01/10/2019 – Day 6

So EPIC plans for today! I wanted/needed to ride over 100km + to get to Settle and stay with my Uncle! I treated myself to a cooked breakfast from the hostle and had two! Porridge (every cyclists staple) and a mini fry up. I got packed up fast and hit the road to really get the miles in. The day was greyish but not bad or wet really. Had a nice ride to Ambleside with smooth roads along the side of Windermere. Once I reach Kendal that was where the next giant climb/walk was. Once out of there really worked to crank the miles out and make the distance I wanted too. Didn’t spend to much time stopping or drawling but did pause at a café for some lunch and tea to keep the spirits up.

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There was one hell of a climb that I started in the evening and ended up walking for ages! By the time I had made it to the top it was dusk and the sun was setting, irritatingly behind the top of a hill so I couldn’t see it. The ride down the other side was amazing and sooooooo zoomy! Maxed out the gears and still hardly needed to pedal for ages. Once I started to get towards other roads I decided to change route a little and stick to the major roads to be able to constantly keep pedalling.

It was a little scary and hard to keep going once it got really dark and the lorries kept coming past but I did it! I made it all the way to Settle around 12 hours or so of cycling and over 100km of not smooth riding. A first for me! My Uncle treated me to Pizza and I got to sleep in a real bed for the first time in a while. We also got the tent and everything that was wet out to dry over the rafters.

So chuffed with myself 😀

02/10/2019 – Day 7

Ride out of Settle was not so much of a ride but a walk… A killer hill outside town, a 20% incline is just not rideable! So it was a looooong walk. But as they say what goes up must come down and sooo much fun coming down, zooom zooom zoooooom.

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Eventually I reached the Liverpool to Leeds Canal which was sweet to cycle down and easier on my knee. So my knee has been plaguing me for a while and it was getting harder to cycle and walk, sharp pain in the knee. Any way the canal was really interesting to cycle down going from the highest point in countryside through the built up areas. I didn’t like cycling through Burnley, traffic and icky noise after quiet roads and fresh air.

I made it through in the city in the end and follow the route out towards Hannahs house. The fun part here was that the light was going again and I had a short leg on the Pennine Bridleway… it was all down hill which was a blessing but I am soooo glad I wasn’t doing the rest of it, turns out it was a good choice to ride the cycle way instead.

It was sooo good to see Hannah and her mum again 🙂 And sleep in a bed for another night.

03/10/2019 – Day 8

Given the issues with the knee and despite my desire to complete the route I decided to have a rest day. I hoped to rest the knee and stop it hurting/getting in the way of cycling. This did mean I wasn’t going to make the full distance 🙁

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In trying to improve the knee I bought a knee brace to see if that would help and wore it walking around. I enjoyed the day of rest and hanging out with Hannah. I did some planning about how far I could get over the next few days.

04/10/2019 – Day 9

Back on the road again with knee not feeling as bad as it had done but still not feeling great plan was to get as far as I could. I said good bye to Hannah and her mum before starting on my way.

First part of the journey was down hill so not to hard to ride and then along a tow path so was reasonably flat and smooth. I had a lovely lunch at Sowerby Bridge in a little cafe and managed to avoid the rain 🙂 I tried to climb out of the town but I was walking up slopes I should have been able to ride.

I did what I always do when I know what I should do and I don’t want to… I rang my Mum to tell me to do what is best for me and what I know I should be doing. So with that call done, I threw my towel in and flew back down the hill to the train station.

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I managed to catch a train home and get the bike booked on after a really irritating phone call to get it arranged, sooo long on hold. Also hanging a fully loaded touring bike on the hanging storage is really annoying. But I got to sleep in my own bed.

Summary

Longest tour so far… I had some rough days and panicked about stuff as I was going along but I really enjoyed it and survived. All the problems that came up I solved as I went along. I managed the most number of continuous days touring and over 100km+ done in one day that involves hills.

It turns out I had caused irritated the underneath of my knee cap (patellofemoral pain) and that is what was causing me all the troubles… So I have been seeing the Physio about it and working through a load of exercises. Fingers cross we can get it strong enough before I leave.

Statistics

Day	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Distance (km)	58.3	68.5	43.8	69.9	41.9	~80.7	64.9	–	31
Ascent (m)	730	998	885	1138	753	1539	1222	–	395
Descent (m)	594	1027	809	1065	885	1498	1176	–	444
Average Speed (km/h)	12.9	12.1	11.2	13.0	12.05	11.4	12.9	–	12
Max Speed (km/h)	43	43	45	45	58	46	56	–	38