Our night at my Uncle and Aunt (Derek & Cath) was superb and really, really appreciated given our short notice!

Day 5 beckoned as we aimed to do 100miles… having filled our bellies with breakfast we returned to our stop point from day 4 at Newport and hit the road once again. The roads were certainly kind to us sweeping us along at an average of 20-25mph for the first 40miles. Only minor disruptions of some cows broke our strong progress.

We are also learning to watch the wind and cloud movement to better judge our stops and ensure we miss the worst of the downpours – we have been lucky so far and sat in pockets of GOOD sunshine and sat in coffee shops when it’s peeing down.

However, the tough part was yet to come as we had to navigate our way around greater Manchester and then onto Blackburn. Needless to say it was tough as we stopped and started our way through main roads and traffic lights during rush hour. Our average speed soon dropped and we were thankful to time a pub stop as the heavens opened.

We also noticed how dirty we got too, here’s a picture of Toms fine lower legs that were not hidden away behind lycra!

Eventually we rolled upto Blackburn only to get slightly lost and encounter our first punctures of the event. Tom was first to go with some glass and then only 2 miles later Georgie found a thorn and all within the last 5 miles – bugger! Good job mechanic Jamesie was on the case and we rolled on once again.

Our final destination was also challenged as accommodation was difficult to source, but all came together at the last minute as we arrived in New Row which was south west of Clitherow.

The day was finished off with a quick trip to the local food establishment (the pub) to refuel before crashing out for the night…

Total mileage = 102.25

Georgie’s high point – saying hello to all the horses enroute

Georgie’s low point – last hill and last 2 miles!

Toms high point - 25 mph, bowling along, wind behind & sunny

Toms low point – wet & grimy

James high point – coordinated coffee stop with dad & Shona

James low point – fixing punctures

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