Day 5 - Carlisle - Westhoughton

Day 5
Carlisle -> Westhoughton
108 Miles
1320m Ascent
6 Hours 28 Minutes

Yesterdays bitterness aside we awoke looking forward to some very friendly faces in Westhoughton, taking in sights along the way that were very familiar as we'd used many of the same roads during training rides! However if we were dreaming of an easy day we were rudely awoken by the Lake District. I realise by this point your probably wondering why big hills still surprise us. Its not like we didn't expect the Lake District to have quick, sharp ascents and long and rolling leg burning climbs. We just didn't expect so many, and with so much wind.

We were both massively relieved when we hit Lancaster and we were on familiar ground, we knew every road and every hill from there onwards. After a few quick pictures in Lancaster we made brilliant time down the A6, a quick stop for some chocolate and sugar meant we could roll into Westhoughton feeling good and looking forward to a few beers and a big curry! 

A quick shower and we were off for a sports massage to loosen up the legs and keep us feeling fresh, Alison Leach did a fantastic job of making us feel human again! A couple of beers and a curry rounded off what was a very nice but very tiring day!

I realise that we have not been keeping the score up to date, as of today we stand at overtaken: 19, overtaken by:0! Still good progress but we know we've got fresh weekend riders to contend with! 

Nathan + James