewsbury, it was rolling countryside through numerous lovely villages back towards the Welsh border and then down further towards Bucknall where my family were waiting. My wife, Amanda had been texting support all day, as usual, and this also makes a huge difference. Almost there, I arrived at another small village called Clun where a large transit van was parked with several cyclists around it. I stopped for a chat and found out they were traveling John O Groats to Lands End too. The only difference was they were climbing all Three Peaks along the way and had just come from Snowden today. That kind of put things into perspective a bit!
After a chat, I left them on their way to Hereford and set off the last eight miles to Bucknell. After going through the village, I turned right across a ford then right again. I was met with a 25% gradient! This is all you need after 78 miles, but up I went, then a long downhill to the campsite, and to my family, the most important people who keep me going.
Given I am now in some discomfort, there will be a B meter. Scale of one to ten. One is no pain, ten is unable to sit down.
Day nine score: 4
