Day 4. Stat report.

102 miles
12.5mph
Granny gear rating 3/5

Without wanting to sound like a stuck record...this was a very tough day.

We set out at 0845 and finally got to b&b at 2020. This is the latest finish of the tour so far...1830 on mon and circa 1900 tue and wed.

The lejog blog also wanted to give some context around the granny gear rating for those back home. Equivalent ratings for popular cycle trips near Edinburgh...

North berwick and back... Zero
Edinburgh to st Andrews via cleish hills... 1.5/5
Edinburgh to Peebles and back 1/5
Edinburgh to Crieff...2.5/5

After a very nice stay in a b&b in compton dando (cottage garden - highly recommended) we trucked off merrily with satisfied bellies and well stocked paniers (smoked salmon sandwiches - yum yum!)

Aside- apologies to all the b&b people who try to make polite conversation with us when we arrive...we are not in a fit state to do so and sincerely hope we are not rude as we quest for a hot shower and meal as soon as is humanly possible.

Day 4.
The day Jim bonked (before anyone gets excited, this is a cycling term for not eating enough and having no energy). This is despite polishing off my entire packed lunch by midday.

The route we are doing is designed to avoid main roads. This is good cos we avoid most of the traffic. But bad cos it's much hillier and the navigation is much much harder (iPhone gps, we are not worthy!). Anyway despite iPhone it means we need to stop and check we're ok every so often as all the lanes look the same and have no markings. This leads to snail pace and tiresome navcom activity.

So Jim ran out of energy somewhere near Chepstow (tintern abbey) and had to dig deep to pedal all the way to coleford for pasta lunch.

After lunch things were much more rosy till we stopped at a post office in fownhope at 5 ... With over 30 miles to go. Tracker bars procured and easier route defined we fairly "gunned it" into Ludlow just in time for a curry and cobra!

Quotes of the day
Jim "it's all part of the legend"
Gav "these pedals ain't going to turn themselves"

QOTD outtakes...
Jim "I'm really suffering today"
Jim "I think I've hit the wall"
Gav "my legs are sore"

Highlight of the day...
Laughing so hard in the face of adversity we had to get off our bikes :)

Sent from my iPhone